Exceptional Man Missed at Atlantic City High vs. Holy Spirit High

This great man was also a quiet man, who possessed every skill set required to be an exceptional leader … and he was.

Frank Campo spent 43 years of his life within the Atlantic City, New Jersey Public Schools system; including 26 of those productive and relevant years as the director of athletics.

Campo excelled in his organizational and budgetary skills and he was an elite site manager, who was capable of handling the largest athletic events at Atlantic City High School.

Campo was also a long-time head track and field coach at Atlantic City High school, leading the 1975 team to the coveted Atlantic County Championship.

Campo fiercely preserved and protected the annual Atlantic City High versus Holy Spirit High Thanksgiving football game.

Today is the 96th annual game, making it one of only two (Vineland High versus Millville High) Thanksgiving Day games that remain in Southern New Jersey.

Campo passed away earlier this year. The loss of Campo is profound, as he touched so many students, faculty and community residents during his meaningful lifetime.

Two years ago, on the eve of today’s big rivalry game, I interviewed Campo and asked him about some of his reflections about the Thanksgiving Day football game. Campo told us:

"There are so many memories of the annual Thanksgiving Day Game that I shared with so many people it not difficult to recollect my favorite stories. This is my trip down memory lane as an assistant football coach and later as the school's athletic director. I was an assistant coach along with Charlie Wagner. George King was the head coach and we played at Bader Field. One year Charlie and I decided we needed to build on the team's spirit. We went to a turkey farm and bought a turkey. We would bring it out before practice and kept it in the locker room at Bader Field. Someone called the SPCA and we had to get rid of the turkey. We thought we had an easy solution-take it back to the turkey farm. However, the owner could not take it back since he said it could jeopardize the health of his entire flock. We drove around for hours trying to figure out what do with our pet. We were thinking of releasing it in the woods. Then, we saw a sign on a restaurant on the White Horse Pike that read, "fresh turkey." Regretfully, the story ends here! As the Supervisor of Athletes, I will never forget when the Marczyk's, Lenhart's, and Mike Patroni covered my front porch with blue and gold crepe paper on Thanksgiving Eve. They were all players for Holy Spirit at the time. Atlantic City won the game so l went to my office to retrieve all these samples of Right Guard deodorant that were sent to me to distribute to our players and students. I put samples in each of their mailboxes with a note that read, "for the Spartans since they stink. The 1989 snow storm that hit our area just before Thanksgiving vividly sticks out in my mind. I sat in McGettigan's Saloon whichwas across the street from Bader Field telling myself, I can't cancel this game. About 9 p.m. I walked onto the field and was in snow drifts above my knees. Realizing what my wife, Karin, had said hours before, "your crazy." | called Ed Byrnes and postponed the game. Coach Weiss and I had the monumental task of getting the field ready for Saturday even though it was owned by the City. But, that is another story. The Thanksgiving Day game was always our most attended football game. It called for extra planning, staffing, and organizing. When the new high school was built, it had parking for about 300 cars (it has been redesigned since then). We originally had to use all our field space to accommodate at least 1,000 cars. It worked well until we had heavy rain and damaged our practice and playing fields.  One year I got there extra early to set-up for the Turkey Day Game and looked out at the field. I couldn't believe my eyes. I saw mounds of goose droppings all over the field. It was like the geese had a convention to see which pile could be the highest. Fortunately, the field was made playable with the support of my staff,” said Campo.

Campo never talked about himself … he always made it about everyone else.

I am calling on the Atlantic City Board of Education to develop some kind of recognition for Frank Campo … something … a naming right … nit something small … it must be big … they must implement a program to memorialize the life and numerous contributions made by Frank Campo.

It’s disgraceful that nothing has been done to date.

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