John Ebling loved being Andre Reed’s stepfather and being a part of his family, but perhaps he loved being involved with the Pro Football Hall of Famer’s golf tournament the most.
He would zip around in his cart, making deliveries and checking on the tournament staff to help ensure the charity event went off without a hitch.
Ebling died May 31 at the age of 87, and the tournament won’t be quite the same without him.
But it will go on Monday at the Woodstone Country Club in Danielsville with Reed, and his brothers Dion and Tyrone, involved along with their mother, Joyce, and other family members.
It’s the 14th annual Andre Reed Celebrity Golf Classic, and it benefits the Boys and Girls Club of Allentown. Reed’s favorite quarterback from his days with the Buffalo Bills, Jim Kelly, was a surprise guest last year.
There’s been no indication that Kelly will make a return visit, but the event will again have lots of former NFL stars on hand.
The list includes Reed’s former Bills teammate, Jeff Nixon, as well as NFL alumni Larry Centers, Ernie Mills, Terry Kirby, Steffond Johnson, Reidel Anthony, Lamar Thomas, Lito Sheppard, Mike Mamula, Blair Thomas, Scott Fitzkee, Bo Orlando, Aaron Beasley, Troy Drayton, and more. Plus, former NBA standouts Paul Pressy and Erick Strickland are scheduled to attend.
Over the years, the event has raised close to $500,000.
In addition to playing in the golf tournament, Reed, a Dieruff High and Kutztown University graduate, and many of the celebs will make an appearance on Sunday at The Neighborhood Center at 435 N. 7th Street in Allentown. The Neighborhood Center’s mission is “Enhancing lives and building futures for the children in the Jordan Heights Community through education, caring leadership, and community involvement.”
Max effort leads to special honor
Max Squarcia, an Easton High graduate who was a senior this year playing for Temple’s club baseball team, earned a special honor. He selected to the first team of the Rawlings NCBA Division I All-American squad.
Squarcia, who was a first-team all-Eastern Pennsylvania Conference selection and the winner of the Dr. Terry Bartolet Easton Baseball Most Valuable Player Award as a senior at Easton in 2021, hit .559 with 21 runs scored, 24 RBIs, 10 extra-base hits, and stole 11 bases.
Temple played in the North Atlantic East Conference, which also included club teams from Penn State, Saint Joe’s, Pittsburgh, Delaware, Drexel and Slippery Rock.
Carpenter Cup team has an early date
The Lehigh Valley Softball Carpenter Cup team will play at 8 a.m. Monday against Suburban One when the regional all-star tournament sponsored by the Phillies reaches the final-eight stage at Philadelphia’s FDR Park.
The defending tournament champs, who beat a pair of all-star teams in preparation games last week, beat Olympic Colonial from New Jersey 4-3 and Jersey Shore 14-0 on Thursday to advance to Monday’s single-elimination round.
Avery Deibert and Hannah Duerr, both from Northampton, had three hits apiece in Thursday’s games. Deibert and Freedom product Brooke Rummel had four RBIs, and Nazareth’s Taylor Friel had the team’s lone home run.
In the pitching department, Whitehall’s Morgan Laub, Nazareth’s Avery Kauffman and Northwestern Lehigh’s Emma Freeman didn’t give up a run in combined 5.2 innings of work.
If Lehigh Valley wins its first game, it would play the winner of Berks Lancaster/Lebanon and Delaware South at noon. A win there would return the local ladies to the title game at 2 p.m.
Rest and hydration could be keys to success since the team will have to leave for Philly early in the morning and then deal with possibly the hottest day of the year. Monday’s preliminary forecast predicts a sunny day with a high temperature of 100.
Source: Berkshire mont