Betanzos, Glover inducted into SSC's Great Wall of Rocks
The Alumni Association of Saint Stanislaus College inducted two new members to the Great Wall of Rocks for Athletics on Friday in the College Cafe.
Juan Carlos Betanzos, SSC class of 1981, and Harry C. "Wop" Glover, Jr., SSC class of 1928, were formally placed in the elite group of former players, coaches, administrators and support personnel for their outstanding accomplishments in the athletic arena and their ever-present model of character throughout their lives.
"In the Office of Admissions, it is a lot like what Forrest Gump said, 'Admitting a student is like a box of chocolate, you never know what you're gonna get,'" SSC president, Brother Francis David, said. "I am not exactly sure who the Director of Admission was in 1921 or in the mid-1970s, but one thing is for certain they admitted two top quality individuals when they accepted Harry Glover and Juan Carlos Betanzos. Wop and Juan Carlos are examples of God-given talent used to its fullest potential."
Betanzos started at SSC in the seventh grade as a boarder. He quickly found solace in the athletic arena. During his time at SSC, he earned a total of 10 varsity letters in football, basketball and track and field. He led the track team to three consecutive Pascagoula River Conference titles as a sprinter. He was a consistent top reserve on the hardwood for Bob Cucarro's formidable teams.
However, on the gridiron, Betanzos found a second home as a placekicker. He led through Rocks to a 7-3-1 record his senior season along with claiming the mythical city and county championships.
He was selected to the All-Pascagoula River Conference team his senior season and kicked a then-school record 49-yard field goal. Following his senior year, he signed a football scholarship at LSU.
He earned Academic All-SEC and Academic All-American honors while kicking for LSU and helped lead the team to the Orange Bowl (1982) and the Sugar Bowl (1984).
When he left LSU, he held four school records for the Tigers including most PATs in a season (47), most consecutive PATs (43), most points kicking (198) and most career PATs (90).
Betanzos, a native of Mexico City, Mexico, made the trip to Bay St. Louis with his wife, Mariel, for the event.
"I have not been back here since graduating. A lot has changed and Hurricane Katrina had a great deal to do with that," Betanzos said. "I am very humbled to be remembered in such a way by SSC. I am also thrilled to see my old track coach, Brother Malcolm, who had such a tremendous influence on my character and life-building."
Brother Malcolm Melcher, a former chemistry teacher and track coach at SSC, stated,
"Juan Carlos was an outstanding athlete and he earned this honor not just in the field of sport but also in academics," said Brother Malcolm Melcher, former SSC chemistry teacher and track coach. "He was a top student of mine in the classroom, as well. I had a saying back then 'Don't tell me what you are going to do, show me what you are going to do'. Juan Carlos walked the walk and talked the talk. That is how I remember him."
Betanzos is the first international student inducted in the Great Wall of Rocks for Athletics.
Glover
Glover was inducted posthumously, after a life of modeling the values and character traits instilled in him by the Brothers of the Sacred Heart in the early days of the Rocks' athletic history.
Glover, also a boarder at SSC for six years, was in Bay St. Louis during the roaring 20's. He played for the venerable Forster Commagere and did not suffer a losing season in football, basketball, baseball and track and field. He excelled at all four and was awarded the Jaubert Medal at graduation which was symbolic for the Best All-Around Athlete. During his time at SSC, he earned 13 varsity letters and was a teammate of Great Wall of Rocks inductees Marchie Schwartz, Zeke Bonura and John 'Baby Grand' Scafide.
Following his senior season, he signed with Tulane University and earned varsity letters in all four sports for the Green Wave.
He excelled on the gridiron leading Tulane to three Southern championships and a Rose Bowl berth in 1932. He was named All-South in 1931. At graduation, he merited the Porter Cup which was symbolic of the Best All-Around Athlete.
He entered the coaching ranks after graduation from Tulane and coach at John Carroll University, St. Aloysius High School, Behrman High School, Southeastern Louisiana University and Saint Stanislaus. At SSC, he led the Rocks to a 22-13-2 record from 1934-37.
He later served the US Navy in World War II and served as Athletic Director for Jefferson Parish Schools from 1960-74. Glover was an inaugural inductee in the Saint Stanislaus College Hall of Fame in 1972. He was posthumously honored in 1984 when he was inducted in the Green Wave Athletic Hall of Fame.
Doug Campbell, a nephew of Glover, stated, "This is a great honor. It brings back all the great memories that we talked about with Wop about his time at SSC. He was an avid sportsman and enjoyed to hunt and fish, as well. He was a driving force for the athletic programs that exist in Jefferson Parish today. He was a pioneer."
Both men were named to the Saint Stanislaus College All-Century football team announced in October 2015. Betanzos was selected as a kicker while Glover was named as a defensive back.
"Tonight was a fitting way to honor these two men who had outstanding athletic accomplishments," SSC Alumni Association Director Susan Estrade said. "They model in many ways what we want our student-athletes to model which is why we invited many of them to this event for the first time this year. This was a very well attended event and we are very grateful that Juan Carlos Betanzos and his wife, Mariel, were able to make the journey from Mexico, as well as, many of Mr. Glover's extended family coming from neighboring Louisiana."
This story was originally published March 14, 2016 at 1:44 PM with the headline "Betanzos, Glover inducted into SSC's Great Wall of Rocks ."