SHP Coach & NBC Sports Anchor
To Be Honored At Mercier Dinner

WEST ORANGE- What do the two main honorees at the 2025 Mercier Sportsmen Father-Son Beefsteak dinner have in common you may ask?

It just so happens that each man got his start at the very grass roots in American sport covering events revolving around a scholastic scene they both were former participants in.

And, they even crossed paths for a brief time as both contributed their writing skills to ‘Sportsfolio,’ a popular statewide New Jersey high school sports magazine in the 1980s.

Now, nearly a half century later, and as each man continues to leave his own indelible mark in their chosen profession, their lifelong and very impactful connection to sports will soon be recognized before an Essex County audience of ardent sports enthusiasts.

On Monday, March 24, at The Highlawn in West Orange, Livingston native and NBC 4 New York’s longtime sports anchor Bruce Beck along with Seton Hall Prep’s legendary soccer coach Marty Berman will be honored during the annual Mercier Sportsmen dinner which over the past half century has honored some of the more noteworthy sports figures both in New Jersey and nationwide.

Beck will receive the Peter A. Carlesimo Sportsman Award, while Berman will be presented the Msgr. Edward J. Larkin Award of Distinction.

Previous honorees at the Mercier Sportsmen dinner have included baseball Hall of Famers and longtime Montclair residents Yogi Berra and Larry Doby and Hillside’s Phil Rizzuto, noted basketball names such as Bill Raftery of West Orange and Kelly Tripucka of Bloomfield, along with local football greats such as Anthony Fasano of Verona and Aubrey Lewis of Montclair.

Beck was recognized with the 2021 National Sports Anchor of the Year award from Broadcasting & Cable magazine and he is in his 27th year as the lead sports anchor on Channel 4 in New York.

He has received eight New York Sports Emmy awards and three national Cable Ace Awards and has been the New York state Sportscaster of the Year nine times, in the midst of not only doing nightly sports reports on the NBC 4 New York, but also covering 11 different Olympic Games and numerous Super Bowls and World Series among hundreds of big-time international and national sports events.

He has also directed the Bruce Beck Sports Broadcasting Camp at Iona College since 2017 with the aim to teaching youngsters about the business and formerly was joined by CBS and YES Network play by play man Ian Eagle of Essex Fells in conducting a similar summer camp for aspiring broadcasters at the Yogi Berra Museum & Learning Center on the Montclair State University campus.

He worked at the Madison Square Garden Network from 1982-94 covering the Knicks, Rangers and Yankees before joining veteran sports anchor Len Berman at NBC 4 New York.

Prior to his tenure at MSG, he began his broadcasting career as one of the high school sports announcers on Suburban Cablevision TV-3 in Avenel, which included the coverage of high school games throughout Northern New Jersey.

Former ESPN anchor Bob Ley of Bloomfield and 2019 Mercier Club Sportsman of the Year honoree Matt Loughlin, who is the longtime voice of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, are other former TV-3 sports anchors who have gone on to further success in the broadcasting field.

Beck’s own unique and more-than-4-decade career in the broadcasting business includes the fact that he has never failed to maintain his trademark daily hustle.

New York Post sports reporter Andrew Marchand described the non-stop work ethic of Beck in a July, 2023 article, stating, “He has earned the right to be described as the most impactful local sports anchor in the New York Metropolitan area

“Beck may not have the distinctives of Marv Albert, the smoothness of Len Berman, the trivia of the late Bill Mazer or an all-time catch phrase like Warner Wolf’s ‘Let’s go to the videotape,’” Marchand wrote. “But, what Beck provides for WBNC is the most hustle and heart in the business!”

Beck played basketball and tennis at Livingston High School in a community where his mother Doris became Essex County’s first female mayor in 1975.

He was inducted into the Livingston High School Hall of Fame in 1993.

Bruce and his wife Janet reside in Westchester County, N.Y. The couple have two married sons and four grandchildren.

Berman, who next fall will begin his 40th season as the head soccer coach at Seton Hall Prep, has his own distinct Essex County roots, beginning as a standout soccer player at Columbia High School in Maplewood where he played for New Jersey coaching legend Gene Chyzowych.

He had an early career in media relations and journalism in the 1970s, both with the American Soccer League, and also serving as a high school soccer reporter for The Star-Ledger.

The late Pete Butler brought Berman aboard at Seton Hall Prep in the fall of 1980 and after six seasons as an assistant coach he was promoted to the head coaching position for the Pirates in 1986.

In 39 seasons at the helm, he has put together a glittering 566-201-67 record while guiding SHP to five overall Non-Public A state championships, including three in the past six years, along with eight Non-Public, North A state sectional titles, nine Essex County Tournament championships and a combined 15 conference crowns in the Super Essex-American Division (9) and Iron Hills-Iron Division 6).

SHP was selected as the No. 1 team in the state by The Star-Ledger and nj.com following the 2023 season.

One of Berman’s greatest awards came when the United States Soccer Coaches presented him with their 2023 National Coach of the Year award for high school boys private and parochial school coaches, with the presentation made in Anaheim, Calif. In conjunction with the U.S. Soccer Coaches Convention.

