Fran Walsh of Archbishop Wood High School announced as the winner of the 28th Jim Henry Award
Maxwell Football Club President, Ron Jaworski, announced that Fran Walsh a senior offensive center and defensive tackle from Archbishop Wood High School (Warminster, PA) has been selected as the winner of the Club’s 28th Jim Henry Award.
Walsh has accumulated a long list of honors during his career highlighted by the a 1st Team All-State selection and the Maxwell Football Club’s Pennsylvania Player of the Year in 2012. He was also selected as a 1st Team All-Catholic player in his junior and senior seasons. He was a team captain and a member of Wood’s 2011 PIAA State Championship team.
“We had some fantastic candidates in both New Jersey and Pennsylvania for this award” said MFC Executive Director Mark Wolpert. “Both of our finalists Fran Walsh and Devin Ray (Bernards HS) were dynamic players with high academics and well-rounded community service. Fran is arguably one of the most complete offensive centers I have seen in many years and is a true team leader. We are honored to have him as our 28th Jim Henry Award winner”.
Off the football field Walsh is an honor roll student who holds a 4.0 grade point average in honors and advanced placement classes and is a member of the National Honor Society. He is active in the Student Council at Archbishop Wood and volunteers his time in a plethora of community service activities including; Athletes Helping Athletes, the Cares Anti-Bullying Program, the National Brain Tumor Society and the Gray Nuns of the Sacred Heart.
Mark Dianno the winner of the 1st Jim Henry Award and current Maxwell Football Club officer commented, “Being associated with the Maxwell Football Club for the past 28 years, I enjoyed the opportunity to meet Jim Henry and understand the kind of gentleman that he was and why the award is so representative of his many and significant contributions to athletics, scholarship and community service. Over these years, I have also had the good fortune of meeting many exceptional student-athletes. This year’s Jim Henry Award winner, Fran Walsh, is an outstanding and deserving recipient of this prestigious award. His on field prowess is rivaled only by his academic accomplishments and the dedication to his community. It is an honor and a privilege to welcome him to the Maxwell Football Club family of Jim Henry Award winners.”
The 28th Jim Henry Award will be formally presented as part of the 76th Maxwell Football Club National Awards Gala which will be held at the Harrah’s Atlantic City Resort on March 1, 2013. Other awards presented at the event include: The Bert Bell Award – Adrian Peterson (Minnesota Vikings), The Earle “Greasy” Neale Award – Chuck Pagano and Bruce Arians (Indianapolis Colts), The Maxwell Award – Manti Te’o (Notre Dame), The Chuck Bednarik Award – Manti Te’o (Notre Dame), The Francis “Reds” Bagnell Award – Ozzie Newsome (Baltimore Ravens), The Thomas Brookshier Spirit Award – Penn State University football senior players, The MFC Collegiate Coach of the Year Award – Bill O’Brien (Penn State), The Harrah’s Broadcaster Award – Cris Collinsworth (NBC Sunday Night Football), The MFC Tri-State Player of the Year Award – Khaseem Greene (Rutgers University) and the MFC Tri-State Coach of the Year Award – Issac Collins (formerly of Widener University).
The event is open to the public and tickets can be purchased on the Maxwell Football
Club website or by calling 215-643-3833.
