La Salle College High School Football: In Retrospect

NOTE: This is the twenty-first of, I hope, many retrospectives highlighting some unique history of the football program at La Salle. The topics to discuss seem endless at this time. Hope you enjoy these.

Bill Wasylenko, ‘69 Issue Number Twenty One: 1964 – The Year Of The Blue (and Gold) Snow As an eighth grader in the fall of 1964, I had met my first love, as had many of my peers. My first love wasn’t named Donna, Linda, or Mary Anne, it was the team, which was unexpectedly and inexplicably riding high in first place in the powerful .

It was “The Year Of The Blue Snow”, as coined by Phillies , to denote a once-in-a-lifetime MIKE TOS occurrence. Though the team had shown promise and progress the last few years, no one gave these castoffs much of a chance to win a pennant in 1964 against a lot of great teams like the Dodgers, Giants, Reds, Braves, and Cardinals.

The of 1950 had become long in the tooth, and the farm system was barren in the late 50’s. Many prospects were instead suspects, and by 1961, the Phils were the league doormat. Young took over the helm in 1961, and labored through a 47-107 season, featuring a lovely 23-game losing streak. But there was some promise in youngsters like , , and Tony Gonzalez, all acquired in trades, and farmhands like catcher and Bobby Wine were able to claim starting spots. and his landed in the bullpen, and he became the first Phillies of renown since in 1950.

Meanwhile, the La Salle football team in Wyndmoor was still on top of its game, coming off a City Championship in 1960, and falling just short of a Catholic League Championship in 1961 with a loss to Monsignor Bonner. They were still on a great that extended back from 1954, and the Catholic League Championships of 1955, 1957, 1958, and 1960 were still fresh, warm memories.

This, my friends, is the story of how these two teams shared a common L experience in the fall of 1964, the Year Of The Blue and Gold Snow. Gene Mauch was a stern taskmaster, the “Little General” who built up his team from scratch, emphasizing the fundamentals, and using “” like the , -and-run, and suicide squeeze to get an early lead. In hindsight, he may have been a lot like Jim Gallagher, who took over the Explorers in 1951 after an 0-10-0 season, and flipped that record around in 1955 with a City Championship.

Mauch took advantage of expansion in 1962, as his Phillies compiled a combined 31-5 record against the fledgling Houston Colt 45s and the on their way to an 81-80 record.

The Philadelphia Catholic League was also undergoing an expansion, as the imminent entry of the Three Bishops (Egan, McDevitt, and Kenrick) led to the formation of divisions in 1963, and all three new schools were placed in the Northern Division, along with relatively new schools Cardinal Dougherty and Father Judge, joining old hands North Catholic and La Salle.

In 1962, the last year of one-division play, La Salle had a solid 6-2-0 league record (8-2-0) overall, but early losses to West Catholic and Dougherty kept them one game away from the top of the league. But the vaunted La Salle defense was stellar in 1962, giving up only 68 points in their 10 John “Tex” Flannery games.

The Phillies of 1963 improved to an 87-75 record, again feasting on the expansion teams, as young , , and Ray Culp anchored a respectable staff. They were just missing a few vital cogs to contend for the pennant, won in 1963 by the of , , , and Tommy Davis.

La Salle’s first foray into divisional play in 1963 had them fall short of “new kid on the block” Bishop Egan by a half a game. Their 4-1-1 league record was only spoiled by an 8-6 loss to Egan, and a scoreless tie to newbie Bishop McDevitt. If you don’t count an aberrational 34-0 inter-divisional loss to West Catholic, the Explorers gave up only 26 points in their other 8 games!

And now, my friends, this story brings us to 1964, a four-digit number that still sends chills up the spines of old Phillies fans. The Phillies made two significant moves to bolster their chances in 1964: they brought up super-prospect Richie Allen from the minors to become their , and they traded for , also acquiring his teammate, catcher Gus Triandos, in the same trade.

Bunning was an earlier version of , a veteran whose workmanlike professionalism rubbed off on the young staff. And Richie Allen was unlike anyone the Phils JIM BUNNING ever had, a young, black, burgeoning superstar whose spindly waist, large shoulders, strong wrists, and buggywhip swing sent balls into the night over the left field roof at Stadium. My vivid imagination assumed that those balls never came down.

