Case Cracked by Detective Elliot...and Some Trivia for Your Entertainment

[Restored from the Ken Tashian Email Archives]

The article below comes to us courtesy of Maria Spagnuolo (’62).  It identifies Detective George Elliot as the super cop who cracked the case, a $25 burglary (not a robbery, there is a difference) at the Dobritch resident on Forest Avenue.  That was when you could back out of your driveway with risk of losing your life.

The Dobritch’s were newcomers to town.  Their son Al (’62) went to Memorial School, and like most of us, transferred to the high school when it opened in 1958.  Al was also known as “Scampy the Clown.”  He performed as part of the Super Circus show in Las Vegas, an act that aired nationally.  Our family would be glued to the TV waiting to see him perform.  Paramus had its first TV star, and he was just a kid.

Al and my brother Paul (’62) became fast friends.  They played sports together, and were standouts on the gridiron.  Al was blessed with speed, agility, and balance fined tuned during his years in the circus.  While an exceptional football player, Al’s real talent was on the track where he consistently took first in the sprints.  

His personal best at 100 yards was 10.0, still the all-time second best time to Richie Cirner’s 9.9 set in 1965.  Those times may have been beaten since then, something I’m sure I will hear about.  While exceptional at 100 yards, Al was virtually unbeatable at 200 yards, a straightway on cinders back then.  The 200 is an all-out sprint from start to finish.  Most runners would begin to fade at 180 yards, but Al ran at full speed from the starting gun to the tape at the finish line.

Al also ran the anchor leg on the award winning Mile Relay team at the prestigious Penn Relays in 1962. 

Penn Relays
1962 Mile Relay Team

Standing (L - R) Craig Smith ('63), Coach Lanzalotto, Jim Robinson ('63)

Kneeling (L - R) Ray Sparks ('63), Al Dobritch ('62), Dave Morschauser ('62)

Al lives in Las Vegas and has been producing shows for decades.