Chenango Forks Track and Field
Hall of Fame

Graduated:
School Record in 100 Yard Dash
School Record in High Jump
Second in 220 Yard Dash
Fifth in Shot Put

SUS Champion: High Jump (1956), 100 Yard Dash (1959)
Divisional Team Champion: 1957

At 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighing 200 pounds when he graduated, Harold Snopek was one of the best all around athletes in Chenango Forks history, just as likely to win the Shot Put or High Jump as he was to win one of the Sprints.  “Crotch” (as he was known throughout the school) became our first trackman to earn All Conference when he won the High Jump at the Susquenango Championships as a freshman in 1956.  In his sophomore year, he literally made everyone in the State take notice as he was clocked at a blazing 21.1 seconds in the 220 Yard Dash on May 2, 1957 at Forks's first ever home meet at the High School located on Route 79.  This was assuredly a timing mistake as the Bronze Medalist in the Olympics the year before ran 20.8, but it only helped maintain the mystical athletic aura around Snopek.  Later that year, Hal led our team to Chenango Forks’s first ever Divisional Championship by placing in four events at Class B Western Zone Divisional Meet.

Snopek’s junior year was positioned to be stellar as he and speedy All Conference senior Joe Everling along with lightning fast freshman Jerry Casey had one of the best 880 Yard Relay Teams in the State, but the team bus broke down on the way to the Sectional Trials and they never got their chance to show what they could do on a large stage.  As a senior, Hal showed just how fast he was by making All Conference in the 100 Yard Dash, running an incredible 10.1 seconds at the Sus Championships (This would be the equivalent of running 11.05 in the 100 Meter Dash).  With this victory, Snopek became the first Forker to be All Conference in two different events and in running that time, he tied the time that Section 11's legendary James ¨Frankie¨ Leath ran when he won the overall State Championship that year.  

Hal was an outstanding All League basketball, football, and baseball player for Chenango Forks as well.  He led our gridiron team to its first ever undefeated record his senior year and even shared player of the week honors with eventual Heisman Trophy winner Ernie Davis of EFA.  After graduating Hal went on to become a town councilman and eventually Chenango Supervisor.  The annual golf tournament hilariously known as the “Crotch Open” has been held in his honor for years.  For his outstanding athletic achievements, Hal Snopek was inducted into the New York State Public High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame in 1991.