The history of the historian
FAIR LAWN, N.J. – (BVM) If you ever attend a Fair Lawn High School football game, either home or away, you’re going to hear the name Dick Engelhardt at some point during the game. Dick Engelhardt has been attending Fair Lawn games since 1951 and is known as the “Voice of the Cutters on the Gridiron.”
“My twin brother and I had grades seven and eight in 1951 and 1952,” Engelhardt recalls, “after graduation from Radburn Elementary school, we went to football games and fell in love with the sport.”
The brothers continued going to games for the next 30 years and became spotters for local game announcer Joe Hausmann. Through the years, Engelhardt filled in for Hausmann when he called other local games.
In 1997, Engelhardt became the announcer for the Fair Lawn football games, while his brother Bill became his spotter. Engelhardt is still announcing Fair Lawn home games and writing “The Gridiron”, a column in the local newspaper which he’s been doing for over 50 years.
There is no doubt that Engelhardt is passionate about his home team.
“In the 1970s, I researched and developed a book containing the results of every football game ever played by the Cutters.” Engelhardt said.
Engelhardt keeps the book up to date, and at the home games he takes the crowd on a “Walk Down Memory Lane,” telling them what Fair Lawn did that week in history.
Engelhardt also writes a column titled, “THIS WEEK IN FLHS HISTORY”, and summarizes the rivalry with upcoming games. All that record-keeping and writing got Engelhardt inducted into the Fair Lawn High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2009.
History
Originally, Engelhardt and his brother Bill, who both had clubbed hands, wanted to be history teachers. The then-titled New Jersey Rehabilitation Commission sent them to Paterson State College (now William Paterson University) in 1957.
“They told us we couldn’t do that because we’d have to be certified to teach everything including gym, and with our hands and arms we wouldn’t be able to climb ropes in the gym,” Engelhardt recounted.
The brothers told their rehabilitation counselor what had happened, and he suggested they go to Seton Hall University and major in Business Administration. The Engelhardt brothers did just that, and graduated from Seton Hall in June of 1961. They began working with the Social Security Administration days later.
In 1968, Engelhardt moved over to the Rehabilitation Services Administration, until 1986, when he began working with Aid Association Lutherans (AAL), now Thrive Financial for Lutherans, meeting the financial needs of all Christians.
Engelhardt also writes for his church, Our Savior Lutheran Church, in Fair Lawn.
“I am a person of faith and many football players and fans are too. It may be a coincidence, but I write a lot for church and of course football. I love both.”
Engelhardt’s wife is currently the Financial Secretary and he is the Church Council Secretary at Our Savior, as well.
Engelhardt said the toughest thing about his journey has been finding the time, and the loss of his brother.
“Only my twin brother, until his death July 21st, 2016, shared my love for high school football,” Engelhardt added. “My wife and two of my three children had no interest, and the one child the family thought (thinks) I’m crazy going to all the games and doing all that record-keeping and writing.”
Engelhardt says he hopes to do this announcing and writing, “until I am called home or to the Lord, or just can’t do it anymore.”
His advice to anyone in writing, specifically sports writing, is to “be enthusiastic about it and love the subject. Whatever you do in life, care about it deeply and that will show in your work.”
