Published: October 26, 2007 04:17 pm            

THE ISLE FILE: Islander has his day in Old-Timers' Hall of Fame

It’s been an October to remember for John Goodfellow, an Islander who has learned sports literally from the ground up. He’s been inducted this weekend into the Niagara Falls Old-Timers Hall of Fame, practicing his acceptance speech while flying home from Oklahoma, where he got to get a grip on his daughter’s brand-new twin girls.

John was the catcher when old Niagara Falls High won the Section VI baseball championship in the early 1960s. But that wasn’t what got him enshrined, according to Ben Eodice, jovial Cataract City wise guy (“I’ve got so many vowels, Vanna White couldn’t afford me”) who helps oversee the proceedings. “To be part of our hall, you have to be giving back, work with kids,” Eodice told Isle File.

Goodfellow fits the bill. His rap sheet includes giving hockey a start at Grand Island High, back when that meant playing Trott Vocational at 6 a.m. in the Hyde Park rink. He later coached the Grand Island Majors into the New York state finals.

In an unusual second career (third, if you count the bike shop he ran for several years on the Boulevard), he took up groundskeeping, grooming surfaces for the Batavia Muckdogs, Niagara Falls Rapids and Niagara University. He strived to impart some character to the golf layout behind the Nike Base, getting so much out of so little that they really ought to call it the Stone Soup Links.

Nominees to the Niagara Falls hall must be 55 or over. “It used to be 80,” Eodice said, “but we were inducting too many dead guys.” It’s hard to tell when he’s kidding. But about this, he’s serious: “This is all about seeing that those who have promoted sports, especially through youth, get their due.”

Concurring: The 26 friends who stood to applaud Goodfellow at the Como Lounge, even if a few did whisper a two-minute warning on his acceptance speech.

n MARINELL’S GALLERY: Even fairly close friends who stopped to pay respects to Frank Marinell on Tuesday afternoon were breathless at how much light had been hidden under his bushel.

Two large paintings — a seascape and a World War II reflection worthy of Norman Rockwell — framed Frank’s final resting place. A CD displayed dozens of Marinell artworks across a spectrum of styles and subjects. One amusing sketch showed how, in 1938, he devised a wristband to protect factory workers’ clothing.

“We could never get him to exhibit,” another local artist said with regret. “He just enjoyed painting.”

Also discussed was Frank’s mastery of the art of hospitality, especially at the senior center, where “If you were alone, he made sure you had company.” He was 89. Condolences to widow Betty and a squadron of descendants, to be comforted by his remarkable legacy on canvas.

Isle File idea? Write Box 1186, Grand Island, NY 14072 or e-mail pollyndoug@hotmail.com.

        

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