Joseph F. Thomas, who served as a coach and teacher at Chaminade High

School in Mineola, from 1948 to 1988, will be honored at a banquet at the

Cherry Valley Club in Garden City on September 10th to celebrate his ninetieth birthday. Members of his family, friends, former players and admirers are expected to attend. Notably, Dan Rooney, owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who played football for Coach Thomas at Pittsburgh North Catholic High School in the early 1940s, and his wife Patricia plan to be on hand. Also, former U.S.

Senator Alfonse M. D'Amato, a 1955 Chaminade alumnus who ran track for Mr. Thomas, and his wife Katuria are expected to be present, along with approximately 125 other guests.

Fifty-seven years ago next month, Coach Thomas began his extraordinary forty-year career at Chaminade. Through the years he has been honored innumerable times, most recently on September 11, 1988, at The Joe Thomas Testimonial on the occasion of his retirement from the school.

For the record, Chaminade varsity football teams coached by Mr. Thomas from 1948 through 1969 won 120 games, lost 46 and tied seven. They also captured six Catholic High School Football League championships, five of which came during the eight-year period from 1956 to 1963, with a record during that time of 52 victories, nine defeats and two ties.

Among many other honors during his distinguished career Coach Thomas was named Football Coach of the Year seven times in the years 1951, 1956, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962 and 1965.

One of his former players has written that Mr. Thomas "could well have achieved in coaching the status of, say, a Vince Lombardi, a Don Shula or a Bill Parcells (but) chose instead to devote his life to the young men of Chaminade, to whom he has imparted the richness of his spirit, as well as memories to last a lifetime."

"Although his coaching responsibilities necessitated his being on the sidelines," the writer continues, "he was in a very real sense in the game. While each of us players was concerned with managing his position and executing his assignments as well as he could for as long as he was in the game, Coach was in there too - intellectually, viscerally and spiritually - on every play at every position - '110% for forty-eight minutes' - as he used to say. Not only did he take the game seriously, I believe he took it personally. His players knew it, and we all felt it."

A Philadelphia native born September 28, 1915, and an alumnus of the University of Dayton, Mr. Thomas served as a U.S. Army officer in the European theater during World War II and was awarded two Bronze Star medals for his courage and leadership in battle. He resides in Syosset.