On Tuesday, April 23rd the Bobcat Statue was finally unveiled to the public at Bobcat Stadium.
The statue was dedicated to former Bel Air High School Football Coach Al Cesky, who was at Bel Air High for near thirty years, during the 50s, 60s, and part of the 70s. He was well known and loved by the community of Bel Air, and by the students of Bel Air High School. Al Cesky was a man of character, who was said to be about life lessons, and believed in more important matters than the Xs and Os of a playbook. He would help the students on and off the field, with any issue at hand, or even just to visit. Al Cesky even came out of retirement later on to return to coach at the school.
However, in 1988, Al Cesky passed away from a heart attack at the age of 57. His death was a surprise and a tragedy for many in the town of Bel Air. After his death many students of the school came together and formed the Al Cesky Scholarship Fund Inc. What this consists of is that a male and female student is chosen from each Harford County High School for a $2000 scholarship, and then two students are again chosen from Harford County for a $5000 scholarship. The scholarship fund was created to be a special reference to all the good Al Cesky did in his life.
Bel Air Middle School Teacher Mrs. Foss, who’s had many close family members that has been coached by Al Cesky, stated, “If he had known that a statue for the school was being dedicated to him, he would be very humbled by it, because he wasn’t the kind of person. His family is very touched and honored about it.”
The statue was crafted by the well-known and talented sculptor, John Maisano. He was inspired to create the bobcat because of the inspiration it would give the school, along with his own personal love for cats. The statue’s created out of bronze, and is formed to model a fierce bobcat ready to strike its enemy. The base, which was created even before the bobcat statue itself was finished, was built out of the bricks from the old high school, where Al Cesky coached. Even the brick titled “1948”, the year the high school was finished, was included in this base.
John Maisano states, “I hope you guys get inspired, rally around it, you do a cheer, and when you look up at that ferocious beast, you’re able to say ‘Yeah! That’s us, the Bobcats!’”
The new bobcat sculpture now stands guard at the entrance of the school’s stadium, ready to strike fear into the hearts of our opponents.