Riverside legend Doug Frambes passes away

Doug Frambes, known in Riverside simply as “The Coach,” succumbed in his long battle with cancer yesterday at the age of 86.

Held in similar regard at Riverside High School as basketball coach Charlie Lehman and football coach Joseph “Rocky” Cancellieri, Frambes made his mark as a championship basketball coach.

A longtime assistant under Lehman, Frambes was a part of Riverside’s only two state championships in school history — both undefeated seasons — in the ’50s before taking over as head coach in 1960. In six seasons, he had a 108-35 record with two South Jersey and four league titles.

One hallmark of Frambes’ coaching career was the unusually high number of his players that followed him into the coaching ranks.

“Doug had just an amazing impact on his players,” retired Courier-Post sports editor Bob Kenney said. “The whole starting lineup of his championship teams later became coaches themselves.”

Among those coaches were former players Harry Johnstone, who eventually coached Riverside’s boys and girls teams; and former Burlington Township coach Ken Faulkner, who stepped away from coaching as the county’s career wins leader.

“Coach Frambes was a special human being,” Faulkner said. “He had a quiet way of identifying what made a person a good player and a good coach. It was a lasting quality that we carried with us. He was very proud of each of us that continued coaching.”

There is no way to quantify the people Frambes influenced in his life.

“Coach was one of the most intelligent people I’ve ever met,” Faulkner said. “He was more than just a pretty special person. He touched people’s lives.”

Frambes taught history at Riverside. The combination of his other two loves, athletics and history, made the next chapter of his life following his retirement from coaching in 1965 almost preordained. Frambes became a sports writer for the Courier- Post, working alongside Kenney for many years.

Frambes penned the Post’s popular “Pages from the Past” feature. Later, he authored two books, “Hail Panthers, a History of Collingswood Football” and ‘A History of South Jersey Football.”

“Doug was a natural at writing,” Kenney said. “He had his own style and a knack for telling a story. I never saw him take a single note but he could sit down with someone for an hour, then he’d write the darnedest column on that person. The way he could just capture someone was amazing.”

Frambes, a 1943 graduate of Collingswood High School, was named to numerous sports halls of fame, including Riverside’s, Collingswood’s, Camden County’s and the South Jersey basketball and baseball halls.

Collingswood, NJ resident

Douglas W. Frambes, of Collingswood, NJ, passed away on May 2, 2008, at the age of 83 years.

Beloved son of the late Ezra and Lillian Frambes. He is survived by many dear friends and colleagues, especially Harry Johnstone, Bernie Smith, Floss Mitchell and the Collingswood Breakfast Club.

An athlete, coach, writer and historian, Doug Frambes, did it all as he brought honor and glory to South Jersey through sports.

He was inducted into the South Jersey Basketball Hall of Fame in the 1980's, Riverside High School Hall of Fame in 1993, Collingswood High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 1995, South Jersey Baseball Hall of Fame by Hot Stovers in the 90's, NJSIAA Coaching Hall of Fame in the 90's and Camden County Hall of Fame in 2007.

He was a 1943 graduate of Collingswood High School, where he earned varsity letters in baseball as a fine pitcher for Coach Bill Deemer.

He served in WWII with General Patton's troops and the march through France into Berlin that brought a successful end to the conflict.

After the war, he attended Rutgers-Camden, excelling as a pitcher on the baseball team and earned a B.S. degree in education in 1953 and also a M. ED. from Rutgers Univ.

He later pitched for several different teams in the semi-pro circuits around Collingswood.

He taught at Riverside High School for 27 years (1954-1981). He won baseball and basketball championships as coach and was named South Jersey Coach of the Year in 1965 by the Courier-Post and Al Carino Club.

At the peak of his career, Frambes quit coaching and resurfaced as a sports writer at the Courier-Post. He quickly brought a new inside view to his readers and his love of history served him well when he began a popular weekly feature called "A Page from the Past."

In 1969, Frambes wrote the History of South Jersey Football for the Brooks-Irvine Club and a few years later authored "Hail to the Panthers," the story of Collingswood football.

For nearly 30 years, he covered the Philadelphia Phillies for United Press International and in retirement wrote a weekly column in the Collingswood paper, The Retrospect.

All friends are invited to attend his Memorial Service on Thursday 11 AM at the FOSTER-WARNE FUNERAL HOME, Haddon and Lees Ave., Collingswood, NJ. Inurnment Harleigh Cemetery. Friends may visit and pay tribute Thursday 9 to 11 AM.