ADVANCEMENT
In Hardwick Hall, Mandy Dana P'87 '92, whose granddaughter is a senior at Blair, takes in the visual narrative of the Athletic History Wall.
Hardwick Hall Athletic Mural Dedicated in Memory of Tony Maltese Jr. ’55 On the new mural that lines the long corridor of Hardwick Hall, the striking images of Blair athletes from every decade offer their stories across time. The oldest students in Blair’s Athletic History Wall gaze out from 1894. They sit as a team, confident baseball players with handlebar mustaches and crisply parted hair, posing in thick, quilted pants, their legs set wide. The newest images capture Blair’s student-athletes in action—a young woman flying through the air to clear a hurdle, another straining as she pulls back to launch a javelin. Chronicling the story of the School’s sports triumphs, the mural celebrates the Buccaneers who have toiled and left their best on Blair’s athletic fields from the 19th century to the present. It took a team, led by Assistant Athletic Director Rhett Moroses ’13, eight months to build Blair’s Athletic History Wall, and that team gathered on September 29 to unveil the mural and dedicate it to the memory of Tony Maltese Jr. ’55, a devoted, philanthropic and engaged alumnus who loved Blair. An
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accomplished athlete, Tony was the recipient of the Franklin Prize during his two years at Blair, captain of the wrestling team and two-time state wrestling champion. He served on Blair’s Board of Trustees for over a decade, and was recognized for his contributions to the School with the Alumnus of the Year award in 1994 and the School’s highest honor, the Citation of Merit, in 1999. “By all accounts, Tony was a force to be reckoned with during his Blair days, both on the football field and in the wrestling room, but his love for Blair extended far beyond athletics,” said Head of School Peter G. Curran as he opened the ceremony. “It is hard not to be moved and inspired by Tony’s generous spirit and the mark he left on Blair through his dedicated support and service.” Tony’s daughter, Kristen Maltese Krusen, told the audience how happy and humbled her father would have been to be honored in this way by dear friends who enriched his life and kept him connected to Blair. “My dad loved Blair and attributed
