SPORTS HALL of FAME COACH
Alan Drake - (deceased)

When Alan C. Drake taught 8th and 9th grade Social Studies at Sidney, students remember the two signs he always had posted at his desk. They were: "Don't criticize a man until you've walked a mile in his moccasins." and "I complained about having no shoes until I met a man with no feet."

This Fulton, New York native came to Sidney for his first day of teaching on June 9th, 1946. He was actually filling the final days of the term for a teacher on maternity leave. And he stayed until the 1969-70 school year, teaching subjects within the social studies curriculum such as civics, world history, and citizenship. But it was not long beforeAlan dug his heels intothe Sidney sports program. That fall (1946) he became the line coach for the football teams of Hall of Fame coach Fran Redmond and he stayed at the varsity level until the 1952 season. Of course he was a major part of the success for tonight's first ever "Legacy Award" recipients, the 1950 team that went 7-0. By 1953, however, he turned his football attention to helping Hall of Fame coach Harry DeBloom with the JV and Junior High programs.

The main reason for AI's induction into the Sports Hall of Fame as we know is for nis baseball teams. From 1947-67 his boys were among the best in the Susquenango League peaking with the amazing 33 game winning streak over the course of four seasons in the early 1960s. More on that later.

That first team - whose record is unknown - was the first baseball squad at Sidney to play a night game, when on May 23 they ventured to Oneonta to face the Yellowjackets at the home of the minor league Oneonta Red Sox.

Although records are incomplete, here are some of his better Sidney teams:
1949: 9-3
1955:11-3 with fellow 2007 inductee Kermit Marble fanning 17 in a 3-0 win over Oxford. They lost to Sherburne in the League finals.

1957:14-3 (8-2 in league play); the only league losses? 1-0 (twice) to Greene.

1960: 5-4, with the highlight a 9-3 win over Delhi. Del Hodges tossed a 2-hitter and Dave Smith cracked a 3-run homer for Delhi's only league loss that spring.

1962: 8-3 as they christened their new field, the Warriors began their 33-game win streak and claimed the Sus and Sectional titles. Spencer Asher hit .512.

1963: The team Coach Drake called his "finest in 19 years of coaching". 9-0 in the League, Butch Roelle and Bill Cable dominated from the mound as witnessed by their no-hitters. They beat Whitney Point 6-1 for the Sus. crown.

1964: The streak still intact, Sidney finishes at 12-0. Spencer Asher hits .510 and the pitching is still strong with Steve McMullen and Dave Esto. Newark Valley was the 6-1 victim in this year's title game.

1965: 7-3 was the league record and the streak was finally stopped at 33. The first home loss came that season, too, at the hands of Windsor. Tom Hager hit .426.

1966: The Warriors played only three opponents - Windsor, Walton and Delhi three times each. Dave Esto fired a no-hitter (Walton) and one-hitter (Windsor) and in a 2-1 loss to Windsor, struck out 18 batters - a record that stood until 1982.

By 1968 Coach Drake has decided to call it quits and his JV coach Doug Fessenden - another HOF name - took over the varsity.

Now that you know the coach, how about knowing the man?

Alan Drake first attended Cornell but since he had to work to earn his way through school, finances forced a transfer to Alabama. His first teaching job, in Bloomfield, New Jersey was short-lived (1943) as he was drafted into theArmy. For nearly three years, AI Drake served in England, France and Germany as a private first class radio messenger in the 807th Destroyers during World War II.

As his widow Dorothy tells it "Alan was lucky to find a teaching job" when he got the opportunity in Sidney. Furthering his education at Syracuse (Master's), Ithaca and Oneonta, AI eventually co-authored a textbook that was published in 1959.

"Living in Today's World", written with two other gentlemen, eventually became used in the Sidney schools. The concept was to get students interested in the world around them. Students also recall his unique ideas such as crossword puzzles in helping them grasp the concepts of their lessons.

Dorothy has also been seeking a teaching job with her husband when they arrived in Sidney in '46. There were no openings in English or French, so they placed her in the district office to work with the business manager. She stayed as senior accountant until 1985!

Alan Drake stayed busy after retirement, and there was a little traveling the couple managed to experience. His health declined, however, and in May of 1997, he passed away. But there is no doubt he left an impression on thousands of students and hundreds of his ballplayers.

Just to remember those two sayings listed above, after so many years, is proof of that. Congratulations to Alan Drake, voted in as the coach of the class of 2007, to the Sidney Alumni Sports Hall of Fame.