St Sebastians School - Arrow Yearbook (Newton, MA)

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at the hands of Browne and Nichols by a single point, 13-12, and Noble and Greenough, 20-O, when superior reserves enabled them to tally all their points late in the fray. Even the Monday morning quarterbacks would have to admit that this record of achievement in the face of such advanced opposition was highly satisfactory. The Class of 1946, in particular, was proud of the fact that its three Sophomore representatives were very instrumental in compiling this satisfying glory. We suspected that John, Bob and Paul would be important factors in St. Sebastian's athletic future. The season offi- cially closed when Bob Baker's Blues proved better mudders thanjimmy Collins' Reds by a 19-13 margin. Historians of the future will probably date the rise of St. Sebastian's gridiron prominence from the Autumn of 1944. That Junior year of ours saw the institution of pre- School practice, the entrenchment of the T formation as our standard tactic, and the compilation of a glorious record. Cap- tained by Bob Baker from the quarterback slot, the season's starting team had Don Gibbons and john Pickard for half-backs and Tony Anzuoni as the No. 4 man. The line featured Mulhern and Ellard, ends, Courtney and Ed Murphy, tackles, Dan Sullivan and Phillips, guards, while Paul McGrath held down the pivot berth. Rolling with in- creased power over each of five successive opponents, the Red and Black iuggernaut vanquished Roxbury Latin 6-0, Browne and Nichols 15-2, Rivers School 18-O, St. Charles of Waltham 28-O, and Cambridge School of Weston 53-7. It seemed ironical that such a season should end on a note of heart-breaking defeat. Such proved to be the case, however, for, after journeying to Rhode Island, we lost, 7-6, to Portsmouth Priory on a mem- orable f1rst-down decision, and Winter's premature arrival in the Berkshires forced a cancellation of our final appearance against Cranwell. Consolation was found, to be sure, in a scrutiny of the relative scoring powefs of St. Sebastian's and its opponents. Chalking up 126 points against 16, we had pushed across 19 touchdowns to our combined op- ponent's 12. Such figures were proof positive that our School would be a potent factor in future Football campaigns. In the Red-Blue annual struggle, Bob Shea of '46, chiefly by means of Bob Baker's two scores, led his Blues to a 13-6 victory. The hopes engendered by our gridiron per- formances of 1944, were definitely fulfilled in the laurels gained by the 1945 St. Sebastian team. Undoubtedly the finest eleven produced in the School's five-year history, the story of its arduous campaign deserves a detailed recording. ST. SEBASTIAN'S 131LAWRENCE AcADEMY 0 Opening their season against Lawrence Academy, the Red and Black gridmen made a most auspicious start by subduing a stubborn home team 13-0. The first St. Sebastian athletes to travel by bus, the players dressed only to find the game delayed by a driving rain-storm. That the soggy condition of the field would be an important factor in the contest was proven in the first quarter when St. Sebastian's failed to score after Neelon's blocked kick and Mulhern's two successive quarter-back sneaks had given the Newton lads a golden opportunity. Having lost the powerful Pickard on the first play of the second quarter through injury, we resorted to the air but the passes just failed to click, although Ellard barely missed a finger-tip clutch in the end zone. After the intermission and with the field considerably dried out, a blocked kick by Harwood, coupled with a sweeping end run by the recovered Pickard, set up a 2 yard scoring plunge by Benny , The pass conversion attempt failed. This 6-O score in our favor endured until, late in the final quarter, McGrath plunged over through center and Pickard bent back the Groton line for the extra point to make the final tally 13-0. Outstanding in our triumph was the end play of Neelon and Ellard, the tackling of Shea and the play selections of Mulhern.

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SPORTS HISTORY 1942-1946 are nu- 4 THE appearance of the thirteen original members of the Class of 1946 on No- nantum Hill coincided with the opening of St. Sebastian's second Football season. From the Sophomores as authoritative witnesses we learned the details of the School's experiment with the sport the year before. We heard that in keeping with the limited numbers at their disposal, Fr. Collins and Coach Ted Duffy had wisely decided to begin with six- man teams. After two games of that type, they felt justified in attempting orthodox Football and with satisfactory results. At least the new School had proved that it could hold its own with more experienced teams. With its second year of existence and com- petitive sports about to begin, St. Sebastian's had arranged an eight-game schedule for the team that it would field in 1942. We can look back now with pride upon the history of that season. In the first place, the Red and Black jerseyed gridders tasted the cup of victory five times and bowed in defeat only on three occasions. Those three occasions came in the first three contests of the campaign, and thereafter, with much- needed experience behind them, the team im- proved with each game and earned decisions over Presentation, Belmont High J.V.'s, Noble and Greenough J.V.'s, Franklin Freeman High School from Franklin, Mass. and St. Bridget's of Framingham. It is true, indeed that our Freshman group of that year did not contribute much in the way of points scored or games saved, but we felt a righteous 05 - pride in the team's success because it was not a lack of willingness on our part that pre- vented us from taking a more spectacular role. Each afternoon found almost every boy in the School drilling under Mr. Duffy's eye, and the members of '46 at least provided some opposition for the regulars. Then too we did our bit in making the first Red-Blue game possible, and some of us found ourselves on Captain Richie Donahue's winning Reds. Our second pigskin season marked the ap- pearance of Coach Vin Murphy on the School scene. Endowed with a deep love of sports and a thorough grasp of their fine points, the new mentor soon demonstrated a faculty for getting the most out of the material available. With him at the helm the Red and Black attempted to match skill with full-fledged private school teams. The team that year lined up as follows: Barry and Ellard, ends, Doherty and Bob Shea, tackles, Lydon and George Baker, guards, McCarron, center, the backfield was composed of Captain Jimmy Collins, Bob Baker, Joe O'Connell and Paul McGrath. Upon this courageous band Victory smiled three times as it took revenge upon Rivers 12-7, subdued the Belmont seconds 7-O and ran riot over Brandeis Vocational 19-O. In addition two ties were garnered in contests with Somerville Voca- tional, O-0, and Angel Guardian, 14-14, the former on a muddy field and the latter in a last-game experiment with the possibilities of the T formation. The two defeats came

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In Good Hands Center Bill Harwood and Quarterback Jack Mulhcrn Waiting for the Whistle The Red and Black about to go into action against Roxbury Latin