Marty and his wife Lori, who is also a longtime soccer coach, reside in West Orange. Coach Berman, who is a youthful 72, continues to teach his popular English class at SHP. One of the couple’s sons, Matty, who is the director of communications at SHP and a former standout Pirates booter, is also a veteran assistant on his dad’s coaching staff along with Lori’s brother and Marty’s brother-in-law Dave Snyder, who is SHP’s Dean of Academics.

It has been an eventful near half-century rise to greatness for both Beck and Beman and soon they will be experiencing what so many noteworthy sports figures ranging from Berra and Rizzuto to ex-Giants Michael Strahan and Harry Carson, to former basketball greats such as the Knicks’ Willis Reed, and Peter Carlesimo himself have enjoyed - that being on the dais while being honored during the Mercier Father-Son Beefsteak dinner.

The 2025 Mercier Sportsmen Dinner at The Highlawn, 1 Crest Dr., West Orange, 07052, will begin with cocktails at 6 p.m. followed by dinner at 7. Beer and wine are included.

Tickets are $100 per head in advance and reserved tables of 10 will get preferred seating if paid by March 17, 2025.

Also, sponsorship opportunities are available.

The dinner serves as a fundraiser for 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 Club’s Carlesimo Sportsman of the Year & Larkin Awards:
2024: Jim Spanarkel, Duke star & college basketball TV analyst
Larkin Award: Ron Anello
2023: John Sciambi, ESPN play by play man
Larkin Award: Mark Corino
2022: Lenny Coleman- MLB’s National League President
Larkin Award: Steve Tober
2019: Matt Loughlin- NJ Devils play by play voice
Larkin Award: Rich Hansen
2018: Tom Verducci- Sports Illustrated & FOX Baseball
Larkin Award: Dave Giarrusso
2017: Zack DeOssie- NY Giants long snapper
Larkin Award: Tom Fleming
2015: John Farrell- manager, Boston Red Sox
Larkin Award: Ted Fiore
2014: Eric LeGrand- inspirational Rutgers lineman- founder LeGrand Foundation
Larkin Award: Peter von Hoffmann
2013: Joe Quinlan- St. Peter’s University director of athletics
Larkin Award: Niall Handley
2012: Harry Carson- NY Giants Hall of Fame linebacker
Larkin Award: Rich SanFillipo
2011: Jerry Walker- Seton Hall Univ. Hall of Fame, St. Anthony great
Larkin Award: Michael Sammon
2010: Graig Nettles- NY Yankees third baseman
Larkin Award: Rick Giancola
2009: Bart Oates- NY Giants Pro Bowl center
Larkin Award: Ed Lebida
2008: Jerry Izenberg- Star-Ledger columnist
Larkin Award: Mike Sheppard, Jr.
2007: Anthony Fasano- Notre Dame and NFL tight end
Larkin Award: Major Jennings
2006: Fred Dwyer- Manhattan College track coach
Larkin Award: Pat Dyer
2005: Fred Hill- baseball coach Rutgers
Larkin Award: Fr. Edwin Leahy, OSB
2004: Jack Powers- executive director of NIT
Larkin Award: Chris Johnson
2003: Carl Banks- NY Giants linebacker
Larkin Award: Lou Racioppe
2001: Michael Strahan- NY Giants defensive lineman
2000: Rick Cerone- NY Yankees catcher
Larkin Award: Hugh Moriarty
1999: Terry Shea- Rutgers football coach
Larkin Award: John Finnegan
1998: Larry Doby- Cleveland Indians baseball Hall of Famer
Larkin Award: Bob Farrell
1997: Willis Reed- NY Knicks and VP NJ Nets
1996: John MacLean- NJ Devils Stanley Cup champion player
Larkin Award- Ollie Gelston
1995: Phil Rizzuto- NY Yankees Hall of Famer
1994: Kelly Tripucka- NBA Detroit Pistons, Notre Dame Bloomfield HS
1993: Ottis Anderson- NY Giants running back, Super Bowl MVP
1992: Bob Hurley- St. Anthony Hall of Fame coach
1991: George Young- NY Giants general manager
1990: P.J. Carlesimo- Seton Hall University and NBA coach
1989: Bruce Parker- Montclair High School Hall of Fame coach
1988: Russ Helwig- Essex Fells CC golf pro & NJ state champ
1987: Frank ‘Finn’ Tracey- Seton Hall Prep basketball coach
1986: Frank Tripucka- Denver Broncos, Notre Dame & Bloomfield QB
1985: Bill Raftery- Seton Hall University basketball coach, CBS analyst
1984: John McMullen- owner NJ Devils
1983: Aubrey Lewis- Notre Dame & Montclair football & track great
1982: Msgr. Michael E. Kelly- Seton Hall Prep athletic director
1981: William Horey- Glen Ridge football coach
1980: Gil Gibbs- Montclair High lacrosse and basketball coach
1979: Joe Garvey- Essex Cath. & West Essex basketball coach, IC sports
1978: Butch Fortunato- Montclair High football coach and AD
1977: Howard Finney- Montclair Cobras youth football
1976: Bill Dioguardi- Montclair State athletic director
1975: George Cella- Bloomfield High basketball coach
1974: Peter Carlesimo- NIT chief executive, Fordham AD
1973: Rev. Francis Burla- Immaculate Conception athletic moderator
1972: Angelo Bertelli- Notre Dame Heisman Trophy winner
1971: Yogi Berra- NY Yankees Hall of Fame catcher
1970: Clary Anderson- Montclair High football and baseball coach