A Lifetime, A Legacy: Murray Wolf
"The Captain," circa 1979
By Dave Coskey
This Memorial Day weekend feels different. Can you sense it? There’s no disputing that something, or more appropriately, someone, is missing.
G. Murray Wolf III, the longtime Avalon resident and legendary Avalon Beach Patrol captain, died Feb. 16 at the age of 87 after suffering a stroke in November.
To put it in perspective, this Memorial Day weekend is probably the first summer kick-off weekend in at least 75 years that “Murr,” or “The Captain,” wasn’t keeping an eye on the beaches with his toes firmly planted in the sand. Math is simple: Mr. Wolf was a member of the Avalon Beach Patrol for 65 years. Prior to joining the patrol in 1955, he unofficially tagged along with his father, who had been a member of the Avalon Beach Patrol before him. Mr. Wolf retired in 2021, and while he possessed an enormous amount of faith in the men and women currently entrusted with maintaining the established standards of the ABP, it would be foolish to think that he didn’t continue to keep at least an occasional eye on Avalon’s beaches. After all, old habits are hard to break. Especially 65-year habits.
Superlatives are so easily tossed about in today’s world. But if there were ever a person who truly deserved the tag of “legend,” it is Murray Wolf.
Consider: Over the course of his career, Mr. Wolf easily spent nearly 7,000 days – that’s in all kinds of weather and ocean conditions – protecting literally millions of visitors to Avalon's beaches. During that time, amazingly, there was never a drowning at any of Avalon's protected beaches. That kind of perfection doesn’t just happen. As Stan Bergman, a South Jersey beach patrol legend himself, told the Seven Mile Times: “Murray Wolf did a wonderful job in Avalon. That’s a big beach with a lot of guards to oversee. He did an outstanding job and set the standard. And he did it for many years. I admire Murray and the job that he did in Avalon.”
Also, take into consideration that Mr. Wolf’s patrols captured nine South Jersey Lifeguard Championships among the countless championships that they collected over the decades. That’s more than any of the nine patrols south of Ocean City. The “Jerseys” are the standard by which all lifeguard competitions are measured.
Mr. Wolf also worked hard to create a culture of summer employment that prepared local teens for life. His culture provided countless future doctors, teachers, corporate executives, lawyers, judges, and even a Rhodes Scholar, with experience. Discipline, hard work, and integrity were all key elements of the culture that Mr. Wolf worked so hard to establish.
There are also those who have suggested that Mr. Wolf may have also intentionally created a safe haven on Avalon’s beaches for war-tested veterans returning from the unspeakable horrors of Vietnam in the early 1970s.
A humble man by nature, Mr. Wolf declined to discuss the subject when asked directly, offering only the trace of a smile when thinking back to those challenging times. But it’s difficult to ignore the number of men who returned from war to protect Avalon’s beaches. Quiet, well-disciplined, and in amazing physical shape, they fit easily into the culture Mr. Wolf was beginning to cultivate. Some people believe that by creating a safe haven for returning war heroes trying to reacquaint themselves with life, Mr. Wolf may have quietly saved even more lives.
It’s pretty clear: G. Murray Wolf III is both an Avalon and a lifeguarding legend in South Jersey.
Raised on Philadelphia’s Main Line, Mr. Wolf and his family vacationed regularly in Avalon during his childhood. After graduating from Conestoga High School in Berwyn, Pa., Mr. Wolf worked in a steel mill for a year before enrolling in college in Colorado, where he wrestled on a championship team. He’d go on to also earn a master’s degree from Rider University.
Getting sand in his shoes, Wolf made Avalon his permanent home in 1965. He was a rookie on the 1955 Avalon Beach Patrol and was named captain in 1962. His philosophy never changed over the decades. He explained to the Seven Mile Times in 2012, “My goal has always been the same: the safety of the people on the beach. That’s always been the bottom line.”
