Hank Towns, Princeton Athletic Icon, Announces His Retirement
July 24, 2003 | General
July 24, 2003
Hank Towns, a legendary figure in Princeton athletic history who has left a lifelong impression on thousands of Tiger athletes, has announced his retirement as head equipment manager. Towns will work past the 2003 football season, his 34th at Princeton.
"Princeton has been great to me," says Towns. "I had the opportunity to do all kinds of things and meet all kinds of great people. I had a chance to meet one President [Bill Clinton], several Governors, Presidents of the University, movie stars and sports celebrities. Where else can you work and say that? I've had the opportunity to travel to countries that I never dreamed I'd get to go to. And more than that, I got to work with some great athletes and coaches. It's been great."
Towns started at Princeton on Oct. 26, 1970, and his current tenure is the second longest of any active member of the Department of Athletics, behind only facilities foreman John Cruser. Towns and Cruser are the only two people to work with all four directors of athletics in Princeton history: Ken Fairman, Royce Flippen, Bob Myslik and current AD Gary Walters.
"Hank Towns is a legendary part of Princeton athletics and will be missed by the many athletes who passed through Caldwell Field House during his tenure," said Maryland Governor Robert Ehrlich, the captain of the 1978 Princeton football team. "Though future generations of Tigers will not experience his humor, wise words and professionalism, he is sure to remain an institution at Princeton University."
Towns, an honorary member of the Class of 1982, works directly with or oversees the needs of all 38 varsity teams at Princeton. He has worked perhaps most closely with the football team, where he has assisted more than 1,000 players and six head coaches. He has missed only one game in that time, the 1987 game at Brown.
He arrived at Princeton at the same time as the first class for women, and he has worked to help the women's programs at Princeton grow. Today, Princeton has 18 varsity sports for women and more than 400 women athletes.
"I've seen huge changes in women's sports since I've been here," says Towns. "We had one woman on the track team when it started. We had one coach for softball and women's basketball. Women's sports have come a long way, and I've really enjoyed working with them."
Towns is a native of nearby Trenton; as a child, he often would come up to Princeton to see Tiger football at Palmer Stadium. He then went on to be a standout athlete at Trenton Central High School. After high school, Towns played football at Grambling for legendary coach Eddie Robinson before returning to Central New Jersey and ultimately Princeton.
"The athletes have kept me feeling young," says Towns. "They've kept me sharp. I couldn't pick out any one sport or any athletes that stand out most. There are so many great memories. Winning the NIT in 1975. The first lacrosse championship, in 1992 at Franklin Field. The first time we beat Yale in all those years, when Bobby Holly scored on the last play [in a 35-31 win in 1981]. The UCLA game in the 1996 NCAA tournament. All the time working with Pete Carril. Beating Notre Dame here in basketball. Beating North Carolina here when they had Bob McAdoo. There are hundreds that stand out."
Towns worked with Carril, Princeton's Hall of Fame basketball coach, for the final 27 of his 29 seasons at Princeton.
"Hank was a joy to be around," says Carril. "He's one of these guys that's unsung and didn't get a lot of glory, but he did his job and made it possible for you to do your job. Plus, you could always go into the equipment room and spend some time there and know it was a great place to be."
Towns is the chairman of the trustee board of Beauty Grove P.B. Church in Trenton. He has also been active in American Legion baseball in Trenton, and he managed Mitchell Davis Post 182 to the 1987 New Jersey state finals.
Towns lives in Trenton with his wife Joyce. They have three children and 10 grandchildren.
"Ultimately, human beings, not edifices, determine the quality of the experience of our students at Princeton," says Walters. "Hank is one of those unforgettable characters who has enriched that quality. Hank's warm heart and a spirit of generosity has touched the lives of those with whom he has come in contact."