Boston College - Sub Turri Yearbook (Boston, MA)

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Trainers Managers An athlete spends a few hours during his season in the color and excitement of intercollegiate compe- tition. He is drilled, tested, coached, outfitted, and trained for one end: to win athletic contests. The athlete must, however, spend many more hours in the tedium and occasional pain of practice, without a screaming crowd or a scoreboard to attest to the results. Behind the scenes at Boston College, players have the assistance and guidance of Jim Cronin, Fritz Mass- man, and Jack Tighe to make practice more meaningful and competition more rewarding. These valuable, self- effacing men, perform a service to BC athletes which makes them an integral and vital part of the athletic program. Jim Cronin has a little bit of everything, in sizes to fit everyone, stashed away in small quarters at Rob- erts Center ' s varsity locker room. The supply may never be enough — especially with football, track, bas- ketball, wrestling, soccer, skiing, and tennis competing for equipment — but the service is always good. Advice is always in stock. Jim Cronin specializes in everything from encouragement to chastisement, pro- viding sermons as they are needed. Cronin ' s stocks have all sorts of pads, cleats, sneakers, jerseys, and every ball imaginable; but more than equipment, his empo- rium dispenses spirit. Jim Cronin, now in his late 60 ' s, retired from business six years ago and has been working at BC ever since. His boys have gone out of Roberts well- dressed and well-equipped, but most important, ready to play. The details of traveling to New Orleans, Annapolis, New York, and points west are his respon- sibility with the aid of a staff of student athletic man- agers. Jim Cronin 222

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Rut times have changed since then. Many of the old-timers couldn ' t compete today. The game is just too fast. There were good skaters in those days, but not as many as there are today. My most satisfying moment came in 1949 when in a little rink in Colorado Springs, B.C. celebrated its first NCAA hockey championship. It was won by a handful of kids who only practiced 3 hours a week. But it wasn ' t so much the victory; you see there was no immediate whooping or shouting. One of the boys took time out to say, ' I think we ought to say a prayer of thanks. ' You ' ll never know how great I felt to realize that their values were straight. Coach Kelley has a definite philosophy about col- lege hockey. I wish to develop American boys in the game of hockey, and see them get a fine education at the same time. I ' m not against Canadian boys, but I resent recruiting them for the sole purpose of win- ning. I dislike professionalism within the college ranks. B.C. is perhaps one of the most spirited hockey schools in the country and is unique in that several gen- erations will attend a game to watch Snooks Kelley and company. The spirit is just tremendous. Their philosophy is that we can do no wrong, and if we lose they always have an excuse, be it exam time, the flu or Canadians. It ' s really a family deal. 221

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All manner of things medical, from Ace bandage to Zino-pad, are the province of BC Trainer Fritz Massman. Fritz is a specialist in a general way: he specializes in curing everything from hangnails to de- pression when such afflictions strike B.C. ' s athletes. Fritz maintains a stoic, humorous attitude toward the failings and foibles of the athletic psyche. A cast, a bandage or a heat treatment is dispensed with a side order of humor. Fritz operates the athletes ' sanctuary, the training table from which healthy bodies are sent out to the contest and to which injuries, sprains, and pains are returned. Aided and abetted by a flock of mischievous mon- sters, the Massman boys, Fritz adds a touch of levity with purpose to h is daily routine of practice. His skill at his healing art, all levity aside, is a professionalism of the first rate. A good coach can teach a player to perform better; it has been only through Fritz ' s skills however, that some of Boston College ' s players have been able to perform at all. A broken bone here or there, a ham- string, a sprain or strain — all can be healed with Fritz ' s concerned supervision. Jack Tighc Fritz Massman Jack Tighe ' s base of operations is McHugh Forum, the home in successive seasons of BC ' s hockey and baseball teams. Jack outfits the hockey Eagles all through the course of a long season, stretching from October through March, and then shifts to baseball for its spring season. In recent years, Jack ' s had the pleasant problem of equipping both teams for travel to NCAA tourna- ments. His attitude with champions is the attitude he takes toward all athletes, a blend of cynicism and warmth that sparks a humorous rapport between him- self and the players. Jack Tighe ' s measure of an athlete is his conduct on and off the field; the best athlete, if he proves too much of a showboat, can ' t earn Jack ' s respect. Hard work and character are still valuable in the Tighe estimate of quality. All three men are valuable to BC athletics; each of the three adds to the success of the Eagles on field, on court, and on ice. Each gives himself to the Boston College athlete, in a role of service but a relationship of respect. Each man, then, has earned Bostpn College ' s thanks. 223