(EDITOR’S NOTE: The Times News will be running a series of stories asking area coaches and athletic directors - past and present - to remember their “Most Memorable” sporting event. Today’s Most Memorable moment comes from former Lehighton golf coach Tom Schaeffer)

By Rod Heckman

rheckman@tnonline.com

During the 1980s, Lehighton’s golf program enjoyed plenty of success.

The teams in that decade won multiple league titles while under the direction of Tom Schaeffer.

But for Schaeffer, who led the Indians for an amazing 41 seasons, the first one was definitely memorable - for more reasons than one.

Obviously, claiming the school’s initial championship in the sport was a special moment. After all, the program was in its 15th year and had only won a total of 56 matches.

But the situation surrounding their clinching match against Pleasant Valley on Oct. 16, 1980 made that Centennial League crown unforgettable.

Lehighton was 7-1-1 in the league, while the Bears were 6-1-2. Palmerton, having finished its schedule, was waiting for the outcome between the Indians and Bears with its 8-2 mark.

“We went out to Indian Mountain and had to beat Pleasant Valley to win the championship,” said Schaeffer. “When we went out there two days before the match, they had thatched the greens which means ... it’s kind of like a machine that pulls up the thatch, similar to when you rake your yard.

“What happened, I guess, was that the root system wasn’t too good and it just ripped out chunks of the green. As a result, you would be putting first on the green and then on ground. It was up and down ... and it was bumpy.”

Because of the conditions, Schaeffer felt something had to be done so that his team wasn’t handicapped.

And fortunately, PV agreed to his terms.

“What I called for was a two-putt limit,” said Schaeffer. “Our guys would have been at a disadvantage if we wouldn’t have gone out there before the match. (The two-putt limit) was fair, and we ended up winning the match. And that won us the championship.

“(Pleasant Valley) Coach (Mike) Rissmiller realized I had a valid point. Those greens were not fit to continue to putt. A two-stroke limit had to be used.”

The Indians received a 3-0 win from Steve Hartman, who took medalist honors with an 83, while Dennis Semmel and Barry Schrantz contributed 2-1 victories in an eventual 9 1/2-81/2 triumph. It was Schrantz who clinched the match when he sank a three-footer on the 18th green to finish with a 95 and a one-stroke decision over his opponent, Mike Held.

“(Pleasant Valley) was good,” said Schaeffer. “We tied them the first time earlier in the season. Palmerton was also good. We lost down there at Blue Ridge (to them) but then we beat them pretty good at our place.”

The “our place” Schaeffer referred to was Lehighton’s home course - Mountain View. Ironically, the Indians had called Indian Mountain their home for years before making the switch.

But by playing at Mountain View, the Indians had an edge over their opponents.

“We were over here at Mountain View, but that course closed,” said Schaeffer. “It’s a housing development now. We would practice, and it was narrow with tree lines on both sides. My kids felt comfortable there, but when other kids came in they pumped them into the woods and lost balls.

“We worked hard. I worked with the kids and their swings ... Some of them played in the summer tour over in the Poconos, a couple went to camp at Shawnee. Mountain View gave us a tremendous deal ... and they could play almost any day of the week. They lived up there, those kids. They’d get together and they’d be out there, four or five hours on the golf course. They were really into it.”

Beside Hartman, Semmel and Schrantz, Lehighton’s other key contributors included the coach’s son Tom Schaeffer, Steve Mooney and Jos Gouw. Others on the team that saw some varsity action were Eric Hoffman, Don Walters and Tim Sangiliuano.

The Indians lost only two players (Hartman and Schrantz) to graduation the following year and went undefeated to clinch its second league crown. That group began a run of successful golf at Lehighton.

“After that year, we won about five or six league tournament championships,” said Schaeffer. “We would win the regular season, and then we’d also win the tournament championship, too. So really, the decade of the 80s we were a powerhouse in that league.

“And that ‘80 season was the start of it.”