Boxing and football.
They were the two sports that dominated Henry Goodman’s
life.
Goodman, who was a real legend in Bradford sports history on the
gridiron and in the boxing ring, died March 25 at the age of
87.
“His whole life was athletics,” his daughter Debby Berliner said
this week. “He just loved that.”
A 1936 graduate of Bradford High, Goodman led the Owls to three
unbeaten football seasons in 1933 (9-0), 1934 (9-0) and 1935
(10-0).
Those teams were coached by Bob Pflug, who spent 19 years on the
sidelines at BAHS (1932-1950), compiling a 122-30-5 record. Pflug
went on to coach at Brown and Princeton.
After graduating from high school, Goodman attended St.
Bonaventure University (1936-37), George Washington University
(1937-38) and West Virginia University (1938-42) where he played
for the Mountaineers, serving as a captain his senior year.
In 1942 he signed with the NFL’s Detroit Lions for a mere $200 a
game. The following year, his pro career was cut short as the
defensive tackle was drafted into the U.S. Army.
He served in the military from 1943 to 1946. During his service,
he was part of the football coaching staff at Fort Benning, Ga.
After his release from the armed services, Goodman taught
history and coached football at Central High School in Knoxville,
Tenn.
Upon his return to Bradford, he was influential in the area’s
youth athletics.
He established and was commissioner of the McKean County Midget
Football League and presided over the league’s first banquet Nov.
25, 1958.
Goodman also enjoyed public speaking and reading.
In 1981 he filled in as an honored guest at the Bradford Central
Christian High School sports banquet when former University of
Pittsburgh All-American Hugh Green failed to show.
In addition, Goodman gave a presentation to a “Sports: Violence
as a Pastime” class at Bradford High.
“There’s only one way to play football – that’s to play to win,”
he told the class.
“He loved helping kids,” Berliner noted.
Berliner said her dad enjoyed reading about sports.
“He had quite the library on sports,” she added.
In the early 1980s Goodman played a role in trying to get the
Bradford Area School Board to change Parkway Field to the Robert J.
Pflug Athletic Field in recognition of the long-time high school
football coach.
Goodman brought with him petitions carrying some 1,200
signatures and more than a dozen former football players and
interested local residents who supported the change. Ultimately,
the bid to change the field’s name failed.
“That was a big defeat for him,” Berliner declared.
In 1985, Goodman along with several others announced there would
be a Welcome Home Pflug weekend.
Pflug was honored at halftime of that year’s Bradford-Clearfield
game and at a luncheon the following day.
“Dad wanted the passing of the name change by the school board
from Parkway Field to Pflug Field done prior to the Welcome Home
Pflug weekend so the announcement could be made during halftime of
the Bradford-Clearfield game honoring coach Pflug,” Berliner
said.
“To honor the winningest coach in Bradford Area High School
history by changing Parkway Field’s name to Pflug Field would have
been a fitting tribute. What a shame the initiative wasn’t
taken.”
Pflug would eventually be inducted into the Football Coaches
Hall of Fame in Hershey.
“My father was delighted to learn of coach Pflug’s induction,”
Berliner said.
Goodman was an avid boxer in college and in the military. While
at West Virginia, he was captain of the boxing team and heavyweight
champion.
Goodman’s boxing career consisted of 49 wins and only one
loss.
In his hometown of Bradford, he was the amateur heavyweight
champion.
An injury in the Army forced him to give up boxing and
football.
Goodman’s name appeared in several newspaper stories in The Era
over the decades. Former editor-in-chief Joe Cleary wrote
frequently about Goodman in his Round the Square columns.
