On this day 91 years ago, Thomas Brohard capped his senior year by winning the 440 yard dash at the Suffolk County Championships in the track program’s first year of existence.

Track was not Brohard’s only standout sport during his time at the Brook, nor is it what he is best remembered for. He was a captain on the football team and a standout for the basketball, baseball, and track squads. After graduating, he attended Davidson College where his interest in wrestling was first piqued and in the fall of 1932 Tom returned to the North Shore of Long Island and established our school’s first wrestling squad.

The team struggled in its first year, going 0-6 on the season, but rapid improvement was witnessed in the 1933 squad that finished 6-1. The Blue and White grapplers continued to gain traction in 1934 as the team went 11-2 and won the inaugural Suffolk County Wrestling Championship. Additionally, four County Champions were crowned as Stony Brook Hall of Famers Julius Ward and Philip Voegelin, along with Lane Patterson and Doug Watt, emerged victorious. In 1936 and 1937, four of his protégés, Arthur Elliot, Jr., Paul Landis, Norman Aarseth, and Paul Bickford became the first and only individual Long Island Champions in Stony Brook history.

Brohard would, incredibly, go on the establish wrestling programs at 15 other Long Island high schools. He was inducted into the Stony Brook Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997.

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