Hall of Fame induction: 2023
Howard M. Laws had an athletic career while attending Delcastle Technical High School (DTHS) from 1981-1984. He was a three-sport athlete in football, basketball, and track and field. Howard as a distance runner and two-time track team captain.
Three years after graduating from DTHS, Howard started his coaching career with the legendary Louis Nicoletti. He assisted “Nic” in cross country and track and field. Howard was part of the coaching staff whose team won the state championship in cross country in 1988 and track and field from 1987 through 1989.
Through his tireless efforts Howard began giving back to the T&F/XCC community. He established the Howard M. Laws Delaware Summer XC Series in the summer of 1996. The summer series is held at Bellevue State Park in Wilmington. The series was originally established to allow high school athletes the ability to hone their cross-country skills during the off-season. Over the years the series has evolved into a place where races of all types can train. The series has had runners ranging from ages 8 to 80 years old.
As a member of the Cancer Support Community of Delaware Howard was looking for a way to give back to this community. He established the Scrimmage for Cancer High School Cross Country Invitational in 2010. This race is a pre-season race for high school teams in the tri-state area to kick off the start of their cross country season.
In 2011, Howard founded District 720 an organization in New Castle. District 720 then began sponsoring the Shannon L. Matthew Award (DTFHOF Class of 2010). This award is given to the top male and female spring State of Delaware Assistant Track and Field Coach of the Year.
An ambassador of the sport, Howard has donated thirty years of service to T&F/XCC as an assistant coach to various high school programs. These include: Delcastle, Howard, William Penn, DMA, 400 Elite Summer Track and Mount Pleasant.