Here is an expanded version of the history of these awards.
- Greg Ratushny Award
- Greg Ratushny completed Grade 12 as an Ontario Scholar in 1992 and was recruited to study and play hockey at Cornell University. His older sister, Kim, and brother, Dan both played on the Cornell Varsity Hockey teams and earned undergraduate Cornell degrees. Both subsequently graduated from the Faculty of Law, Common Law section, at the University of Ottawa. Greg’s father, Ed Ratushny taught at the faculty of Law (Common Law Section) for over thirty years. His mother, Lynn, was an Ontario court judge.
- Greg Ratushny suffered an ultimately fatal car accident in the summer of 1992, before he could continue his promising career and life. He had a disarming smile, infectious joie de vivre and warmth for, not only his friends, but everyone he met. He also demonstrated a strong sense of purpose, good judgment and enthusiasm for his school, sports teams, and other communities to which he belonged.
- He died in 1996 from complications of the head-on accident in which two people died in the other car. Head injuries left him bed-ridden and unable to gesture or speak.
- Samuel Woodside Award
- He covered Cornell sports for a span of five decades, first as a writer for the Syracuse Post-Standard, the Rochester Democrat & Chronicle in the 1930s, and then as an announcer for radio station WHCU from 1940 until his retirement in 1971. He was play-by-play announcer for Cornell football, basketball, and hockey games; also provided on the spot coverage of crew races. A living legend because of his unique style of broadcasting, he served the athletic teams and the University faithfully as their ambassador of good will. In addition, he was involved in numerous activities for the city of Ithaca. He was chairman of the Advisory Council of the Youth Bureau; for many years chairman of the Independence Day celebration at Schoellkopf Field; campaign chairman for the Community Chest (forerunner of the United Fund), and as a director of the Reconstruction Home. He has been promotional and Business Manager of Syracuse Invitational Hockey Tournament for several years and assisted the athletic department with football ticket promotions. In 1946 he was named sports director and assistant manager of WHCU.
- Inducted into the Cornell Sports Hall of Fame in 1984
- Mark Weiss
- The Cornell Daily Sun, Volume 95, Number 1, 30 August 1978
- Mark Weiss, star winger on the Cornell hockey team, died in an automobile accident in his hometown of Haileybury, Ontario, late last May. Weiss, who would have been a junior this year, was 19. Mark was probably the best-liked kid on the team. He loved life and lived it to the fullest, varsity coach Dick Bertrand said of Weiss. Weiss, one of five Cornell starters to score twenty goals last season, was considered one of the Red’s fastest rising young players. He went 20 – 23 – 43 while skating wing with the Lance Nethery – Roy Kerling line last winter. Weiss’ jersey bearing the number 8, so familiar to all the Lynah Faithful, will be formally retired by Athletic Director Dick Schultz at a home game this winter.
- #8 was not retired and numerous players have worn this number with distinction
- The Bill Doran Sportsmanship Award
- Presented to the Cornell player combining all the best attributes that mean sportsmanship, both on and off the ice, as well as being an excellent competitive player
- Bill Doran is the father of Mike Doran ’67 who played on Cornell’s national championship team in 1967. He was involved in a violation of NCAA recruiting rules as reported by Bill Howard in the Cornell Daily Sun, Vol. 90:72, Jan. 28, 1974.
- As reported: The athletic department was placed on probation for one year by the NCAA for illegally recruiting two hockey players. Initially, the penalty banned Cornell from any post-season hockey competition for one year but on appeal the penalty was reduced to one-year probation.
- The two athletes involved, then members of the Richmond Hill Junior B hockey team in Toronto, were recruited by Bill Doran, a Toronto Insurance man active in recruiting players for Cornell. Reportedly, he flew these players to Boston in March for the NCAA hockey championships and provided full accommodations. Neither player had been seriously recruited by Cornell and neither ever applied to Cornell, said Cornell coach Dick Bertrand ’70. The two players were Gary Carr (now a freshman goalie at Michigan State) and Alex Pirus (a right wing forward at Notre Dame).
- NCAA rules allow coaches, alumni, or friends of a school to recruit prospects at their homes or at the school, but not elsewhere. Doran said he did not know he was violating NCAA regulations. “I have been recruiting for Cornell from 1963-1974 and this is the first time I’ve run afoul of the rules. I don’t have any NCAA rulebook. I just use the rulebook of common sense.”
