Howard and Kenny Wood, Carl Hansen To Be Inducted in This Year's Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame Class

A trio of East End legends will be included in this year’s class of the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame.

Howard and Kenny Wood, who led their respective East Hampton High School basketball teams to state championships in 1977 and 1989, respectively, then starred both collegiately and professionally, will be inducted during the 35th anniversary and induction of the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame, which will be May 29 at Flowerfield in St. James. Joining the Wood Brothers, and 18 others who will be inducted, will be Carl Hansen, who many consider the “godfather of Suffolk County football,” and will be going in as the Hall of Fame’s “historic inductee.”

Both Howard and Kenny Wood, who are already members of various halls of fame throughout the country, including the East Hampton High School Athletics Hall of Fame, were informed months ago by East Hampton Athletic Director Kathy Masterson that they would both be going in together this year.

“People always say, ‘It’s long overdue.’ It is overdue, but we got in, we’re getting in,” Howard Wood said when reached this past Monday. “And it’s fantastic that I get to go in with my brother. I don’t know if that’s ever happened before in the history of this hall of fame, but it’s good for us, good for the school and good for the community. It’s pretty much a win-win for everybody.”

Kenny Wood, who now lives in Maryland and is busy watching his son James Wood play for the Washington Nationals, echoed his older brother’s sentiments.

“It’s a great honor, especially to go in with Howard,” he said. “We both went up together in the East Hampton Hall of Fame. And I see the plaques at MacArthur Airport, which I’ve flown in and out of a few times. It’s a great honor for our family and East Hampton High School.”

Howard Wood led East Hampton to a state basketball championship in 1977, and following a standout career at the University of Tennessee, played both in the NBA with the Utah Jazz and the premier leagues in Spain. He was named a Southeastern Conference (SEC) Legend in 2018.

Kenny Wood led the Bonackers to a state championship during his senior year in 1989, played at the University of Richmond, where he’s a member of the hall of fame there and the Atlantic 10 Conference, and also went on to a professional career in Spain and South America. He scored 2,613 points in his high school career, which, at the time, was a public school state record.

The Woods will join fellow Bonackers Paul Annacone, the former professional tennis player and current coach, and Ross Gload, former Major League Baseball player, in the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame. And, of course, their former head coach, Ed Petrie Sr., to whom both credited a lot of their success.

“It’s nice to be recognized, but we were very fortunate to have one of the best coaches ever in Coach Petrie,” Howard Wood said. “He made such a difference in the people who played for him, on and off the court, for all of us.”

“It’s definitely a great honor when you think about this is where everything kind of started, in East Hampton and in Suffolk County,” Kenny Wood said. “You learn a lot out there, and high school is kind of that first layup where you’re starting everything off and you remember the guys you played with. Coach Petrie was the best coach that was out there, and we all learned so much from him. Just being around him and the support we got early on from Biddy Basketball, to high school, through college and our pro careers as well.”

There are a number of former East End athletes who already adorn the many different walls of Suffolk’s hall of fame. Paralympic athlete Dennis Oehler, who was born and raised in Deer Park but later moved to East Hampton, was inducted in 2000. And of course Bridgehampton’s own Carl Yastrzemski was inducted in 1990. Part-time East End residents Keith Hernandez and Ann Liguori were inducted just last year.

Hansen, who played football at Syracuse University, eventually brought the sport to the small seaside hamlet of Westhampton Beach, where he began building a team in 1928 and debuted in 1929. It took some time but Hansen eventually helped lead the team to back-to-back undefeated seasons in 1931 and 1932 as one of the smallest teams in Suffolk.

Hansen served as coach and athletic director at Westhampton Beach, was an organizer of the Nassau-Suffolk Advisory Board and was at one time president of the New York State Public High School Athletic Association. He died in 1960.

The best player in Suffolk County each season is given the Carl A. Hansen Award, and for three straight years, that award lived in the halls of Westhampton Beach thanks to Dylan Laube (2017), Liam McIntyre (2018) and Jaden AlfanoStJohn (2019).

Dr. Carl Hansen, the son of the late Hansen and who is set to turn 90 years old soon, graduated from Westhampton Beach High School in 1953. He played football for his father for three years and is proud that he is being recognized by the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame.

“He was a great high school football coach and became principal at Westhampton Beach and treated everyone in a wonderful manner,” he said from his home in Pennsylvania. “I was always proud of him. He was so good to the ballplayers in the football program. He was such a good person, a good father. I have so many fond memories of him.”

The Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame is a nonprofit established in 1990 to honor outstanding people who have made substantial contributions in Suffolk County. It has exhibits at Fairfield Properties Ballpark, home of the Long Island Ducks, Huntington Town Hall, the Section XI offices in Farmingville, Long Island Sports and Rehabilitation in Holbrook and Long Island MacArthur Airport.

More info can be found at suffolksportshof.com.

“The Suffolk County Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2025 represents the very best of our region’s rich athletic tradition,” said Chris R. Vaccaro, the president of the Suffolk Sports Hall of Fame. “From legendary athletes to groundbreaking coaches and influential contributors, this year’s inductees have left an indelible mark on their sports and communities. We are proud to honor their achievements and celebrate their lasting impact on Suffolk County’s sports history.”