January 3, 1925
"Hackensack High School Five to Play Rutherford in First League Contest" 

January 27, 1925
"Hackensack Quintet Will Play Paterson High Five Tomorrow Afternoon"

January 29, 1925
"Hackensack Five Easily Trounces Paterson By a Large Score of 64-19"

January 31, 1925
"East Orange High Quintet Rallies in Last Half To Defeat Hackensack Five"

February 2, 1925
"Passiac Extended to Defeat Bryant High Basketeers"

February 3, 1925
"Leonia High Five Should Give Hackensack Workout for Clash With Passiac"

February 5, 1925
"Hackensack High School Quintet Tunes Up For Clash With Passiac By Slaughtering Leonia, 60-16"

February 7, 1925
"Hackensack Hopes For State Championship Following Big Victory From Passiac Team"

March 5, 1925
"Hackensack High school clashes with East Orange in opening game of state tourney at Shanley's Gym in Newark." 

March 14, 1925
"Captain Howard Bollerman leads Golden Comet to its greatest court victory in game with formidable Orange High team."

March 17, 1925
"George Merrill give impressive plea for Hackensack which stumps officals but they render a ridiculous decison." 

March 18, 1925
"Captain Howard Bollerman easily the outstanding basketball star in the Northern New Jersey loop."

March 19, 1925
"Hackensack High school courtmen marking time for third Passaic game."

March 21, 1925
"Local high school five easily downs Newburgh before a crowd of 1500." 

March 23, 1925
"Passaic captures title in a spectacular contest with Union Hill quintet."

March 24, 1925
"Northern New Jersey gain majority of places on All-State basketball selections."

March 26, 1925
"Hackensack and Passaic high school quintets complete practicefor big clash." 

March 27, 1925
"Golden comet clashes with Passaic high school wonder team for title of the North Jersey league tonight."

March 28, 1925
"Golden Comet's big attack in the last quarter stops Passaic High wonder team."

Howard Bollerman, Sr.

            There have been great sporting events throughout history but usually a High school accomplishment is never given any status at all except on a local level and that usually just for the period in which it occurred.  Such is not the case for basketball historians and for people who saw the “Wonder Teams” of Passaic high school as they were known from 1919 to 1925. What happened on thrust recognition upon two teams on a national scale
Passaic High School who had won 159 straight games which is still recognized as the longest basketball winning streak in the history of the sport at the professional Basketball Hall of Fame in Massachusetts and the team that broke the streak our own Hackensack High school.  If you go to the Basketball Hall of Fame you will see a picture of this 1925 Hackensack High School Basketball team lead by Howard Bollerman senior. 
I have recently gone back and looked at the events leading up to the game and how Hackensack a team that had lost to Passaic in an early season game 54-37 on January 7, 1925 and a not so very good team at Cornwall was building momentum toward there rematch on February 6, 1925.  
On January 28, 1925 they beat Paterson by a score of 64-19 and all was looking great there next game was against a very good non-league game against East Orange team who had won nine straight games.  This Hackensack team you sense when reading the articles had charisma lead by Howard Bollerman and excitement was building toward the Passaic rematch as Hackensack began to pile up win after win.  Thousands were coming to see them play and local armories were hosting the games to seat the many fans who seemed to still get turned away for lack of seating. Hackensack traveled to East Orange and lost a tough game 30-28 in front of a few hundred local fans. The Bergen Evening Record paper reported Hackensack had played below par and without home court crowd support was unable to stop East Orange’s late rally.  On February 2, 1925 the Bergen Evening Record reported
Passaic High School had beaten Bryant High School from Long Island at Passaic High School gym 51-38 for their 159th straight victory.  Hackensack had another game against Leonia on February 4, 1925 which they won handily 60-16 for their ninth win and now looked forward to the rematch with Passaic.  On February 7, 1925 the
Hackensack High School team lead by Howard Bollerman Senior broke the famous winning streak of
Passaic High School by a score of 39-35 before over a thousand fans at the Local Armory at Hackensack.  The headline on the cover page was of the hope of a State Championship game in Newark with the picture of the entire team and its coach on the cover.  On the sports section of the paper the headline read;
SNAPPING OF PASSAIC’S BASKETBALL STREAK BY LOCAL FIVE STARTLES BASKETBALL WORLD.

