Lunger 'Voice of Warren Hills' passes at age 61

The sad news reached me early Saturday morning that Bill Lunger, the former voice of Warren Hills athletic events and a tremendous figure on the local athletic scene in general, had died at the all-too-young age of 61.

Services will be held on Saturday at the Warren Hills Memorial Home in Washington. Here is the full obitiuary.

Bill Lunger (far right) (Credit Warren-Hunterdon USA).

Lunger, who was the public address announcer for football, basketball and wrestling events at the high school where he graduated from in 1976, was well known throughout New Jersey. He was the longtime tournament director -- from 1975 to 2015 -- for the prestigious John Goles Invitational, the second longest consecutive running holiday wrestling tournament -- behind only Hunterdon Central -- in the entire nation.

The John Goles Invitational, named for the former legendary wrestling coach, is set to celebrate its 62nd year in late December. Lunger loved that event more than any other, serving as its director and chief historian until persistent health issues led to an unceremonious departure after the 2015 event. His tournament program -- chock full of history, facts, results and past award winners -- is legendary in itself. I was his assistant for several of those final years and I was able to see firsthand how much time and effort he put in to make that event so special. He's been sorely missed on that front in recent years. No area tournament matches the hardware given out, including memorial awards for Ryan Storm and Alonzo Widenor. No doubt, Lunger's name will one day adorn another of the trophies presented after the championship round.

"I will remember him as one of the nicest guys going, so sincere," said Delaware Valley coach Andy Fitz, whose Terriers have participated in the Goles for the past 12 seasons. "And that program at the Goles was amazing. My daughters [attend Warren Hills] so I would see him at many events when he was a site manager. I loved his knowledge."

Newton coach Eric Bollette recalls the attention to detail that Lunger was known for during his announcing days at Warren Hills. Lunger certainly represented the school well, as most visiting teams and fans can attest.

"We only wrestled a few dual meets there, but he would always come over and make sure he had the correct pronunciations for my kids," Bollette said. "I don't know any other announcers who do that."

A big wrestling historian, Lunger, a Glassboro State College (now Rowan University) alum created the first Washington-Warren Hills history book in 1989, which has been a tremendous asset to writers like myself over the years. I was happy to have contributed to that book, and Lunger was gracious enough to mention me in the forward. Lunger was also big on the softball scene, serving as an umpire as well as an officer for Warren-Hunterdon USA Softball of New Jersey, for which he was named Director of the Year for District 8 in 2016.

Lunger also served as seedmaster for the Goles and the former District 1 Tournaments held at Warren Hills until realignment four years ago scattered our area teams all over the northern part of New Jersey. He also taught english and communications courses at Morris County Community College, Sussex County Community College and Warren County Community College -- winning several awards over the years for his broadcasting of high school football games on various radio stations, including the defunct WCRV, which was once located on Route 31 in Washington.

Lunger earned the Raymie Award, which has been presented to those who made significant contributions to the Hunterdon-Warren-Sussex Athletic Association since 1992, among the numerous honors he received during a distinguished career. Former athletic directors Dave Swetnam (1995) and Nick Holgash (2011) are the only others from Warren Hills to receive a Raymie.

He loved all Warren Hills sports, but Lunger and I shared many conversations about field hockey and wrestling, which I feature in this space. Lunger shared some great stories about Goles, whose coaching tenure was a little before my time, though I did have the privilege to interview Goles early on during my sports writing career with the Star-Gazette and The Express-Times. Lunger also was a stringer for me at The Star-Gazette, covering local events.

It would be a fitting tribute to Lunger should Warren Hills honor his memory and dedication to the school during this year's John Goles Invitational. He's earned at least that, and perhaps some kind of permanent memorial in the school's gym.

Godspeed, Bill. I'll miss the conversations. Rest in peace.