To commemorate the 40th anniversary of the first Pioneer team to play in the Cape Ann League, I am taking a week by week look back at the 1973 season.
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Wayback Wednesday: The 1973
CAL Champion Pioneers |
September 19, 1973 - Talk about crashing the party.
Any doubts that may have lingered about the Pioneers ability to compete in their first year in the Cape Ann League were quickly smashed in the CAL jamboree held the week before the official season opening. Lynnfield dominated both sides of the ball in 30 minute half, exploding for a 33-0 battleaxing of the North Andover Scarlet Knights before an estimated 3500 fans at Newburyport's War Memorial Stadium.
The Pioneers' 33 points exceeded the combined total of all the other teams that partcipated in the league's showcase.
According to Steve Farrar's account in the Wakefield Item, the Pioneers made a striking first impression forcing a Knight fumble on their first possession. They quickly turned it into a score when quarterback Steve Olsen connected with Larry Mitkus on a 30 yard TD pass. Olsen finished the exhibition 2 for 2 with both passes going for scores.
After the initial TD, Lindsey Ross picked off two passes in a row which the Pioneers again converted into scores. After the first, Olsen hit Ross for a touchdown, a refrain that would be echoed throughout the fall, and running back Brian Rea ran in the two point conversion.
Ross returned his second interception to the Knight two yard line, where Rea cashed in for another Pioneer score to give Lynnfield a 21-0 lead less than six minutes into the contest.
The Pioneers were more deliberate in the second quarter, marching 70 yards for a score with Olsen taking it the final six yards for the TD. That made it 27-0 and head coach Bill Rodan emptied the bench for the remainer of the exhibition.
Frank Guarino accounted for the Pioneers' final score on a 22 yard touchdown run.
Rea, Guarino, Steve Olsen, Steve Celata and Bob Olsen keyed a running attacked that rolled over North Andover for 150 yards in the two quarters of play.
The Pioneer defense was just as impressive, forcing four turnovers and shutting out the Knight offense.
In other jamboree action, Masconomet/Triton and Amesbury/Ipswich resulted in scoreless ties while Hamilton Wenham shut out North Reading 14-0 and Pentucket edged Newburyport 7-6.
Farrar's assessment following the jamboree was that Newburyport, Pentucket, Hamilton-Wenham and Lynnfield with veteran lineups would be the top competitors for the league title. He felt that Amesbury, Ipswich, Triton and North Andover, which all lost most of their 1972 starters to graduation, would be rebuilding. He added that Masco and North Reading would be starting from scratch with new coaches.
With preseason practices and the league jamboree behind them, all that was left for the Pioneers was to prepare for their season and home opener the following week against Triton.
Any doubts that may have lingered about the Pioneers ability to compete in their first year in the Cape Ann League were quickly smashed in the CAL jamboree held the week before the official season opening. Lynnfield dominated both sides of the ball in 30 minute half, exploding for a 33-0 battleaxing of the North Andover Scarlet Knights before an estimated 3500 fans at Newburyport's War Memorial Stadium.
The Pioneers' 33 points exceeded the combined total of all the other teams that partcipated in the league's showcase.
According to Steve Farrar's account in the Wakefield Item, the Pioneers made a striking first impression forcing a Knight fumble on their first possession. They quickly turned it into a score when quarterback Steve Olsen connected with Larry Mitkus on a 30 yard TD pass. Olsen finished the exhibition 2 for 2 with both passes going for scores.
After the initial TD, Lindsey Ross picked off two passes in a row which the Pioneers again converted into scores. After the first, Olsen hit Ross for a touchdown, a refrain that would be echoed throughout the fall, and running back Brian Rea ran in the two point conversion.
Ross returned his second interception to the Knight two yard line, where Rea cashed in for another Pioneer score to give Lynnfield a 21-0 lead less than six minutes into the contest.
The Pioneers were more deliberate in the second quarter, marching 70 yards for a score with Olsen taking it the final six yards for the TD. That made it 27-0 and head coach Bill Rodan emptied the bench for the remainer of the exhibition.
Frank Guarino accounted for the Pioneers' final score on a 22 yard touchdown run.
Rea, Guarino, Steve Olsen, Steve Celata and Bob Olsen keyed a running attacked that rolled over North Andover for 150 yards in the two quarters of play.
The Pioneer defense was just as impressive, forcing four turnovers and shutting out the Knight offense.
In other jamboree action, Masconomet/Triton and Amesbury/Ipswich resulted in scoreless ties while Hamilton Wenham shut out North Reading 14-0 and Pentucket edged Newburyport 7-6.
Farrar's assessment following the jamboree was that Newburyport, Pentucket, Hamilton-Wenham and Lynnfield with veteran lineups would be the top competitors for the league title. He felt that Amesbury, Ipswich, Triton and North Andover, which all lost most of their 1972 starters to graduation, would be rebuilding. He added that Masco and North Reading would be starting from scratch with new coaches.
With preseason practices and the league jamboree behind them, all that was left for the Pioneers was to prepare for their season and home opener the following week against Triton.
Next: The Pioneers' official Cape Ann League debut
1973 Flashback
Five of the six gas stations in Lynnfield joined other North Shore stations in a one day strike to protest President Nixon's gasoline price controls. According to the Villager, only Perley Burrill's on Salem Street remained open. Initiated in 1971, the controls were meant to hold down the price of gas and prevented oil companies from passing on the full cost of imported oil. The result was shortages and the retailers reacted by shutting down and placing "No Gas - Closed" signs on their stations.
On a lighter note, an ad in the Villager announced a YoYo exhibition for next week at the Pioneer Shoppe in the Colonial Shopping Center. Duncan YoYo champion Tom McCoy was scheduled to appear.
1973 Flashback
On a lighter note, an ad in the Villager announced a YoYo exhibition for next week at the Pioneer Shoppe in the Colonial Shopping Center. Duncan YoYo champion Tom McCoy was scheduled to appear.
If you played on or were involved with the 1973 Pioneers and would like to share a memory, please pass it on to me at tcondardo@gmail.com.
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