Leslie Beck 

Leslie E. Beck was born on Dec. 6 1898, Owego, New York, where he attended the Owego Free Academy and starred in basketball. In one basketball contest against Susquehanna he set a scoring record of 78 points. He attended Cornell University of Illinois, Michigan and Saracuse and was licensed as a teacher of Physical education in New York State.

He served as superintendent of physical education in several rural school communities and was recommended to the coaching position at Hornell, New York. Here his record included an undefeated football team, a Section Championship in basketball team undefeated in 32 straight games.

His next assignment was at Tarrytown, New York, where in this third year at Washington Irving High School, his team won all league championship in football, basketball, and baseball. His football team was undefeated and the basketball team reached the Section 1 finals.

In 1927 he came to Yonkers High School and remained for 33 years, in 1931 and 1932 his basketball teams won the New York State Championship at Syracuse University and every regular on the 1931 varsity was placed on the All State Team.

At Yonkers High School he coached as many as four teams a year, never less than two. His teams won 56 assorted championships-city, league, Section 1 and State. In 1948 he was chosen “Westchester County Coach of the Year” and was selected on the faculty of the New York State coaching school at Cornell University and for the faculty of the State of New Hampshire Coaching School.

In 1960 he resigned his Yonkers High School post and accepted the position as the first coordinator of Athletics for Westchester County. He was chosen by a panel of Chief School Officers and remained in this position for five years.

Coach Beck was one of the founders of the Westchester Board of the Approved Basketball Officials, its president for several years and interpreter of rules for twenty years. He was honored with a life membership by the National Board of Approved Basketball Officials and is so listed in the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield.

Among his many citations and achievements are “The Yonkers Sports Personality of the Year” “The East Kiwanis Man of the Year”, president of the New York State Coaches Association established code of Ethics for Athletics in Westchester county, organizer of the first county association for officials in swimming and gymnastic.

In 1975 the gymnasium at the new Yonkers High School was dedicated in his honor a fitting tribute to his life long dedication and devotion to the young people of Yonkers.

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