Holiday hoops tournaments are an annual tradition, but who are they named after?

Mike Shello.

Anthony J. Cotoia.

Clem Santy.

The names have become familiar to many over the years for the Holiday Tournaments held the week between Christmas and New Year’s, a bridge from the first week or two of the season to January first, when things really start to heat up for the month or so sprint to the county tournament seeding meetings.

But, to paraphrase Jerry Seinfeld, “Who are these people?”

Everyone knows who Eric LeGrand is, the namesake of Colonia’s holiday tournament, the LeGrand Holiday Jubilee. The former Rutgers standout was an excellent student-athlete for the Patriots, and has been well-known for his philanthropy with the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, his Walk to Believe Fundraiser, and various other organizations, in addition to being an analyst on Scarlet Knight football radio broadcasts.

The event is a four-team, three-day round robin showcase. Friday features Scotch Plains-Fanwood taking on Franklin at 11 am, with Westfield and homestanding Colonia tipping at 1. Saturday has the same game times, with Franklin and Westfield first, then the Patriots and Raiders. Everything wraps Monday with Scotch Plains-Fanwood and the Blue Devils at 11 am, then the Warriors and Colonia at 1.

Here’s a look at some of the other area tournaments named after folks you might not know about if you were born after a certain year.

Anthony J. Cotoia Tournament at South Plainfield

Every year since 2009 – except 2020, the COVID year – this event has been held at South Plainfield, who was the first basketball coach in the history of the school, and piloted the Tigers to their first and only state title in school history, as they beat Summit 67-54 for the 1964 Group 3 championship. (They beat Piscataway to win the Central Jersey Group 3 title.)

Cotoia actually was born in Italy, and he came to South Plainfield via a circuitous route. His family came over from Panni in 1938, and they settled in New Canaan, CT, where he attended high school, and was president of his class, in addition to starring on the gridiron and the hardwood.

He served in Korea in the U.S. Army, and when he returned, went to the University of Delaware on the G.I. Bill. With a master in education and a minor in history, he earned a bachelor’s and a master’s degree, and spent two years in Vineland schools before taking a teaching position in South Plainfield in 1955.

According to his obituary, few athletic programs were available at South Plainfield High when he arrived. It reads: “After he was hired as the high school’s first basketball coach, he drove through town trying to get a sense of how popular the game was. To his dismay, he saw only one basketball hoop, behind Delayo’s Market. Even worse, the boys playing there that day went to parochial school.”

Two years after beginning the program from scratch – including youth leagues in town – the Tigers went undefeated in 1959. They won three sectional championships, and he was 177-63 in his time coaching the Tigers.

He later became the South Plainfield Athletic Director, expanded sports offerings – he was instrumental in getting the football field and athletic complex at Frank Jost Field built – and brought girls’ sports on more of a par with the boys’. He was also a vice principal at the high school and middle school, retiring as principal there in 1992 after 37 years in the district.

He also passed away in 2009, at the age of 81.

Mike Shello Holiday Tournament at Dunellen (Boys)

Played at the Faber School in Dunellen, this event honors Shello, who was the coach of the Destroyers in the 1960s. In ’68, he helped lead Dunellen to the Central Jersey Group 2 championship.

He was born in Bound Brook, and attended high school there, graduating in 1935 before moving on to West Chester University in Pennsylavnia. He also attended Penn State and got his master’s at Columbia.

His time at Dunellen was split by World War II. He taught in Lititz, PA from 1939 to for before taking a job at Dunellen in 1940. But he went into the service in January of 1942 – and was a 2nd Lieutenant in the Army for five year – returning to coach football and basketball from 1946 until he retired in 1983. He was also a football official for many years.

His son, Rich, was the athletic director at Ridge from 1998 until his retirement at the end of the 2022-23 year, overseeing and helping expand sports programs as the school doubled in size under his tenure.

Clem Santy Holiday Tournament at Dunellen (girls)

This one opened Thursday, with Middlesex topping Manville and Highland Park getting by Dunellen. The last two games are Saturday, with the consolation at 11 am featuring the Destroyers and Mustangs. The Blue Jays and Owls face off at 1 for the championship.

Clement J. Santonastaso left high school to serve in the Navy during World War II. When he came back, he earned his diploma, then worked two jobs for many years, according to his obituary. One was in factory, the other was as Dunellen’s part-time recreation director. Eventually, that position became a fill-time gig, and “Clem” coached many generations of Dunellen athletes.

He passed away in 2017 at the age of 90. A local florist, when he passed, posted a baseball-themed flower arrangement on its Facebook page, calling him the “best recreation director Dunellen ever had.”

Whitey Dukiet All-American Holiday Classic at Livingston

Livingston High School is home to the Whitey Dukiet Classic, which features four teams at various levels – not just varsity – and once again will count Ridge among its participants. Last year, the Red Devils picked up a huge win their over St. Joseph-Metuchen on the second day of the event. This year, they get Morris Knolls, and the host Lancers.

According to a story last year in the West Wessex Tribune of Livingston, Bob “Whitey” Dukiet played at Livingston and as a senior, in 1966, was a Parade All-American and All-State pick. He was the school’s first thousand-point scorer in an era well before the three-point line. He went to Boston College, but suffered a career-ending injury there before his junior year, and went into coaching after graduating. He was an assistant at Montclair State, Dartmouth and Princeton.

It was with the Tigers that he learned the “Princeton Offense” from the legendary Pete Carril, and it served him well as we moved on to become the head coach at St. Peter’s College from 1979 through 1986. He later coached at Marquette, and Gannon University, a small Catholic school in Erie, Pennsylvania.

Dukiet passed away in 2009 at the age of 61.

Butch Kowal Classic at Rahway

John Butch Kowal is probably one of the few people who never coached at or ran the athletic department in their local high school, but has a tournament named after them anyway.

He graduated from Rahway High School in 1940, then founded Butch Kowal’s Tavern in the city a decade later, using the money from selling off the family’s meat marker. Kowal owned it right up until his passing in 2001 at age 78; the tavern remains open today.

He used the business to help others, and that continues to this day as well. Still in existence is the Butch Kowal Association, which he founded 64 years ago – in 1960 – which sponsors and funds local athletic teams and give gifts to needy families around Christmastime.

He later formed the Butch Kowal Scholarship Fund in 1993 for Rahway students to attend college.

In his obituary, the AD at the time, Tom Lewis, said of Kowal, “He was dynamic. You were entertained when you were with him. He wasn’t the Pope. He made mistakes but he had a soft heart and he was a genuine giver.