Swampscott native Larry Bloom admits he wasn’t the most talented athlete. A two-sport athlete in baseball and football at Swampscott High, Bloom enjoyed playing sports and took after his father, the late Barney Bloom, a longtime physical education teacher and indoor/outdoor track coach at Lynn Classical.
Bloom never imagined he’d be recognized for his accomplishments in athletics. But for 20 years he gave it everything he had as Hofstra University’s Director of Sports Facilities. He was announced as a member of the Hofstra Athletics Hall of Fame Class of 2019 and will be officially inducted at the Pride Athletics Hall of Fame and Golf Outing June 17.
“It was a total shock when they told me,” Bloom, 72, said. “I was an administrator. I did a lot of things. I got a lot of things done. I would’ve thought that the people who get inducted are somewhat more impressive than I was with my history.”
Bloom graduated from Swampscott High in 1964. He attended Northeastern University, where he obtained a bachelor’s in political science in 1969 and a master’s in education in 1973. Bloom was the Assistant Director of Housing at Northeastern until 1973, when he took a similar position at Long Island University. He spent some time in the private sector before landing at Hofstra in 1987. Bloom retired in 2006.
Bloom prided himself in helping provide the best experiences possible for Hofstra’s student-athletes and coaches. During his tenure he oversaw the construction of the David S. Mack Sports and Exhibition Complex and the David S. Mack Fitness Center, the renovation of Joseph M. Margiotta Hall and James M. Shuart Stadium, and the construction of the Hofstra Soccer Stadium.
“I retired in 2006 but I’m still close with a lot of student-athletes and coaches,” Bloom said. “That was the most rewarding part for me. I probably had around 100 student-athletes working with me through jobs, in some capacity or another. That relationship was the most important thing for me. We had great coaches come through the university.”
Bloom will dedicate his induction speech to the bonds he built in the Hofstra athletics community.
“I’m going to talk about the pleasure I had creating the relationships with student-athletes and coaches,” Bloom said. “That was the most important thing for me. That’ll be the key aspect of my speech.”
After his retirement, Bloom briefly returned to Hofstra in 2008 to oversee the school’s hosting of a Presidential Debate between the late John McCain and Barack Obama.
“That was pretty exciting,” Bloom said. “I met a lot of politicians over the years, through the use of our facilities. I met John McCain, George Herbert Walker Bush, Dan Quayle, just to name a few.”
Bloom resides in Bayville, New York. He keeps busy by supporting Hofstra’s teams and traveling with his wife, Lainie.
“I used to play a lot of golf but I had taken ill and can’t play anymore,” Bloom said. “My wife and I travel a lot, all over the world. I still go to all the Hofstra basketball and lacrosse games. I enjoy doing that.”
Barney Bloom was on the Harry Agganis Foundation’s Board of Directors. He’s a member of Classical’s Athletics Hall of Fame.
“My interest in sports was 100 percent from my father’s influence,” Bloom said. “He taught me a lot about how to deal with student-athletes and coaches. I used the lessons he taught me when I was at Hofstra.”
The other inductees are Trevor Dimmie (football), Shellane Ogoshi (volleyball), Sue Weber (women’s soccer), Hofstra’s 1960 baseball team and former men’s basketball coach Jay Wright, who’s now at Villanova. Under Wright’s guidance, Villanova has won two NCAA Division I Tournaments (2016, 2018).
“To go in with Jay Wright, as well as the other inductees, to me that’s quite an honor.”
