Robert W. Sides 1934 As a student, Bob Sides was deeply involved in athletics at Andover, both as a member of the basketball, track, golf, and tennis teams, and as a member of the Athletic Council. Sides went on to attend Harvard University, where he continued playing golf and also picked up sailing, a sport that would soon become one of his great passions and talents. Sides first tried sailing when he registered as a competitor in Marblehead Race Week, one of the oldest and most prestigious regattas in North America. In the sailing world, this is akin to learning how to drive by entering the Indianapolis 500. Sides would then become a regular fixture on the Atlantic sailing circuit, winning championships on the national and world levels. In honor of his accomplishments, he was inducted into the third class of the Yacht Racing Hall of Fame, alongside Olympians and America’s Cup winners. As Sides continued a racing career that eventually spanned seven decades, he also remained very connected to Andover. After graduating from Harvard in 1938, he returned to PA as an instructor in mathematics, a post he held until his retirement in 1972. Sides also served as the director of admissions from 1954 to 1972 and coached the sailing, tennis, squash, and golf teams. Even after his retirement from PA in 1972, Sides has shown remarkable strength and perseverance, weathering double knee replacements, a corneal transplant, and a quintuple bypass surgery in order to remain active in the sports he loves. He has been a longtime supporter of the Massachusetts Audubon Society and also was honored by the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children for his work in this field. Best of all, Sides has rarely missed a game, meet, or regatta in which his 16 grandchildren competed. Many of them are Andover alums or current students.
Stephen Sorota Coach Stephen Sorota was a beloved football and track coach at Andover from 1936 to 1977. As head football coach, Sorota led his teams to a total of five undefeated seasons (including the 1952 season) and six more seasons with only one loss. Sorota came straight to Andover after graduating from Fordham University in 1936, where he played running back with Vince Lombardi on the most successful football team in the university’s history. In those days when letters in team sports were awarded much more selectively, Sorota was one of only six Fordham football players who received a letter for service on the 1935 team. Sorota was initially brought to Andover on a one-semester assignment: to introduce the “Notre Dame Box” formation to the football team. Asked to extend his stay another year, he ended up staying for 41 years. In that time, in addition to his varsity coaching duties, he directed Summer Session for three years and acted as athletics director for one year.
10