In the forty-first edition of “Legends of the Game” we look at the career of Tom “Hollywood” Marechek.
From Wikipedia:
Tom “Hollywood” Marechek (born August 25, 1968 in Victoria, British Columbia) is a retired professional lacrosse player.
Marechek played college lacrosse at Syracuse University where he teamed with Paul and Gary Gait to form one of the great college lacrosse squads in history, winning national title games in 1989 and 1990. Marechek is the fifth leading college goal scorers in lacrosse history with 182 goals, a four-time All-American, three-time first-team All-American pick, had 76 assists and 258 career points, scored 53 goals during his junior season to lead NCAA Division I, and set a Syracuse freshman record by scoring 46 goals on just 82 shots (56.1 per cent). He is well known for scoring shots behind his back, and has been rumored to have scored more this way than normal. He was inducted into both the NCAA Hall of Fame and the US Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2008.
He also played indoor lacrosse in the National Lacrosse League, where he played 12 seasons with the Philadelphia Wings. He retired from the NLL after the 2005 season. His number 42 was retired by the Wings and now hangs from the rafters at the Wells Fargo Center. Marechek was inducted into the National Lacrosse League Hall of Fame in 2007 and the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 2012.
Marachek currently coaches the Friends School of Baltimore’s Men’s Lacrosse team in Baltimore, Maryland and is the schools Physical Education Teacher. Tom founded and coaches for the Team 42 Lacrosse Club. He is also director of All Pro Lacrosse Club with camps held in Florida, Texas, Kansas, Pennsylvania and his flagship camp held at Notre Dame of Maryland University.
From NLL.com March 2019:
Tom Marechek was initially drafted by the Buffalo Bandits with the sixth overall pick in the 1992 draft but didn’t make his NLL debut until he was traded to Philadelphia in 1994. In his first year in the NLL, Marechek was named Rookie of the Year for his 14 goals and 19 assists in a seven-game season.
Marechek finished his career ranked first in Wings history in points (773), goals (399), assists (374) and second in games played (146) and was named First team All-Pro in six consecutive years from 1996-2001.
Philadelphia won four NLL titles with Marechek in a Wings uniform – in 1994, 1995, 1998 and 2001. He was inducted into the NLL Hall of Fame in 2007.
Marachek played four years of college lacrosse at Syracuse University and coached for one season with the men’s team at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia.
From the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame:
Marechek was a Junior A lacrosse star playing for the famed Victoria-Esquimalt Legion from 1985-89 winning a Minto Cup in 1988.
A perennial Junior A all-star, Marechek ended his 84-game Junior career with 195 goals, 261 assists for 456 points and 188 penalty minutes. Tom honed his field lacrosse skills in the Victoria Seaspray system until 1989 when he joined teammates Gary and Paul Gait at Syracuse University.
He was part of the Orangemen domination of NCAA field lacrosse from 1989-92 winning two NCAA titles in 1989 and 1990.
In 1997, Marechek returned to the Victoria Senior A Shamrocks to win the 1997 Mann Cup at home. His professional career was simply outstanding – as a career Philadelphia Wing star (1994-2005) he won four National Lacrosse League (NLL) championships while being named a First or Second Team All-Pro eight times.
In 161 NLL games, Marechek scored 422 goals, 420 assist for 842 points and 188 penalty minutes. He also played professional field lacrosse with the Baltimore Bayhawks netting 299 points in just 88 games.
Marechek was named to the NLL Hall of Fame in 2007.
Marachek was also the Major Indoor Lacrosse League (MILL) rookie of the year for 1994.
Gary Groob has been involved with Lacrosse for the majority of his life, whether playing, coaching, or covering the sport for the media.
An avid fan, with a real drive about helping to “grow the game”, Gary became part of podcasts about the game in 2010. Through the podcasts, Mr. Groob was given an opportunity to write about lacrosse, and the rest as they say, is history.
Through many miles (flying and driving) Gary has made inroads with the National Lacrosse League, Major Series Lacrosse League, the Ontario Lacrosse Association, as well as the Arena Lacrosse League, covering the leagues, their teams, and players, working for, and in concert with all of them.
In the year 2020, Mr. Groob was made the media person for the Arena Lacrosse League, voted onto the board of directors of the Brampton Excelsiors Lacrosse Club, as well as being made administrator of the Lacrosse page “Global Lacrosse” with a membership of 9000 members in over 90 Countries. Gary was also made an administrator of Lacrosse History Past Present and Future in 2022.
Mr. Groob co-hosts a weekly Lacrosse show on Spanglish Sports World, and ZingoTV channel 250, as well as writes a weekly lacrosse column for La Portada Canada News (both in print, and online).
Gary also hosts a Lacrosse talk show and podcast for The Edge of Philly Sports Network, seen live Sunday nights at 9pm (ET), and archived on the Edge of Philly YouTube page, as well as Spotify.
Mr. Groob’s other sports interests include Hockey, Football, Boxing, Wrestling, and Baseball, competing competitively in Boxing and Wrestling for many years.
