Central High School of Philadelphia Class 226 (1967)

Dedicated
in Honor & Memory of
482 classmates of the
226

Hosted by Harvey Abrams, BS, MAT, Ph.D/abd

This web site is devoted to the members of the 226th graduating class of Central High School of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. From 1963 to 1967 we shared our high school experience -- over forty years have elapsed. I thought it was appropriate to develop this web page to facilitate communications for the members of the class and to help Zach Rubin with the 40th class reunion which took place June 3, 2007. My plan is to make this a permanent website for the 226th class -- a scrapbook on the web. Please feel welcome to contribute your material in photos, letters, essays or memories.

More pages are to come -- with individual photos taken from the yearbook. Class members are encouraged to send additional photographs with a brief -- or lengthy -- autobiography that will be added as a linked page. Please feel free to send your resume or vita, copies of any publications or artwork, and even a small check to help fund the site. I am pleased to host this site -- it's the historian in me -- as well as curiosity. What has happened to you guys? Where have you gone? What distinguished things have you done? Share it with the rest of us.

Not everyone will be enthusiastic about having their pictures or too much personal information available on the web for a variety of reasons. I assure you that I will use discretion and adhere to your individual or family wishes. Some of my experience is classified, too. I have no plans to out any spooks. No desire to publish your federal prison address. There will be a page for obituaries and I would really like to have images of these guys. Family and friends are encouraged to send details, comments and photos that can be used. I will use all public domain sources that I can find -- hey, I'm an historian.

The site will grow as time elapses and I will eventually remove it to its own domain, but until then you can find it on my business website at http://www.harveyabramsbooks.com/CHS226.html. There will be no advertising, commercial links, flash or java on any pages. Images will be sized for easy download -- and if there are a lot I will use thumbnails with links.

My short autobiography is below. It will be removed from this page in time to become a link. My plan is to have one page of images and biography on each class member -- which means this website will have close to 500 pages.

I graduated in 1967 but did not go to graduation with you guys because I started Penn State before the ceremony was held. Haven't seen 481 of you since. I can think of only one classmate that I have seen in all these years. Did not attend any of the reunions, sorry to say. Life has been adventurous for me -- on the whole it's been good. Certainly I have had more experiences than most people have -- but I am still here to tell about it. I call it bonus time. Hence my motto -- "carpe diem."

A rather frustrated little guy in high school -- I felt somewhat overwhelmed by having so many bright people and great athletes surrounding me. I always got cut the first day of baseball practice, (thank you Mr. Coleman), was too small for football and nobody ever grabbed me and said "you are going to be a gymnast -- now get to practice." I do remember one time when Eddie Weber grabbed me at the "Y" and took me through a swimming practice -- I loved swimming. But after we were done he asked me to come to team practice and I said "no" because I didn't think that all that hard work we just did was much fun at all -- I was simply too young, I guess.

My fulfillment came in college -- and later -- so I guess I was one of those "late bloomers." My obsession with sports consumed my career. I started Penn State in Architecture so I could be the next Frank Lloyd Wright. I was going to design great houses and great stadiums. But I became a Physical Education teacher instead. Still too small for football I became a manager for Penn State football for two seasons. I hated cleaning muddy footballs but I got to see first hand how great coaches work with athletes -- and I was standing next to Mike Reid when Sports Illustrated took his picture just before we won the Orange Bowl in 1968. I was also a manager for the gymnastics team. I studied some martial arts. I was vice-president of the college student council and succeeded in getting a seperate class of anatomy for PE majors because the pre-med students killed the curve and we were always flunking.

Then one day I saw a wrestling mat being set up in Rec Hall and asked a friend "where are the ropes?" Coming from Central and Philadelphia I had never seen wrestling. We didn't have wrestling in any Philadelphia schools. I thought it was the TV stuff -- and I hated it. But my friend, who was a fellow PE major, said to me "are all you kids from Philly that stupid?" I retaliated by stating how I could not believe college kids were stupid enough to do that TV stuff. He stopped, looked at me with dagger-eyes and said "I'm a wrestler." "Really?" I suddenly felt....stupid.

He was not wrestling that night -- but he dragged me to Rec Hall to watch the meet. It was the night I found a sport for little guys -- like me. And suddenly -- I became a wrestler. Actually, there is are stories behind this too, but you have to read my autobiography to get the rest.

For the next 16 years I trained and set my goal on the Olympic Games. I tried out for the US Olympic freestyle teams four times -- 1972, 1976, 1980 and 1984. I took a 2nd place in 1972 and 4th in 1976 at the Olympic trials, went to Munich and Montreal -- many more stories about these experiences.

Then teaching, coaching wrestling, becoming an International referree -- more college degrees in Southeast Missouri and back at Penn State. Studying in Sweden, Finland, Germany. Traveling to the Olympic Games in Munich with a six week trek through Italy, Austria, Germany, Holland, Belgium, England, France, Spain and Switzerland. My teenage interest in history focussed on World War II, the Holocaust, family geneology. But with my new sport of wrestling I studied the history of my sport, then ancient history, then expanded to all sport history and finally focussed on the Olympic Games. Many more stories and I started a small book business (1979) with a specialty on sport and the Olympic Games.

Ph.D at Penn State with a dissertation on the Olympic Games in my luggage -- and off to West Berlin for a teaching position in a German school. Advisor very angry that the dissertaion was not finished -- but I needed money -- a real job. Family furious -- parents, sister. Nice Jewish boys do not pack up and move from Pennsylvania to Germany. But I did -- and I liked it. My two year contract was renewed for three more years. I lived there from 1982-1987 and if you think the wall came down because of Reagan -- well, you need to read my autobiography when it's in print.

Found the love of my life at the age of 34, got married in Berlin and moved back to the USA. Had two great kids, the joy of my life -- got divorced. We share custody. So many stories follow -- I can't begin to tell here. But my life is more of a continuing adventure than any soap opera in existance.

So -- there's a bit about me.
Very informal.
No vita here -- maybe when I add yours -- I will add mine.

Life is short guys. Looking back over forty years I cannot believe all that happened.
Everyone has a story -- we need to hear yours.
Share it with us -- share what you can, share what you want.

My best wishes to all of you,

Harvey Abrams

Harvey Abrams
PO Box 732
State College, PA, USA 16804
tel: (814) 321-4018 (cell phone)