This was no minor local deal which is blown out of proportion by local people this was a big deal when it happened and is still and rightfully as acknowledged today as one of the greatest basketball events of the time.  At this point in the season both teams only loses were to each other in the league so they stood tied in the league standings and the State tournament was about to begin.  The drama that was about to unfold during the state tournament and conclusion to the Hackensack High School basketball season makes it a classic for all time.
As the reporting of the State tournament began on March 5, 1925 article tells of Passaic wanting to schedule a third game with Hackensack to settle the league title outright and Hackensack agrees to a neutral site picked by
Passaic which is the Paterson Armory.  The first game Hackensack was to play in the State Tournament was
East Orange who had beaten Hackensack 30-28 on their home court only days before Hackensack defeated Passaic.  Hackensack was favored to win but struggled beating East Orange 23-20 on March 5, 1925.   That moved Hackensack into the second round of the State tournament where they met Orange High School not to be confused with East Orange who they had just defeated.  The paper was claiming Hackensack as the “Team of Destiny” the day before there game against Orange High School.  On Friday March 13, 1925 Hackensack defeated
Orange High School 28-21.  The paper said Hackensack was scheduled to play Plainfield that Saturday night
March 14, 1925 and all was falling into place for the “Team of Destiny” as the paper was calling them.  Plainfield was not a strong team Hackensack had tackled the tough teams so far and they truly looked destined to meet the “Wonder Team” Passaic High School to see who would be crowned State champion but it wasn’t meant to be.  No Sunday edition in 1925 so the report on the game did not appear till Monday and the headline read STUPIDITY OF SLEEPY STATE OFFICIALS CAUSES ELIMINATION OF LOCAL QUINTET FROM NEW JERSEY BASKETBALL TOURNEY.  The Hackensack team was told apparently and it was reported in the paper also that they were to play at night but Hackensack vs. Plainfield game was to be played in the afternoon.  No cell phones...many people did not even have phones in 1925 so a change like this was devastating!  They scrambled to get the team together one young man played with a bad shoulder while another was unable to be contacted.  Hackensack lost in a poorly played contest 19-18 in Newark’s Shanley’s gym.   Hackensack protested over the situation to the state High School association in the Hotel Robert Treat in Newark on March 16, 1925 but in vain although they apparently made there point decidedly winning the argument but as these things usually play out even today when a game is played it is almost impossible to overturn the results.
March 18, 1925 All North Jersey honors went to center Howard Bollerman and guard Thomas O’Shea of Hackensack while Greenleese of Hackensack made second team as guard also.  On March 20, 1925 Hackensack Plays Newburgh in an exhibition game before 1500 fans at Newburgh.  Newburgh had had a very successful season but they were no match for Hackensack who won the game 43-12.  This game was scheduled for the sole purpose of Hackensack preparing for their final game against Passaic to decide the league championship. Passaic beat Union Hill for the State championship on March 22, 1925 by a score of 33-26. 
On March 24, 1925 Hackensack had center Howard Bollerman picked for first team all-State and Thomas O’Shea was picked for second team as guard.  What loomed ahead for Hackensack High School basketball team after feeling cheated out of a chance for a state title was the third and final meeting with the “Wonder Team“ Passaic High School. Both teams had won a game but Hackensack clearly the underdog at this point wanted to prove it was not a fluke and the league title was still in the balance so no one could say Passaic had nothing to play for.  They were playing at Paterson Armory and they anticipated a crowd of five to six thousand people on March 24, 1925 with ticket sales already taking place.  By March 26, 1925 it was reported ten thousand people would be at the game. On March 27, 1925 a photo of team is in sports section with big article continuing to report on the coming ‘CLASH’ as the paper reported on the upcoming game that Friday night March 27, 1925. 
On Saturday March 28, 1925 The “Bergen Evening Record” headline read GOLDEN COMET’S BIG ATTACK IN THE LAST QUARTER STOPS PASSAIC HIGH WONDER TEAM.  Passaic lead at half time by 1 point but a fourth quarter surge of 14-4 by Hackensack proved the difference and The final score was Hackensack 37 Passaic ’wonder team’ 26. 
When reading the articles you get the feeling of a growing momentum of the Hackensack team and the setbacks it faced and how they rose above them again and again.  Fans rallied around them and the events just kept growing in popularity.  Sports were in their infancy in so many ways in 1925 and this was one of those events that took a sport from a casual enjoyment to something more on a national scale through the winning streak.  For Passaic to have the streak broken then continue to win and even win the state tournament shows real fortitude on Passaic’s part.  Passaic’s requested third game with Hackensack to settle the league title after having just played the State final game proved too much and totally unraveled their “Wonder”. Hackensack being so highly motivated and feeling “cheated” out of a chance for a State Championship clearly made for a storybook finish for the Hackensack team and its fans.  This was truly a season for the basketball ages and has always been recognized as such even by the Basketball Hall of fame to this day.

Written by:
Bob Meli

June 25, 2017

 

Howard Bollerman 1941 HHS basketball photo