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| Wayback Wednesday: The 1973 CAL Champion Pioneers |
Jordan Park was dedicated in memory of Allan Jordan who was killed in Viet Nam in 1968.
You could get a gas rotary lawnmower at Grant City in North Reading for $49, an economy leaf rack for $.66, a clam dinner for $1.49 (all you can eat), a Keystone XL1000 movie camera ("take indoor movies without lights!) for $89.88, Rally hockey skates for $9.88 and a 6 ft to 8 ft Christmas tree at Pinewood Gardens in North Reading for $4.85. Oh and you could pick up a 9 room, 2 1/2 bath colonial in King's Grant for $87K.
As now, the town had a thriving youth football program but the Pop Warner teams were not named the Pioneers. The A team was the Chargers, the B team was the Rams and the C team was the Spartans.
And the Villager published its first issue on April 18 so 1973 was the first season it chronicled the Pioneer football team.
They certainly had a great story to follow.
Playing in their new league, the Pioneers immediately inserted themselves into the thick of the race and ended up winning a share of the league championship.
So each week this season, I'll look back at that corresponding week 40 years ago to review what happened to the Pioneers as they embarked on a new trail known as the Cape Ann League.
For the first 15 years of the Lynnfield football program, the Pioneers played in the Dual County League making long road trips to Bedford, Wayland and Weston among others.
Head Coach Bill Rodan stressed that the travel was the key reason for the change.
"Each school is about the same size in (the CAL) and the trips will be much shorter," Rodan said at the time.
An unnamed assistant coach was quoted in the Villager as asking "How can you get a team psyched up and them keep them that way for a one hour bus ride?"
The CAL indeed appeared to be a much better match for the still growing Pioneer sports program in general and the football squad in particular.
According to The History of the Cape Ann League by Joseph M. Hyland, the league was originally a spinoff of the Northeast Conference which began in 1931. In 1937, Rockport, St. Ann's of Gloucester, Essex Aggie, Essex High and Manchester officially formed the CAL for basketball and baseball. Masconomet joined in 1959.
In 1960, the league added football made up of Pentucket, Hamilton-Wenham, Masco, Essex Aggie, Georgetown and Manchester. In 1962, the football league split into two division because the smaller schools were having a hard time competing against the larger schools. Timberlane High of Plaistow, NH was added to Division II at that time.
The CAL reverted back to a single division and began to expand. North Reading left the Dual County League and joined in 1965. Manchester left in 1967, but Amesbury left the NEC to join in 1970. Triton Regional opened in 1971 and joined the league.
Most of the information I have gathered comes from news articles in the Villager and the Wakefield Item, both of which did a solid job covering the team. What would be even more interesting would be some eyewitness accounts of particular games or the season in general from those who were there.
If you played on that 1973 team or were involved with it in any way and have particular memories to share, please send them on to me at tcondardo@gmail.com. Last season's series on the 1986 team was made much more interesting thanks to the input from members of that great team. Hopefully you 73's can duplicate that contribution!
So join me for a trip in the Wayback Machine back to 1973.
Next: Preseason workouts begin.
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