This year’s Fordham Football Dinner is literally a “Mara-thon.” Ann Mara, the beloved wife of late Giants owner and distinguished Fordham alumnus Wellington Mara, will be honored with the prestigious Walsh Award at the annual celebration of Rams football on Friday night, April 27, at Jumeirah Essex House (160 Central Park South) in New York. Dan C. Somma (GSB ’66), will receive the Mara Family Award.
The Walsh Award and Mara Family Award both honor members of the Fordham football family for their dedication and contributions to the program. The Mara Family Award is named in honor of the family of Wellington Mara, the ’37 Fordham product who served as a manager of the famed “Blocks of Granite” teams, while the Walsh Award honors the memory of William D. Walsh, Fordham College class of 1951 and namesake of the Walsh Athletic Training Center, as well as the Walsh Family Library on the Rose Hill campus.
Ann Mara has been to nearly every Giants game for more than 50 years, including, of course, this year’s Super Bowl championship. Somma captained the 1965 Fordham football squad and was a driving force in restoring a program that had been discontinued for more than a decade.
The Fordham Football Annual Dinner begins with cocktails at 6:30 PM, followed by dinner and awards ceremonies at 7:30 PM. For more information contact Grace Clark at (646) 312-8223 or [email protected], or visit here.
On the Walsh Award: The Walsh Award is presented annually to an individual who best exemplifies the support, loyalty, and passion for Fordham Football as captured in the spirit of Walsh. Those receiving the Walsh award represent cornerstones to the program which have allowed Fordham Football to continue on its proud tradition.
On the Mara Family Award: The Mara Family Award is presented annually to an individual who embodies the best of traits of a Fordham person. It is awarded to those whose dedication to and conviction for Fordham Football best represents what the Mara family has meant to Fordham, the NFL, and all the communities they touch.