All Sports Museum in Bridgeton Houses South Jersey Sports History

By Jeff Garrett

If not for the inviting gold and green sign saying, “Welcome to All-Sports Museum of Southern New Jersey,” passers-by might never know of how much local, regional, collegiate and professional sports memorabilia and artifacts lay inside a regular, modest building in Bridgeton.

But there’s more than enough with more planned.

The building was originally part of Cumberland County Community College but changed hands. At some point, hopefully sooner than later, the clanging of hammers to nails and the sounds of buzzing drills to install more siding and roofing will take place adjacent to the six-room, 1500 square foot cozy museum. At least this is what museum chairman and chief curator Dom Valella hopes for, as the expansion is planned in the hopes of providing more indoor space to remember more athletes and contributors to southern New Jersey sports fame – for those from Trenton down to Cape May actually. There’s an Eagles room, a Phillies room, a Sixers room, a Flyers room and even a Cumberland County room, for impressive athletes who have a connection to that area.

“Pioneers, contributors, athletes and coaches are in here,” says Valella. “We’ve had some who want to be paid to be in here but we just don’t do that. In many sports hall of fames like this, they say one needs to wait five years to enter after their contribution is made and they’ve essentially retired.” Not the case in Bridgeton, where Valella is hoping he can add two NFL rookies he doesn’t want to name at this time, one of which plays for the AFC Champion, Kansas City Chiefs, to the collection this year.

If so, these rookies will occupy spots alongside greats remembered such as Phillies 2008 World Series coach, Charlie Manuel, a longtime Haddonfield, NJ resident; legendary title-holder, boxer Joe Frazier from Philadelphia who trained in Vineland, NJ and was inducted posthumously. Gold glove phenom, Willie Mays who, while working for Resorts International in Atlantic City, donated a gold glove just over 25 years ago in exchange for a few buckets of peaches and plums. He added a “Say Hey Willie Mays” jersey too with the glove. Mays was a frequent visitor to the Bridgeton Invitational Baseball Tournament, an annual tournament Valella coached, showing his personal affinity for baseball.

“About five years ago, we were able to get a Jackie Robinson statue from the AfricanAmerican Negro Hall of Fame in Newton,” said Valella. “A lot of schools came with 15 to 20 students at a time. I’d give tours and the kids learned a lot,” he added, realizing Robinson’s importance in the equal rights movement in professional sports.

21-year-old local ice hockey player Johnny Gaudreau from Pennsgrove High School, who was a top scorer for the NHL’s Calgary Flames has a spot in the Hall, thanks to police chief of Bridgeton, Michael Gaimari, who knows Johnny’s family and recommended him to Valella. Dozens of plaques and trophies sit in the Hall at 8 Richie Kates Sr. Way in Bridgeton.

Right now, Valella is focused on the next induction ceremony to be held Saturday, March 11 at 11am at Ramblewood Country Club in Mount Laurel, where the Hall welcomes ESPN and NFL analyst, Sal Paolantonio to its membership. So yes, there’s a spot for sports commentators with a significant tie to New Jersey, in the museum. Just ask Philadelphia sports continued on page 21