The field was dedicated to Coach Frank Bond, who passed away in May at age 62.
The Rhawnhurst Athletic Association on Friday night dedicated its football field to the beloved late coach Frank Bond.
Bond, who died suddenly in May of cardiac arrest at age 62, coached football, basketball and baseball for Rhawnhurst A.A. for 33 years.
The dedication took place in between Homecoming football games. Hundreds of family and friends and current and former coaches, board members and players and their parents joined in the tribute and tailgate.
The sign reads, “The Frank Bond Memorial Field. Home of the Rhawnhurst Raiders.”
This year, Rhawnhurst A.A. football players are wearing an “FB” emblem on their jerseys in memory of Bond.
Bond, who lived on the 1400 block of Wellington St., is survived by a daughter, Kristin; two sons, Brian and Michael; grandsons Brayden and Peyton; brothers Thomas and James; and sister Maureen.
“This is a tribute to my father and what he gave back to the neighborhood,” Brian said. “The organization is so close knit. It’s one big family. It’s an extension of my family. It’s unbelievable. They’ve been so supportive throughout everything.”
Frank Bond often said, “Besides being a father, being a coach is the best thing I’ve ever done.”
“It was who he was,” Brian said. “He did it his entire life. He absolutely lived for it.”
Matt Smith, president of Rhawnhurst A.A., recalled Bond doing somersaults while waving baserunners around third base; chirping at referees for blowing calls in basketball games; and coaching football while wearing shorts and a sleeveless shirt, “even when it was 10 degrees.”
Bond was a 1972 graduate of Northeast High School and a longtime member of Laborers Union Local 332. He coached football at Northeast and George Washington, and was a longtime Eagles season ticket holder. ••