Mauch’s charges got off to a great start, going 10-2, as Bunning won his first three games. They were 36-23, heading into a Father’s Day RICHIE ALLEN twinbill against the Mets at brand new . In the opener, Bunning, father of 7, pitched the first in over 40 years, striking Johnny Stephenson to end the game, 6-0. Of almost equal significance, 18-year old Rick Wise won his first major-league game in the nightcap, 8-2, as the Phillies went 15 games over .500 for the first time since August 31, 1953.

Phillies fever was engulfing the Delaware Valley, and when Johnny Callison won the All-Star game with a 3-run homer against in JOHNNY CALLISON Shea Stadium on July 7, it certainly seemed to be the Year of the Blue Snow.

BUNNING’S FINAL OUT CALLISON’S ALL-STAR HR Sluggers The Phils expanded their lead in the Wes National League, and were 30 games Covington, over .500 on September 7 after a Frank Labor Day split of a Thomas, against the Dodgers, and were 88-57 Richie on September 15 after a win over the Allen, Colt 45s. Johnny Callison

Meanwhile, La Salle was preparing for its 1964 season, holding training camp in Wyomissing between September 1 and September 10. A scrimmage against West Scranton indicated that the defense would be as Wyomissing Chowtime strong as ever, and they headed back to Cheltenham Avenue to start the school year and the season.

On Friday night September 18, the Phillies lost a 4-3 nailbiter to the Dodgers, defending champs who had fallen out of the race in 1964. La Salle headed up to Playwicki Field (not yet called Harry Franks Stadium, or “Heartbreak Ridge”) in Langhorne for a night game against the Neshaminy Redskins, the “” of their day, in the midst of a 51- game unbeaten streak. Bob Logan scampers away from Redskins Before about 10,000 fans, the Explorers acquitted themselves well, but a fumbled punt in the second quarter led to one touchdown, and the Redskins scored again before half, and hung on to a 13-0 win. The defense was strong, but the offense had a tough time moving the ball against the large Neshaminy line.

On Monday night, September 21, the Phillies were 6 ½ games ahead, with only 12 more to play. It was to be one of the darkest nights in Phillies history. Art

Mahaffey was locked up in a pitchers’ duel with Reds RUIZ STEALS HOME righthander John Tsitouris in the sixth at Connie Mack Stadium. The Reds had a runner on third with two out, and their great slugger was at the plate with two strikes. Incredibly, , the runner on third, broke for home as Mahaffey wound up for his next . Mahaffey’s pitch sailed wide of the catcher Dalrymple, and the Reds went on to win, 1-0, as the Phils left 8 men on base. It was the beginning of the end. The Phillies lost the remaining two games of the series with the Reds, but panic didn’t set in until they lost the first three games of a four-game home series with the Braves. On Sunday morning, September 27, the Phillies had lost 6 games in a row, and were now just ½ game ahead of the surging Reds, with the also-hot Cardinals gaining ground at 1 ½ games back.

On that Sunday afternoon, La Salle traveled down to Bartram High School to take on their Brothers, the Burrs of West Catholic, in what now was a non-divisional game. The Explorers bested the Burrs, 8-6, avenging the previous season’s 34-0 trouncing, and winning for the first time since 1958 in this long-standing rivalry. West scored a fluke touchdown in the second quarter on the return of a fumble after a La Salle interception, and maintained a 6-0 lead into the fourth quarter. But quarterback Joe Sheehan’s sneak tied the score, and then Sheehan swept around left tackle for the two-point conversion that gave La Salle the victory. Again, the defense was tremendous.

About 5 miles away, at 21st and Lehigh, the Phillies tried to salvage one game of the Braves series and put an end to the losing streak. My brother, Dad, and I were in attendance that day to witness Jim Bunning, on two days’ rest, get shelled early, and the Braves won 14-8, despite the heroic efforts of Johnny Callison, who slugged three home runs in the losing cause. Panic had officially set in, as the high-flying Cardinals were coming to town.

Three straight losses to the Cardinals dropped the Phillies virtually out of the race, with the only hope that they could win the last two games of the season against the Reds, while the Cards would have to lose their last three games against the lowly Mets in St. Louis. And it almost happened!

The Phillies beat the Reds in Crosley Field, 4-3, on Friday night, October 2, coming back from a 3-0 deficit with a 4-run 8th, featuring a clutch 2-run by Richie Allen. And the Cards were shut out by Al Jackson of the Mets, 1-0, besting Redbird ace . The Phils had an unusual Saturday off-day, but hope was still alive as the Mets amazingly bludgeoned the Cardinals, 15-5. Everything would come down to the last day of the regular season, Sunday, October 4.

