Buddy Tarbotton rooted for everybody.
The North Wildwood resident was a fixture on the Cape May County high school sports scene as a coach, announcer and fan. He graduated from Wildwood Catholic High School in 1979 but celebrated the achievements of every athlete.
He and Brian Cunniff announced thousands of Cape May County football and basketball games for nearly 30 years.
Tarbotton died Friday. He was 63.
“No one loved high school sports, especially basketball, more than Buddy,” Cunniff said Saturday. “You could tell every time that he was behind the microphone that he was having the time of his life. He loved seeing the kids accomplish great things, both on and off the court and field. He was definitely one of a kind.”
Tarbotton and Cunniff announced basketball games for 28 years and football games for nearly 20. He coached sub-varsity basketball teams and was a varsity assistant at Wildwood Catholic from the late 1980s until the mid-1990s. Tarbotton also coached basketball at Margaret Mace Elementary School in North Wildwood in the early 2000s.
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Tarbotton also volunteered at Notre Dame de la Mer Parish in Wildwood. Former Wildwood Catholic boys basketball coach Dave DeWeese grew up with Tarbotton.
“His passion was always to help young boys and girls in their journeys through life,” DeWeese said. “He would go out of his way to provide words of encouragement, and his words always put smiles on their faces. He was the voice of Cape May County sports.”
Current Middle Township girls basketball coach John Leahy played for Wildwood Catholic when Tarbotton was an assistant coach with the Crusaders. Leahy’s sisters attended Wildwood Catholic with Tarbotton.
Recently, Tarbotton helped Leahy run his summer basketball camps at North Wildwood Recreation Center.
“Buddy and I shared many pre- and postgame chats about players, opponents and family,” Leahy said. “Buddy was a guy who simply loved basketball. There’s no place he’d rather be than in the gym. I thank him for everything he did to help me as a player and coach.”
Tarbotton also volunteered at the Boardwalk Classic, which is held annually at Wildwoods Convention Center and is the state’s largest coed holiday tournament.
He performed several roles, including public address announcer.
“He was extremely involved in helping young athletes become not only better players, but better people,” retired Wildwood girls basketball coach Dave Troiano said. “I will miss him very much, especially that sly little smile of his every time we met.”
Tarbotton’s late father, Bud, served on the North Wildwood City Council for 16 years and as the city tax collector for 19. The elder Tarbotton died in March 2009, and the Wildwoods’ annual Around The Island Row bears his name.
Funeral services will be held at St. Ann’s Roman Catholic Church in Wildwood on Saturday, Aug 3. Visitation is set for 9:30 a.m. and followed by a Mass at 11. In lieu of flowers, contributions are requested in his name to The Step Back Foundation, a Wildwood nonprofit organization that provides athletic equipment and other necessities to local student-athletes and families in need.
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