Betz, Ernest J.
Univeristy of Maryland
1988
Ernest Betz graduated from St. Paul's High School in 1954, after
spending a majority of his high school career at Catonsville (1950-53).
He played lacrosse at both schools, and also played on Catonsville's
1951 Baltimore County Championship Team. Betz won First Team All-County
Honors at Catonsville in 1951, '52, and '53, and honorable mention
All-Maryland honors at St. Paul's in 1954. He was an All-Maryland
Basketball and Football player as well as being All-County in Soccer
and Basketball every year at Catonsville.
Betz won five varsity letters in his four years at University of
Maryland. He also played on the 1956 University of Maryland Championship
team. The team won ACC titles each year that he played lacrosse
at Maryland. Betz was chosen to the All-America First Team in 1957
and '58. He co-captained the South to a 26-6 victory over the North
Squad in the Annual North/South All-Star game of 1958. Besides All-American,
Betz made the All-Virginia opponent team (1956-58), All-Washington
& Lee opponent team (1956-58), First Team All-ACC (1956-58),
and the All-Maryland College first team (1957-58). He won the William
P. Cole Memorial Award (1957) for being the best midfielder, and
the Maryland Ring Award (1958) for being the top Maryland athlete.
He has also been praised as being the best center midfielder/face
off man in the country at that time.
After graduation from Maryland, Betz continued playing lacrosse
at the club level for six years. He played for Mt. Washington (1959-60),
Catonsville Lacrosse Club (1961, 1964-65), and Severna Park Lacrosse
Club (1974). Betz also began coaching for Maryland in 1959, which
he did for three years. In 1975, he took over as Head Coach of Severna
Park Lacrosse Club, where he earned the Club Lacrosse Coach of the
Year Award. Before this, Betz founded the Hawaii Lacrosse Club (1963-64).
Betz has served as a colonel in the United States Air Force for
20 years (1962-82), and is now an airline captain of the South Pacific
Island Airways. He has won, among others, the Silver Star, the AirForce
Commendation Medal, eight Vietnam Campaign Medals, eight good conduct
medals, and four outstanding unit medals. He lives currently with
his wife Suzanne and his son Gregory and daughter Jennifer in Hawaii.
Back to National Lacrosse Hall of
Fame Member List
|
