A Look Back
By Fred Miller
The 83rd annual South Jersey Lifeguard Championship will be held on Friday, August 11, 2023 on the Decatur Avenue beach in Margate. The doubles rowing race will start at 6:30 p.m.
The Ocean City Beach Patrol has dominated the SJ tournament winning it 34 times, and their rowers and swimmers have won the most individual titles. Jack Kelly Jr. and Joe Regan were the first from Ocean City to win a SJ championship. They won the doubles rowing race on September 1, 1944 on the 10th Street in Ocean City.
The following Ocean City lifeguards have won a South Jersey championship: Jerry Angulo, Mark Baum, Mike Bradley, Jack Burnett, Sid Cassidy, Ted Evans, Bill Fallon, Marty Jackson, Tom Jackson, Dave Kelley, Jack Kelly Jr., Bob Garbutt, Dan Garbutt, Hans Giesecke, Dave Gleason, George Haggerty, John Herron, Barney Hungerford, Ron Kirk, Dave Lill, Jim Macallister, Paul Mangen, John Millar, Rob Montgomery, Tom Morrison, Mark Nichols, Tom Oves, Joe Regan, John Ridgway, Frank Schiesser, Bob Schneider, Lou Schoener, Dave Smith, Tom Stephanik, Curt Sulzer, Dick Thieler, George Thieler, and Bob Young.
Many of these champions will be attending the 125th OCBP anniversary celebration on Saturday, August 12, 2023. It will begin at 5:30 p.m. in the Ocean City Historical Museum, 1735 Simpson Avenue, and at 7 o’clock it moves to the American Legion Post, 4562 West Avenue. Reservations are not required—show up ready to celebrate the Ocean City Beach Patrol’s history.
