Brick officials honor football legend Warren Wolf
Wolf's last game was a victory in more ways than one
BY PATRICIA A. MILLER Staff Writer
True to form, Warren Wolf turned an event to honor him into praise for others.

ERIC SUCAR staff With Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis (l) looking on, longtime Brick Township High School football coach and former Mayor Warren Wolf is honored at the Jan. 6 Township Council meeting for his contributions to the community.

The Brick Township Council meeting room was packed on the night of Jan. 6, in part because it was the council's annual organization meeting. But many others showed up to honor the 81-year-old Wolf, who recently stepped down after 51 seasons as head coach of the Brick Township High School Dragons football team.

Wolf sat quietly in a back row in the municipal building that went up when he was Brick's mayor back in the 1970s. He sat quietly as township officials ran through the traditional organization meeting agenda of annual appointments, council comments and Mayor Stephen C. Acropolis' State of the Township address.

Then it was his turn.

"Coach, come on up," Acropolis said. "This is the fun part of being a mayor."

Before Wolf was presented with a trio of resolutions honoring his contributions, Acropolis read several quotes into the record about his mentor.

The first was his own. Acropolis' three sons played football for Wolf.

"The one thing you could always count on [was] to see Warren Wolf marching up and down the sidelines," Acropolis said. "It's going to be a different, strange sight on the field, not seeing him there.

"I would not be standing here if it wasn't for Mr. Wolf, who got me involved in this game years ago," he added.

The second quote came from Brick Township High School Principal Dennis M. Filippone, who was one of Wolf's boys on the football team in the early 1970s.

"Other than my dad, he's been the most influential person in my life," Filippone wrote. "He is Brick Township High School."

The resolutions lauded Wolf's record 51 years as coach of the Brick Township High School's Marching Dragons and his unsurpassed record of 361 victories, 25 division titles and 13 sectional titles.

State Assemblyman Andrew W. Ciesla presented Wolf with a resolution from the New Jersey State Legislature.

"I don't think you can meet anyone in the state of New Jersey that doesn't know the legend of Warren Wolf," Ciesla said. "I thank you for everything you have done for all of the people in the state of New Jersey."

Wolf took it all in, smiled and thanked them for their praise

"I'm very honored, extremely honored, to be able to be in my town and to be honored by the leaders of our town," he said. "I appreciate that. I'm a Brick Township guy."

Then he turned around to the council dais and proceeded to laud each council member for their work as township officials.

"Councilwoman Russell, I want to thank you for all the years you served on the Board of Education and always voted so I could continue to coach football," he said to Councilwoman Kathy Russell.

"It was the best decision I ever made," Russell said. "If I had it to do all over again, I would vote for Warren Wolf to continue football."

One by one, he praised each council member and noted some members in the audience.

Then he addressed the football players in the back of the room, who came to honor him.

"We thank you, boys," he said. "It's all about you. If you had a good time playing football, if you learned something from the game of football, that's the important thing."

Wolf announced his retirement Dec. 1, shortly after his last winning game on Thanksgiving Day. The Dragons beat their crosstown rivals, the Brick Memorial Mustangs, 34-27.

"What no one knew is that it would be the last victory of his career," Acropolis said as he read one of the resolutions. "He's the only head coach in the history of Brick Township High School. He began in 1958, when Dwight Eisenhower was president of the United States and the Baltimore Colts defeated the New York Giants in the greatest game ever played."

Wolf's dedication to Brick didn't stop on the football field. He served as mayor from 1971 through 1975, two terms on the Ocean County Board of Freeholders, one term as a state assemblyman and three terms on the Township Council.