Last Wednesday afternoon, prior to a game vs. Kellenberg, three St. John the Baptist baseball legends were honored in a pregame ceremony at Buddy Corr Field.

Logan O’Hoppe (No. 6), John Habyan (No. 11), and Buddy Corr (No. 19) all received the merit of having their jersey numbers retired after current St. John’s varsity ballplayers removed the navy-blue drape on the outfield wall to reveal the three white Cougars jerseys with red names and numerals, which are now cocooned amongst the palisade of the outfield wall, protected by a navy-blue covering in which the three numerals are perpetually affixed on the diamond in West Islip.

O’Hoppe spent four seasons playing ball at SJB and batted .467 in his senior year and graduated in 2018; then, a month later, he was drafted to the Philadelphia Phillies in the 23rd round of the 2018 MLB draft. After being traded to the Angels organization the summer of 2022, O’Hoppe made it to the “the show” in September 2022, making his big-league debut.

Last April, O’Hoppe earned the job as the starting catcher and hit 14 home runs and 29 RBIs and accrued 43 hits and 23 runs scored in 51 games. O’Hoppe is currently in his third season as the Los Angeles Angels’ catcher and is one of the most highly touted rising phenoms in Major League Baseball.

John Habyan is a 1982 alumnus, and in his senior year, the Cougars won the NSCHSAA Varsity Baseball Championship, which was  Corr’s first year as a varsity coach. Habyan, the right-handed pitcher, spent 11 seasons of Major League service with the Baltimore Orioles, New York Yankees, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals, California Angels, and Colorado Rockies. Post his playing career, Habyan was the SJB coach for 17 seasons. Habyan is currently the pitching coach for the Columbia Fireflies, the Kansas City Royals Single A Minor League affiliate. Corr, 80 years old, who already possesses the eminence of the Cougars’ field being named after him, was on hand for his No. 19 to be perpetually enshrined in St. John the Baptist lore.

Corr started off as the JV coach in 1978 and led the varsity team from 1982 to 1988, winning a championship in ’82. All three ballplayers were, and still are, a staple at St. John the Baptist and were honored in elegant fashion last week to celebrate their iconic careers at SJB.