He went on to explain that the conditions and the ocean change every day, in some cases due to changing beach geography, in part the result of repeated beach replenishment projects. Because of that, guarding is very different today than it was even 10 years ago. “We need to change and readjust our guarding guidelines on a daily basis – it’s a constantly evolving process,” he said at the time. The beach is Avalon’s most valuable asset, and Mr. Wolf always treated it as such.
In addition to his longtime position with the Avalon Beach Patrol, Mr. Wolf taught physical education in the Pleasantville School District for 50 years and served as head wrestling coach at Pleasantville High School. He led the Greyhounds to the District 32 championship in 1974. A former student and athlete, Mike Lentz, offered this tribute to his former teacher and coach in February: “I was lucky to be coached by Mr. Wolf at PHS. I’m thankful for the years of kindness he showed me in my early years and the life lessons of discipline, hard work, honesty, and integrity that he instilled in me.”
Of all his accomplishments, Mr. Wolf took the greatest pride in his family. Along with his wife Vicki of 43 years, three of their sons served as lieutenants on the Avalon Beach Patrol. He also managed to convey his love of athletics and fitness to his family. Mr. Wolf could often be found coaching Avalon soccer and Little League teams every spring and fall.
“One of the clearest memories of my childhood,” says son Erich, a South Jersey rowing champion and currently the vice principal at Lower Township High School, “is my dad being there to coach me on all of my teams as a child. He was always on the sideline. And I know that I would never have won my South Jersey championship without his guidance.”
In addition to coaching his children’s teams, Mr. Wolf and his wife were among his children’s most enthusiastic fans at high school and college athletic events. The three lieutenants also followed their father in a life of service. In addition to Erich being a vice principal, Matt is a teacher and championship coach at Middle Township High School, and Tyler is a flight paramedic for JeffSTAT.
Mr. Wolf took the responsibility bestowed upon him seriously. Stone Harbor Beach Patrol captain and a onetime Avalon lieutenant, Sandy Bosacco, probably described Mr. Wolf the best to the Seven Mile Times several years ago: “He effectively kept the job in perspective. Guards need to pay attention to bathers in the water, and they need to stay in shape and always be prepared,” Bosacco explained.
Mr. Wolf would be among the first to acknowledge that he managed to ruffle some feathers along the way. One very vocal critic over the past two decades was 94WIP radio host Angelo Cataldi. The rift can be dated back to 1999 when Cataldi was ejected from an Avalon beach for not having the required beach tag. Mr. Wolf, who had little time to waste on pop culture, had no idea who Cataldi was when the incident surfaced. To him, he was just a person who refused to display the required beach tag. So, when the conflict couldn’t be resolved on the sand, Mr. Wolf chose not to intercede. Instead, he sent one of his lieutenants, who, by the way, would go on to become a U.S. Attorney, to ticket Cataldi and have him removed from the beach.
“People tell me that Angelo is a very funny guy,” Mr. Wolf once explained to the Seven Mile Times. “I understand that he likes to have fun with me on the air. I don’t have a problem with that. I like him. I do. BUT, he needs a beach tag just like any other person on our beach,” he added with a smile. He had little time for nonsense.
Mr. Wolf considered retirement back in 2020 but felt if necessary to help guide the patrol through the pandemic. The Borough of Avalon finally officially announced his retirement on Feb. 8, 2021. He continued to be a vocal advocate for the memory of David J. Kerr, an Avalon Beach Patrol member whose life was cut short by cancer. Despite his retirement, he was still a familiar sight at South Jersey lifeguard competitions, riding his bicycle around town, or “being walked” by his dogs.
With such an amazing record, the Seven Mile Times had the opportunity to ask Mr. Wolf what he hoped his legacy might be. After just a few seconds of thought he quickly responded, “My job was the safety of the people on the beach. I’d hope to be remembered as a lifeguard’s lifeguard.”
Mission accomplished, captain!