- Doran helped recruit more than a dozen members of this year’s team, most of whom are Canadian and predominantly from the Toronto area. Those included three former teammates of the players in question, namely, Wayne Stokes and brothers Dick and Bill Weber. According to Bertrand, the first time he, or anyone from Cornell, knew two recruits were in Boston was when he ran into them at the hotel on March 16th, the first day of the tournament.
- Shortly after the championships, Jon T. Anderson, Director of Athletics, wrote to the NCAA explaining the violation. The NCAA’s five-member Committee on Infractions began an investigation last November. Bertrand, Anderson, and a university lawyer appeared before the NCAA committee Dec. 16 in Kansas City. Four days later, Dec. 20, the NCAA proposed a two-part penalty: public censure and probation, and prohibition of post-season hockey play for one year. “I went crazy when I heard that,” Bertrand said. “It was a shock. When we appeared before the committee, they didn’t seem to think it was a serious matter at all.’
- On Jan. 5. Anderson and Robert J. Kane, ’34, Dean of Athletics, appeared at the annual NCAA convention Jan. 5 in San Francisco to appeal the decision. Cornell’s plea succeeded partially, and the NCAA Council, the appellate body, dropped the playoff restriction. The first public announcement of the action came Jan. 6. Lynn Fance, an NCAA staff member at the Kansas City headquarters, explained the considerations on how an offending school is handled.
- These include whether the violation was an isolated instance or part of a recurring pattern; the severity of the infractions; and the offending school’s cooperation in disclosing the violation and preventing its recurrence. An institution, or representatives of its interests, may provide entertainment for a prospective student-athlete, his parents (or guardians) at the institution’s campus only. Transporting a prospective student-athlete to any other site for any purpose is not permissible.’ — NCAA Bylaw I -5c
- Among the actions the NCAA can impose on their 660 members are private reprimand, public reprimand, various forms of probation, or banishment of the school from post-season play in the offending sport or in all sports for one or more years. Because Cornell had no knowledge of the violation before it occurred, because no one officially connected with Cornell was involved, and because Cornell voluntarily reported itself, Anderson said he felt Cornell did not deserve as harsh a penalty as it initially received. Anderson did acknowledge however, that other schools and perhaps some NCAA officials may have been aware the players were in Boston — so if Cornell had not turned itself, it might have been reported anyhow. “Everybody in the world knew we were in Boston,” Carr said. Bertrand said Cornell deserved no more than a private reprimand, because it had been open in its dealings with the NCAA. He was at a loss to explain the stiff initial penalty. George Kuzmicz, a senior defenseman, said he thinks the NCAA may be “out to get the Ivy League,” recalling two times when the league and the NCAA have been at odds.
- In 1965-66, Ivy League teams refused to participate in postseason NCAA tournaments to protest an NCAA minimum grade-point requirement. Cornell was eligible for the 1966 hockey tournament but did not participate. In 1969, Yale was placed on two years’ probation for allowing basketball player Jack Langer to participate in the Maccabiah games in Israel without NCAA approval. Ivy League officials felt approval was withheld because of a jurisdictional dispute with a rival athletic organization which sanctioned the games.
- The Joe DeLibero – Stan Tsapis Award
- Presented to the player who most nearly exemplifies the skilled efficiency, unselfish dedication, and hard-nosed competitive applications that distinguishes him as representative of Joe DiLibero’s and Stan Tsapis’ uniqueness.
- Cornell Daily Sun, Vol. 82:95, March 3, 1966, by Joel H. Kaplan
- The death of Joe DeLibero has left a void in Cornell’s athletic department that will be impossible to replace. More precisely, men of Joe’s ilk, of his naturalness and lack of pretentiousness, of his easy-going air, of his lightheartedness and of his sincerity are few and far between.
- Joe DeLibero, though, was neither G-D nor superman; rather, his place in the hearts of all who knew him is firmly secured by his humility and straightforwardness, the good times he had, and the good times people had with him.
- As a long-time trainer in football and more recently hockey and crew, Joe has worked with many coaches and athletes. He was a good trainer and both players and coaches had the utmost confidence in him. What is more important is that in a university reeling under its own impersonality, Joe was everyone’s friend, and everyone was his friend.