The pennant race was coming down to a photo finish, with the Reds and Cards tied, and the Phillies one game back. The Giants had just been eliminated, and would end up just three games back, and the Braves would finish 5 games back. If the Phillies beat the Reds, and the Mets somehow beat the Cardinals again, there would be a three-way tie for the pennant!

The Phillies did their part, dismantling the Reds, 10-0, as Bunning won his 19th game. The Mets made a game of it against the Cards, and were trailing just 5-4 in the sixth inning, when I turned on my Navilco transistor radio to try to pick up the broadcast from New York. I got to hear the Cards rally for 3 runs in the bottom of both the 6th and 8th , and their 11- UNUSED 5 win sent them to the World Series and sent me to the tissue WORLD SERIES TICKETS box. While the Phillies played their last game, the Explorers played their first divisional game at McCarthy Stadium against the Knights of Bishop Kenrick. The Blue and Gold took the opening kickoff and marched right down the field, scoring on an 8- yard run by Stan “Stosh” Fota. The floodgates opened up against the hapless Knights, as Joe Sheehan passed to Joe Donoghue for one TD, and caught one himself on a halfback pass from Steve McNichol. Fota added another TD from 30 yards out, and junior Mike Boerner added another rushing touchdown. The defense was more than stellar, snagging three interceptions, and recording two safeties. The 46-0 shellacking of Kenrick was a great Sheehan leads McNichol start to the divisional race. In addition, the Eagles broke out to a three- touchdown lead at Franklin Field, and beat the Steelers, 21-7. Our three “Philadelphia” favorite teams outscored their opponents on that Sunday by 77-7, yet there was no joy in Mudville. For most of us from that era, the pain of the 1964 Phillies will remain forever. The Cardinals went on to the World Series for the first time since 1946, and defeated the Yankees in 7 games. Stosh Fota Joe Donoghue

But the Explorers were now on a roll, and it’s time to talk about them. The Phillies may have had Bunning and Short, but La Salle had Bogle and Sheehan. Frank Bogle was a sturdy tackle who led the vaunted La Salle defense and was a first-team All-Catholic. Joe Sheehan was the quarterback of the beleaguered offense, whose major leadership contributions as the field general got lost with the dearth of points in the scoring column. Ed Plocha was a middle guard who started in all three of his Varsity seasons, and who also achieved first-team All-Catholic honors.

Frank Bogle Joe Sheehan Ed Plocha Steve McNichol Jay Foley Mike McCarthy The Phillies may have had their “Days of Wine and Rojas”, but La Salle had their days of Sloane and Fota. Len Sloane was a sturdy junior LB who blended in well with the senior-laden defense, and Stosh Fota showed some explosiveness on offense as a back. Steve McNichol was the Blue and Gold’s Johnny Callison, the best back in the offensive backfield who also was the master of the halfback pass. And though La Salle had other staunch players like end Mike McCarthy, junior defensive back Bobby Enoch, and senior defenders Jay Foley and Bob Logan, no one on La Salle’s roster could be compared to Richie Allen. But funny things happen in researching La Salle football history, as a solid linebacker on the 1969 team was none other than Rich Allen, Class of 1970!

The La Salle Explorer Defense of 1964 Back row: Bob Logan, Tim Foley, Jay Foley, Len Sloane, Bob Enoch Front row: Guy Sciolla, Frank Bogle, Frank Iaquinta, Ed Plocha, Vic D’Orazio, Mike McCarthy At Lincoln High School on Sunday, October 11, the Explorers whitewashed North Catholic 12-0, for their 8th straight victory over the once-formidable Falcons. After stopping North on downs at the Blue and Gold 5-yard line, La Salle eventually capitalized on a Len Sloane recovery of a fumbled punt. Joe Sheehan tossed an 8-yard TD pass to Bob Gumrot to give the Explorers the lead.

Though the Falcons had a case of fumble-itis all game long, La Salle could only score one more time, as Steve McNichol, a workhorse all game, broke free up the middle for a 28-yard touchdown, and the Blue and Gold had won their first two league games. But, up next, was defending champion Bishop Egan, under Dick Bedesem, ‘49.

Bishop Egan was the Los Angeles Dodgers of 1964, defending and future champions who were in an uncharacteristically down year. The Eagles of Fairless Hills had won just once, a non-league game against Roman Catholic, and now took on the Explorers on October 25, who were fresh off a bye week.

