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Famed N.J. Figures Honored By State

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The Associated Press

Published: May 4, 2008

TRENTON, N.J. - Pop quiz: What comes to mind when you think about Yogi Berra, Thomas Edison, Albert Einstein and Toni Morrison? Brilliant minds, inspiring souls, trailblazers - all are likely responses.

And ... New Jersey?

Yep. They all have strong ties to the oft-maligned Garden State, and they're among the first 15 people to be inducted today into New Jersey's new Hall of Fame.

"I think anything you get inducted to you feel good about," said 82-year-old Berra, the famous New York Yankee catcher who lives in Montclair in northern New Jersey. "Heck, to get inducted with all them guys, that's pretty good."

The inaugural class also includes Harriet Tubman, Frank Sinatra, Bruce Springsteen, Meryl Streep, astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf and Vince Lombardi.

"There's no doubt this will be a historic event for the state," said Don Jay Smith, the hall's executive director. "New Jersey is often the butt of jokes, nationally, and yet when people see who has claimed New Jersey as their home, they will be very impressed."

The Hall of Fame exists only as a virtual entity now, but officials are raising money to build a permanent museum.

Smith said he expects most of the living inductees to attend today's induction ceremony at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center in Newark.

Two inductees, Streep and former U.S. Sen. Bill Bradley, have asked that the presentation of their awards be delayed until they can receive them in person.
John Lombardi said his grandfather, a legendary coach who led the Green Bay Packers to seven NFL championships, would get a kick out of his induction into the state's hall of fame.

"I kind of look at the list of the 'who's who' who are getting inducted and I kind of laugh because I'm like, Edison, Einstein, then my grandfather," he said.

"I think he'd be laughing out loud. He had a healthy ego but I don't think he ever thought he was up there with those guys."

THE FIRST INDUCTEES

•Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon
•Clara Barton, founder of the American Red Cross, created the state's first free public school in Bordentown

•Yogi Berra, a Hall of Fame New York Yankee catcher.

•Bill Bradley, famed Princeton University basketball player, former New York Knicks star and U.S. senator from 1979 to 1997

• Thomas Edison, who worked on many of his inventions at a laboratory in Menlo Park

•Albert Einstein, the trailblazing scientist who was awarded the 1921 Nobel Prize for Physics

•Malcolm Forbes, philanthropist and publisher of Forbes Magazine

• Robert Wood Johnson II, son of the founder of health care giant Johnson & Johnson.

•Vince Lombardi, taught and coached at St. Cecilia's High School in Englewood, coached the Green Bay Packers to seven NFL championships
•Toni Morrison, awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature and the Pulitzer Prize

•Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf, commander of U.S. Forces in Operation Desert Shield

•Frank Sinatra, one of the most popular male entertainers of all time

• Bruce Springsteen, rose to fame playing in clubs in Asbury Park

•Meryl Streep, holds the record for most Academy Award nominations

•Harriet Tubman, who used Cape May as a base, was involved in the Underground Railroad

Source: The Associated Press

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