HOMECOMING 2018
REMEMBERING & HONORING ‘COACH SAM’
An Inspirational Educator Who Always ‘Put the Kids First’
J
UST BEFORE THE BIG FOOTBALL
140 wins, 14 FAA titles, eight undefeated seasons, and
kick-off on Homecoming Saturday, dozens
four New England championships.
of alumni gathered in the Lower School
But at Homecoming, Sampson was remembered less
Gym overlooking Cosby Field to remember
for his victories and more for the way he cared about
a Brunswick great. Robert “Coach Sam”
young people, including players on opposing teams.
Sampson, as he was affectionately known by
his players, died in September at age 95. He retired from Brunswick in 2001 with a monumental
In the crowd were many former players and colleagues, as well as family members who flew in from out of state and friends from decades back. Among them was Robert Pickert, former athletic director and long-tenured football coach at the Hackley School in Tarrytown, N.Y. Pickert first met Sampson in 1966, when the two were colleagues at Hackley. “Bob Sampson was a leader,” Pickert said. “Winning and losing was not what was most important. What was more important was putting the kids first. He had a great relationship with kids.” Brunswick dad and grandparent Henk Hartong echoed those sentiments. Hartong was one of a handful of Sampson’s friends and former colleagues who took to the podium to remember the former coach. He had three sons who played for Sampson.
The Lower School Gym was filled with the family, friends, and former players of Coach Sam, whose memory was honored at a reception prior to the varsity football game on Saturday afternoon.
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OF BRUNSWICK • WINTER 2019
“He was not just a coach but a phenomenal educator,” Hartong said. “He really knew he was dealing with kids.” Hartong offered an example of the Sampson philos-