La Salle took no mercy on Bedesem’s charges at McCarthy Stadium, winning 20-0, and avenging the 8-6 loss in 1963 that kept them from the Northern Division championship. Late in the first half, La Salle’s defense recovered a fumble in Egan territory, and Joe Sheehan connected with Bob Gumrot on a 31-yard strike just before halftime to give the Explorers a 6-0 lead.

La Salle took the second-half kickoff and marched down the field on runs by McNichol and Fota, and Mike Boerner capped off the drive with a one-yard run. McNichol’s halfback pass to Joe Jordan for the two-point conversion made it 14-0. The defense tallied the final score, as Mike McCarthy picked off an errant Egan pass and raced 30 yards for the final touchdown. The Blue and Gold was now 3-0 in divisional play, and were also unscored upon within the division.

Their next league contest would be against the high-flying Royal Lancers of Bishop McDevitt, also unbeaten in divisional play, and 6-0-0 overall.

Stosh Fota (#25) receives a pitch from QB Joe Sheehan The Lancers averaged 21 points per game, but the La Salle defense, led by middle guard Ed Plocha, throttled quarterback Tim Dunleavy, subbing for the injured Tom Bender. In the second quarter, the Explorer ground game got going, as runs by Bill McCloskey, Steve McNichol, and Mike Boerner set up a one-yard sneak by Sheehan to give the Blue and Gold a 6-0 lead.

Bob Enoch intercepted a Dunleavy pass and returned it into McDevitt territory, and Steve McNichol put the Explorers up 12-0 on a 28-yard touchdown around left end. The Explorer defense stifled the Lancers until the fourth quarter, when a returning Bender connected with Dunleavy for a touchdown. The two-point play brought the score to 12-8, but La Salle held off the Lancers to go 4-0 in the division, despite being scored upon for the first time in 17 quarters.

After the game Tex Flannery made an ominous observation: he was plenty happy with the win, but he noted: “our all-around play, particularly our offense, will have to improve for us to beat our other rivals”.

There were only two rivals left. Cardinal Dougherty’s Cardinals were 2-1-0 in the division, having lost to McDevitt, but enjoying a bye week while La Salle battled the Lancers. And Father Judge, who limped out with a 1-4-1 divisional record in 1963, had run the table so far in its divisional games. These last two games would certainly be against the best the division had to offer in 1964, not unlike the Phillies final two series in 1964 against the Cardinals and the Reds. Both games would be held at Northeast High School at Cottman and Algon.

On Sunday November 8, the Explorers took on the upstart Cardinals, who had beaten Egan and North after their McDevitt loss. They were lurking in the weeds. The teams battled to a scoreless tie in the first half, but Dougherty’s halfback Jim Casertano was breaking off some nice gains against the tough La Salle defense. Then, on the first play of the third quarter, Casertano electrified the home crowd with a 78-yard bolt around right end for a touchdown, and the Blue and Gold were behind for the first time all year in a divisional game, 7-0. Late in the third quarter, Casertano was at it again, gaining 32 of his overall 181 yards on the ground with a dash to the La Salle three-yard line, and Bernie Rodgers ran it in from there to put the Cardinals up, 13-0. La Salle’s offense sputtered at times, but did move the ball. However, three fumbles, one deep in Card territory, kept the Blue and Gold off the board. And the Dougherty defense was staunch in their own right. The 13-0 loss dropped the Explorers into a tie with Dougherty, and one game behind the Crusaders of Father Judge, who were now 4-0 in league play. La Salle had to win the final divisional game against Judge to have a chance at a tie for the division, which would necessitate a playoff. It was time to regroup and come back to Cottman and Algon next week.

Father Judge was yet another Northern Division team with a great defense, and they had a great runner in Charlie Jarvis. La Salle needed to find a way to stop Jarvis, and also to get some points on the board.

Though this was La Salle’s last league game, they had a bye the following week, while Judge and Dougherty would face off in a showdown, regardless of what happened in the Judge-La Salle game. If La Salle defeated Judge, they would play a tiebreaker game against the winner of the Dougherty-Judge game.

Sunday, November 15 represented La Salle’s last chance, as the season of hope turned into desperation after one lone loss the week before.

