DOUBLE PLAY: Fraser Graham displays the form in hockey and golf that helped him make history for Princeton High in both sports. Graham, a 2011 PHS grad who went on to play college golf at the University of Delaware, is being inducted into the Princeton High Athletics Hall of Fame on November 18. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

By Bill Alden

Fraser Graham entered Princeton High in 2007 focusing on hockey but he ended up making history on the golf course as well as the ice.

Graham enjoyed a superb hockey career, scoring a total of 176 points and helping the Little Tigers win the Mercer County Tournament as a senior in the 2010-11 season. He saved his best for last on the ice, tallying 68 points on 27 goals and 41 assists in his final campaign.

As a golfer, Graham reached heights never seen before or since at PHS, winning the State Tournament of Champions (TOC) in 2010 as a junior to become the only player in program history at achieve that feat. He became the first golfer to earn back-to-back MCT titles, winning the tournament in 2010 and 2011. In addition Graham won the South Central Group III sectional title 2011.

For his excellence in two sports, Graham has been chosen as a member of the 12th class of honorees for the Princeton High Athletics Hall of Fame. He will be inducted this Saturday along with fellow athletes Tom Patrick ’81, Jesse Applegate ’04, and Erin Cook ’06;  coach Doug Snyder; and team — 1992-1994 boys’ basketball.

Graham didn’t seem to be headed to a PHS Hall of Fame career when he and the Little Tigers struggled on the ice during his freshman season.

“It was a wakeup call because when I was in middle school, the hockey team was this big deal and everybody would go to the games,” said Graham.

“They were really good, they made the state playoffs and everything and then we get there and we got 10-goaled in my first game by Hopewell Valley. It was a tough first year, I think we won four games. It was good in the fact that I got a ton of playing time.”

Getting the hard experience helped Graham and his teammates develop into a powerhouse.

“We really came together as team; Dean DiTosto became this great defenseman and we got Josh Berger at goal, which was really helpful,” said Graham, crediting head coach Tim Campbell and assistant coach Terence Miller with playing a big role in that transformation.

“Playing with Michael Irving on my line was great and Will Greenberg came up. By the end of it, we won the Mercer County Tournament. We won a state tournament game senior year and that was great. It was so fun being able to win all of those games.”

Ironically, deciding to give up travel hockey after his sophomore year helped pave the way for his success on the golf course.

“My dad [Alan] and I sat down and we thought about what do you really want to do going forward,” said Graham, who had placed second in the MCT in the spring of his sophomore year and realized that his athletic future might be in golf.

“It was a tough decision to not play travel that year, but it freed me up to play more tournaments in the summer and the fall and get that experience under my belt. There is no substitute for playing tournament golf, that is the only way you can get better. I think really the turning point was when I stopped playing hockey and played a few more tournaments.”

Winning the Garden State Cup in 2010 to start off his junior season got Graham rolling as he proceeded to place first in the MCT and the TOC.

“That was the first win that I had, that was a big deal for me at the time,” said Graham. “It proved to me that the plan my dad and I had was working.”

Graham got into the zone that spring. “I was hitting it straight, I was hitting a lot of greens, my swing was in a good place, and I was putting well,” said Graham.

“I was winning so I was confident. I didn’t have the expectations that come with playing a lot. In some ways, I didn’t really know what I was doing which might have helped me.”

Winning the TOC stands a crowning achievement of Graham’s golf career.

“It means everything; I look back and I am really proud of that,” said Graham, who went on to play college golf at the University of Delaware.

“That day was great; five guys finished a shot behind me so it was as much luck as anything. I owe a lot of it to my dad because I remember the day before, really practicing hard and him helping me with a lot of different things, putting, wedge play, and stuff. I also remember coach [Sheryl] Severance who drove me there and helped me out.”

Off the ice and golf course, Graham feels lucky to have gone to PHS.

“I really enjoyed Princeton High. Between the academics and how great the teachers are, the classes were really influential in college and even now,” said Graham.

“The friends that you make in high school are as important as anything for me. I still hang out with a lot of the same group of guys.”

While Graham didn’t dominate at Delaware, he developed his game and became a leader in the program.

“I struggled with my swing a little bit but I played well in my junior year and had a few solid rounds in tournaments,” said Graham, who averaged 79.22 strokes per round in his college career in 23 tournaments.

“I grew into a leadership role; I was glad that the coach was able to recognize that ability in me. Being a student athlete is always difficult but the entire program was great and I enjoyed every moment.”

Learning that he had been chosen for the PHS Hall of Fame this summer was a special moment for Graham.

“I was just really happy and grateful to be chosen,” said Graham, 24, who lives in New York City and works as an analyst in the markets group at BNY Mellon.

“It was unbelievable that they would pick me, it is not something that I really expected. Between my parents and coach Severance, Campbell, and Miller, they were all very supportive and instrumental in everything that took place. All my dad wanted was for me the be a better hockey player and a better golfer. He was really instrumental in developing me as a golfer and as a hockey player and then you add the great chemistry that I had with my coaches.”

For Graham, making history in both sports has left him with a slew of happy memories.

“It was the greatest time of my life, that senior year in hockey and that junior year in golf,” said Graham, who still competes in golf tournaments and also plays in a men’s hockey league at Chelsea Piers. “That was amazing.”