- What most of us will remember are the barbs he threw, and the barbs thrown at him. He had a pet name for most of the people he worked with and always chided his close friends for their accomplishments. Glen Davis, the great Olympic hurdler and sprinter, was reminiscing about how Joe had kidded him about being an “All-American” and how he would perpetually ask if Davis had been the Davis who played at West Point. (Track coach from 1963-67: Wikipedia)
- Ned Harkness was prey to many of Joe’s jokes, as was Jack Lengyel (an assistant football coach from 1963-65: Wikipedia).
- Joe left an indelible mark on students. He appreciated dedicated hard-nosed athletes and told the loafers and the slackers and what he called the ‘soft ones’ in no uncertain terms what he thought of them.
- And so, they were all there at his funeral yesterday. Paul Patten (1920-1992), Cornell’s first modern hockey coach (1957-1963: Wikipedia), flew in from Pennsylvania, athletes cut classes and the athletic department called off phys .ed. If one’s life is to be judged by the friends made and the people influenced, then Joe DeLibero’s life was indeed successful. We join with the literally thousands of others who mourn his death at the age of 44.
- Ithaca lawyer, Stan Tsapis (1932-1977)
- Stan Tsapis, the drawling southerner from Weirton, WV has been campaigning as president of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Offensive Linemen, constantly chiding sports writers and others who overlook the anonymous front blockers. So, what happened Saturday when Stan started his first varsity game? He plays at defensive guard where George Kepford “Lefty” James (head football coach at Cornell from 1947-1960: Wikipedia) singled him out for praise. But, on offense or defense, the little (5’9”) bundle of strength and spirit gives every promise of developing into an outstanding lineman.
- Stanley Tsapis – an associate in the law office of Walter J. Wiggins at 209 E. Seneca St., Ithaca, NY. [from the Ithaca Journal, July 23, 1958]. Cornell BA ’54; Cornell Law ’58. Varsity football, All-Ivy and All-East guard in 1953. Served two years in the US Army as a first Lieutenant. Married the former Marilyn “Mickey” Greenglass (Ithaca College ’57), who went on to a distinguished career in the travel industry.
- Obituary, The Ithaca Journal, Thursday, January 20, 1977, …. Attorney Stanley Tsapis, 44, of 113 Taughannock Blvd. died from cancer on Wednesday, January 19th, 1977, in Strong Memorial Hospital, Rochester, NY.
- Friends and associates from both the legal and sports worlds today described Mr. Tsapis as friendly, outgoing, not self conscious, and witty. He was a favorite among attorneys and only this year had been elected vice president of the Tompkins County Bar Association.
- He was widely known as a former Big Red football player and was voted All-Ivy guard in 1952-53.
- Dick Bertrand, Cornell hockey coach was a long-time friend of Mr. Tsapis. He was always there when you needed him. We had a moment of silence before the game for him … referring to Wednesday night’s 11-8 win over Clarkson at Lynah Rink. Whenever I would come off the ice after a tough loss, Stan would be there with an encouraging hand. He was a real competitor and played every game in his mind with the kids on the team. Everyone will miss his smiling face and his tremendous spirit … he loved the players, and he loved sports. I think his competitive spirit rubbed off on others. This is a great loss for Ithaca, he was a pillar of the community.
- Mr. Tsapis was an active member of the Cornell Hockey Boosters and was a spectator at many Cornell athletic contests.
- Nicky Bawlf (January 8, 1884 – June 6, 1947)
- He came to Cornell in 1920 after earning fame in several sports at Ottawa College and thereafter in amateur and professional sports alike. As an athlete he was one of the fastest hockey skaters anywhere, was known to have drop-kicked field goals of over 50 yards in football, and was also a standout in lacrosse, soccer, track, and baseball. At Cornell he coached soccer and hockey from 1920 until his death at age 63 in 1947 in Ithaca. He was head lacrosse coach from 1920 to 1939. In 1932 he coached Canada’s Olympic track and field team. Perhaps he earned his greatest renown at Cornell from 1937 and 1947 when he was appointed supervisor of intramural sports. His programs became increasingly popular with Cornell students. His personal contact with students on the teams he coached and the intramural sports he supervised made him one of the best-known figures on campus. His coaching record did not reflect his true worth as a coach. His best mark was in soccer where he was 85-80-24 and won three League championships. He was born and raised in Winnipeg, Canada.
- Wikipedia