La Salle’s running attack was stymied early in the game, and Flannery adjusted by taking to the air. But dropped passes were the Explorers’ Achilles heel this day, with one of them negating a sure touchdown. Late in the second quarter, Steve McNichol’s halfback pass was intercepted by Jarvis, who returned the pick all the way to the La Salle 24-yard line, where Sheehan, the last man between Jarvis and the goal line, made a saving tackle. Judge ran the ball inside the La Salle 10-yard line, but the trusty defense stiffened one more time. With fourth-and-goal at the 12, and time running out in the half, quarterback Bill Kelly converted a 28-yard field goal attempt, and the Crusaders went into the locker room with a 3-0 lead.

The Explorers were now down to their last 24 minutes. Judge was forced to punt to open the third quarter, and La Salle marched from their own 12 to the Judge 29, but a Sheehan pass was intercepted to squelch the drive. There was an exchange of punts, and then Bob Logan intercepted a Kelly pass.

Sheehan’s passing and McNichol’s running brought the ball down to the Crusader 19, but then Sheehan, under a ferocious rush, threw another interception, and this was the final real opportunity for the Explorers to score. In the last minute of play, a desperation pass was intercepted, and the Crusaders were able to run out the clock to preserve their 3-0 victory.

La Salle had gallantly fought in this defensive struggle, containing the great Jarvis, but they just couldn’t push the ball across the goal 1964 line. Father Judge lost to Cardinal Dougherty that following week, 9-6, necessitating a tiebreaker playoff game against the Cardinals. This time, the Crusaders won, 12-7, overcoming a 7-0 deficit on runs by Jarvis and Kelly. They went on to face the Bulldogs of St. James for the Catholic League Championship at Kennedy Stadium.

And the Crusaders sprinkled the Jimmies, 32-14, to capture their first-ever Catholic League Championship. They didn’t stop there, though; the Crusaders won the City Title by the slimmest of margins, 19-18, against their Northeast Philadelphia rival, Frankford High School. Bill Kelly scored a tying touchdown with less than a minute to play, and kicked the winning extra point.

Much like the Phillies of 1964 who got to watch the St. Louis Cardinals be crowned World Series champions, the La Salle Explorers had to watch Father Judge win their first ever Catholic League and City Championships, and wonder what would have been, if only they had the ball just one more time.

Tex Flannery never won another Catholic League title, though hopeful seasons in 1972 and 1976 were dashed by late-season losses to Archbishop Wood in both years. 1964 represented the last hurrah of a great dynasty of La Salle football; it would take till the late 80’s for the resurrection to occur.

The Phillies made some moves to add veterans in 1965 and 1966, but they never achieved the heights of that 1964 team. Gene Mauch was the first of the , and he also managed the and California Angels. His 1986 Angels team was on the brink of a pennant, but they blew a playoff series against the in spectacular fashion. Mauch managed for 26 years in the majors without winning a pennant.

The Phillies hit bottom by the early 70’s, but rose to the top of the National League by 1980, winning their first World Series ever in 6 games over the .

1980 certainly was a great celebration, but somehow has never really erased the memories of 1964. The bitter young men who were fans of that 1964 Phillies team are now cranky old men, scarred for life, still wishing for one more clutch base hit by Allen or Callison, still muttering: “6 and a half, with 12 to play”.

In 1989, the 1964 Phillies had a 25th Reunion, remembering old times and a team that almost won a pennant despite having a lot less talent than at least 4 other teams. In that reunion, the players unanimously expressed their support for their skipper, Gene Mauch, many, including Jim Bunning, feeling that he was the best manager that they ever had.

The Explorers of 1964 also look back fondly on their season as well. And maybe those La Salle players in 1964 still wonder what could have been with just one more chance with the ball, just one more set of downs, in that year of the Blue and Gold snow. Ground: Unidentified batboy, batboy Bush. 1st row: Bunning, Bennett, Callison, Widmar (coach), Lowrey (coach), Mauch (mgr), Myatt (coach), Oldis (coach), Mahaffey, Boozer, Gonzalez. 2nd row: Liscio (trainer), Allen, Shantz, Culp, Briggs, Thomas, Wise, Johnson, Baldschun, Cater, Rojas. 3rd row: Dalrymple, Amaro, Wine, Herrnstein, Covington, Triandos, Roebuck, Power, Short. I welcome your comments, corrections, and additions. Go La Salle!! Bill Wasylenko, ‘69 [email protected] February 25, 2012, revised July 27, 2013