Wakefield High School Football 1945

 

     World War II had ended just a month or two before the start of the 1945 football season but it seemed like it was to be another so-so year for Wakefield when they lost two of the first three games and tied the other.  An optimist might have thought at the time there still was a good chance Wakefield could triumph since they only lost by a touchdown or so to the two Division 1 teams and tied an equal in Division 2.  That optimist would have been correct.  Over the next four games they scored 120 points while completely shutting down their opponent’s offense.   Furthermore they did not lose a game in their final 8 and only 6 points were scored on them while they tallied 159 points   during those contests.  Perhaps some of these statistics may have been lost in what many Wakefield people consider to be the greatest single moment in Wakefield sports history.

 

Front Row: Coach W. Harold Rood, Chester Pawlowski, John Hickey, Donald Ratcliffe, Joseph Colucello, John Roberto, Captain George Roberto,

Henry Rich HOF, Leslie DeMarco HOF, Henry Morgan, Arthur Loughlin, Burr Mosker, Coach James Walsh

2nd Row: Manager Morton Sherman, Davis Jackson, Lawrence Ross, Edward Dow, John Cavanaugh, Peter Leone, Theodore Fritz, Benito Barsanti,

 William DeRoche, Frank Nardone, Richard Muise, Samuel Deniso, John Sardella, Coach Richard Scanlon

3rd Row: Norman Campbell, Robert Fitz, James Cone, Thomas Canavan, Ernest Evangelista, Owen Huff, Richard Gutro, William Kerr, Carlos Monge, Robert Brown, Man. Richard MacKenna

4th row: Joseph Colwell, Frank Luciano, Earle Brown, John D’Alessandro, Michael Roberto, Norman Arnold, John Hacker, Harold Muse, Paul Conley, Richard Halloran, Phil McAuliffe

 

     Melrose had Wakefield’s number when it came to football.  As a matter of fact, it had been 23 seasons since Wakefield had last won a game against the Melrose football team and in 45 years had only won 3 times out of 30 contests.  Of course there was hope - but at the same time - people would talk openly about ‘The Jinx’ associated with all the unfathomable losses.  The hope stemmed from the fact that Wakefield won their four games leading up to the Melrose game by a score of 120-0.  The problem was the ‘Jinx’ - plus undefeated Melrose had not allowed Wakefield to score on them in 12 years.

 

     Coach Harold Rood was aware of the impregnable Melrose defense and had been drilling his team on a sleeper play.  In 1944 a sleeper play had been run but disallowed.  Coach Rood wrote to the Association of New England Officials and was confirmed to its legality.  Furthermore, on the day of the game, he approached the officials beforehand and informed them of his intentions.

 

     The first half was a tough defensive battle with only Melrose scoring when their giant left tackle Alden Murphy, son of the WHS Class President of 1913, intercepted a Henry Rich HOF pass, (a ‘fluke’ play according to the yearbook) and ran 40 yards for a touchdown.  The extra point was missed but that still meant Melrose had outscored Wakefield 149-0 over the last 12 years.  Then, in the third quarter, Henry Rich suffered a pulled leg muscle and had to be carried from the game.  The ‘Jinx’ had run its course again.

 

     In the fourth quarter, Wakefield was forced to punt but the reception was fumbled and recovered by Wakefield’s left guard Don Ratcliffe.  Henry Rich limped back out onto the field and Coach Rood sent in Reggie Sardella to replace Burr Mosher with instructions for the play.  After two normal plays, quarterback John Roberto got the ball to Les DeMarco HOF on an end sweep to the right for a short gain.  All eyes were now focused on the right side of the field when Reggie Sardella went to the left as if he was being replaced but stayed just inside the sideline in fair territory.  The Wakefield crowd quieted down perhaps because some recognized ‘the play’ or maybe it was the nervous anticipation of fourth down in the waning minutes of a huge game.  John Roberto called the signals, Henry Morgan snapped the ball to Henry Rich who spiraled the ball to an all-alone and waiting Sardella on the 15 yard line for the easy run in for the 30 yard touchdown.  Once Henry Rich kicked the extra point to make it 7-6, pandemonium broke out from the Wakefield side which spilled onto the field and required several minutes to restore order.  After all, 1921,  was the last year Wakefield was ahead of Melrose this late in a football game.

 

     When the game was finally over, the fans came out of the stands to carry John Sardella (nickname was Reggie but often referred to as ‘Sleeper’) into the locker room and the Wakefield Band led a long snake dance of jubilant fans off Walton Field and down Main Street.  A newspaper boy wrote the score on the top of each Saturday evening paper he delivered.  There was free food, drinks and sundaes at the Wakefield High School canteen that night when 800 showed up to dance to the music of the Gerard Scott’s Orchestra.  On Sunday, and through the week,  many merchants including Fazio’s, The Parisian Barber Shop, Wally’s Cleaners and Crystal Ice Cream Parlor all offered free goodies and services to members of the victorious team. 

 

     The ‘Jinx’ was over.

 

Note: While the band led snake was dancing off of Walton Field, two teenagers went up to the scoreboard unnoticed.  One took the “7” and the other took the “6” then raced home across the train tracks to Bartlett Street with their treasure.  I talked to someone who was at the 1945 game sometime in the year 2007 who  intimately knew both  teenagers.  It was he who wrote the article which appeared in The Daily Item on October 30, 1970, from which I wrote this page.  I thank them and apologize for any plagiarism that may exist.

 

*Henry Rich HOF was All-Scholastic in 1945.

*Bill Healey entered record book by intercepting and run of 82 yards for a td against Reading.

*John Reggie ‘Sleeper’  Sardella, besides the Melrose TD, also scored the only touchdown against Gloucester on Thanksgiving.

*The Peabody Game was played at night under the lights at the Manning Bowl.

*Nandy Barsanti, elected captain before he left school the previous year to join the Navy,

wired a congratulatory telegram from the Pacific to the team after the Melrose victory.

 

Captain: George ‘Tim’ Roberto

Coach Harold Rood 7-2-2

Points Scored

Opponent

Points Against

0

Peabody

7

13

Brookline

13

6

Medford

14

26

Swampscott

0

41

Woburn

0

20

Watertown

0

33

Manchester NH

0

7

Melrose

6

26

Reading

0

0

Winchester

0

6

Gloucester

0

178

 

40

Scorers

Henry Rich HOF               53

Joe Colucello                 25

Bill Healey                     24

Les DeMarco HOF           18

John Roberto                 15

John Sardella                  13

Ernest Evangelista           12

Chet Pawlowski             12

Frank Nardone                6

 

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