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Renowed U.S. soccer goalkeeper Tim Howard will receive the Peter A. Carlesimo Sportsman of the Year award, while the Montclair Cobras President Wil Young will be presented with the Rev. Msgr. Edward J. Larkin Award of Distinction at Mercier Sportsmen Dinner on March 9 at The Highlawn. (photos are courtesy of Tim Howard and Wil Young)
The 2026 Mercier Sportsmen honorees have etched impressive careers in their chosen professions and in venues frequently thousands of miles apart; however, there was a period of time in the 1990s when the renowned world-class soccer goalkeeper Tim Howard was a talented but still fledgling, young freshman at Montclair Kimberley Academy and Montclair Deputy Police Chief and Cobras Football President Wil Young was less than a mile away as he was about to embark in the early stages of his own sports-related career. Now, more than three decades later, the unique and talented men will be on the same dais for the 53rd Mercier Sportsmen Father-Son Beefsteak Dinner set for Monday evening, March 9, at The Highlawn in West Orange. Cocktails are at 6 p.m. with dinner to follow at 7 p.m. Howard will receive the Mercier’s Peter A Carlesimo Sportsman of the Year Award, while Young will be presented the Rev. Msgr. Edward J. Larkin Award of Distinction. The Mercier Sportsmen have honored some of the biggest names in sports for more than half a century, including baseball luminaries such as longtime Montclair residents Yogi Berra and Larry Doby, and legendary names in football including the Giants’ Harry Carson and Michael Strahan. The recognition of Howard, one of the more popular and successful goalkeepers in soccer history, will come as excitement continues to build for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, set for June 11 through July 19, with 104 different matches contested throughout the United States, Canada and Mexico, including several at nearby MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford. “I am looking forward to coming back to New Jersey where I grew up and have so many great memories,” said Howard, a native of North Brunswick who accumulated the most ‘caps’ (appearances for a senior national team in official international matches) and wins by any goalkeeper in US soccer history, while also playing on three US World Cup teams. “It will be a great honor to be included as part of such a special and longstanding sports dinner.” Howard, who turns 47 on March 6, was an up-and-coming 14-year-old freshman goalkeeper when he made his first high school start for Montclair Kimberley Academy vs. Belleville in a September, 1993 telecast on Suburban Cable TV-3, and with the future (2019) Mercier Sportsman of the Year Matt Loughlin doing play-by-play. A tremendous all-around athlete, Howard would spend just one year at MKA, where he starred in both soccer and basketball for the Cougars, before transferring back home to attend North Brunswick High School. In another career that jet-started in the h1990s, Young began his association with the Montclair Cobras as he was also joining the Montclair Police Department. “It is very special to be mentioned in the company of some of the biggest names in sports, who also have a strong connection to New Jersey,” said Young. “It is a tremendous honor, which I certainly didn’t expect; and I very much look forward to on what should be a tremendous evening at a dinner with more than a half century of great history, while also being recognized alongside an all-time great in Tim Howard.” Howard set a FIFA World Cup record with 16 saves in a 2014 match vs. a strong Belgium side while the U.S. reached the Round of 16 for the second time in four years with the New Jersey native starring in goal. Despite a 2-1 loss while facing intense pressure from Belgium, Howard was named ‘Man of the Match’ for his outstanding performance, and was also accorded the nickname, ‘The Secretary of Defense,’ which became a longstanding moniker of honor for the world-renowned goalkeeper. While on the international pro soccer scene he played 13 seasons in the English Premier League, including three with the famed Manchester United, followed by a decade with Everton. During that time, among his many accomplishments, were winning a Football Association (FA) Cup title and also being named as the Premier League Goalkeeper of the Year. Howard also has a deep history with Major League Soccer (MLS) as he started his pro career with the New York Metrostars and later returned to the MLS in 2016 with the Colorado Rapids, before he retired at the end of 2019 season. He was diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome at a young age and has been a role model off the field as well, including with philanthropic work through his own foundation. He published an autobiography, ‘The Keeper: A Life Of Saving Goals and Achieving Them,’ which chronicled his career and life with Tourette Syndrome and OCD. Howard is currently a full-time analyst for NBC Sports and their English Premier League broadcasts. He also hosts the country’s top soccer podcast, ‘Unfiltered Soccer,’ and is part of the ownership group for the Houston Dynamo and Houston Dash. In 2024 he was inducted into the National Soccer Hall of Fame. Montclair’s Young has been coaching and organizing teams in the Montclair Cobras junior football organization for the past 32 years, coinciding with his start as an officer with the Montclair Police, and he has worked his way up through the department to his current post as a deputy chief. He learned a great deal about guiding a youth football organization while working alongside one of his mentors, the late Howard Finney, who was the founder and longtime president of the Cobras. Finney also has Mercier Sportsmen dinner history as he was a 1977 Mercer honoree. Young became the Cobras’ president in 2016 and has helped maintain the excellence of the longtime North Jersey youth football organization. If Young’s life is not busy enough, he has also spent a considerable amount of time through the years chronicling Montclair High football games with his outstanding sports photography. There will be an opportunity for dinner attendees at The Highlawn on March 9 to enjoy honoring a world-class athlete and popular spokesman for the sport we know as soccer, and also a chance to take special note of a local youth sports and law enforcement icon. Tickets for the 2026 Mercier Sportsmen Dinner are $100 and reserved tables of 10 will get preferred seating. Beer and wine are included in addition to dinner during the festive evening of friendship and hearing from the honorees and others including longtime Mercier Sportsmen master of ceremonies Tim Reilly. Sponsorship opportunities are also available for the dinner which serves as a fundraiser for several local charities. For reservations or donations and for Zelle payments email: mercierbeefstead@gmail.com For credit cards or further information call John Jerbasi at 973-610-9011. For check payment, make the checks payable to: Friends of Mercier Sportsmen, Inc., and mail to: John Jerbasi, 65 Hornbeck Rd., Denville, N.J. 07834-2828 Mercier’s Carlesimo Sportsman of the Year & Msgr. Larkin Awards: 2025: Bruce Beck, NBC-4 NY Sports Anchor Follow Steve Tober on 'X' @Chattermeister
The Mercier Sportsmen's 2026 Rev. Msgr. Edward J. Larkin Award of Distinction recipient will be Montclair Deputy Police chief and longtime Montclair Cobras President Wil Young, who is seen alongside his mentor Howard Finney (right), who is the founder of the longtime local, junior football organization based in Montclair. (photo courtesy of Wil Young)
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