A tradition full of memories
By Marisa Donelan Article Launched: 11/18/2007 10:09:32 AM EST
For Henry Wicker, victory in the Thanksgiving Day game between Fitchburg High School and Leominster High School always came down to preparedness. Wicker, a 1941 FHS graduate and tackle, remembered one game when the ground was so frozen the players opted for sneakers over their screw-on cleats, and another when groundskeepers spent the night shoveling more than a foot of snow off the gridiron. But the most memorable was when legendary FHS coach Clarence Amiott had his players change their uniforms halfway through the game during impossibly muddy and rainy conditions that left FHS trailing LHS, Wicker said. "It was so rainy, so wet and so muddy," he said Thursday. "At the half you couldn't tell what uniform was on what player. So at halftime, Coach Amiott had us completely change into new uniforms, and it got us warmed up. We won the game by one point. I don't remember what year that was, but these are the things I remember." That game is just one of many memorable stories over the more than 100 years of Thanksgiving games between the two cities, Leominster attorney and historian Mark Bodanza said. "It's a famous story," Bodanza said of the mud-bowl game. "My father used to talk about it ... Part of the allure of the rivalry is the fact that it's had so much history and tradition." Wicker said he's rooted for FHS in the years since he graduated, and said although the players change every year and the game seems to have evolved, the rivalry between the two cities seems as strong as ever. "When I used to go to the games as a kid it was a great treat," he said. "The Thanksgiving games were just like they are today. It's your last game of the season. You remember it as long as you can." LHS Athletic Director Chris Young said the rivalry always creates buzz for about a week before the game. "The closer you get, the more electric the school becomes," he said. "I think it just brings such great community excitement." Young said he enjoys seeing former players who return to the games as part of college break or visits home to see family members. And he's not willing to give up the Nicholson Cup, the trophy he'll have to cart over to FHS Athletic Director and Head Coach Ray Cosenza if Leominster loses on Thursday. "With any luck I'll be able to hold onto it for another year," Young said. John Dubzinski, Leominster's head coach, said Thanksgiving is special for all high school football teams. "Thanksgiving is the one day that belongs to high school sports," he said. There's even more intensity because the Twin Cities' teams have been "unbelievably" even in more than a century's worth of games, Dubzinski said. "I think the rivalry is a great thing for both communities," he said. "It adds so much excitement to both schools." Cosenza agrees that the Fitchburg-Leominster rivalry is something many in the community "take to heart" and is "a huge game for both fans." "Some more than others," Cosenza said. "It's very, very big to some people. It effects their Thanksgiving and the rest of their day." But he believes the game's significance runs deeper than its importance to the community. "There's a lot of pride (on the line) in the game. It's bigger to our players. They are the ones out there," he said. "People have played in it, they follow it, people remember when they played, and you want to have those bragging rights, but all we care about is being prepared and we want our kids to do well because they're the ones who've worked hard." According to Young's statistics, Fitchburg leads the rivalry at 63 wins, with Leominster close behind at 59. Six of the games ended in ties, he said. Young's numbers account for games that were played both on Thanksgiving and other days. "In the earliest years, the teams met more than once in a season," he said. Bodanza said the earliest chronicle he found of a game between the "Leominsters" and the "Fitchburgs" is a Nov. 4, 1893, meeting described in the then-Leominster Enterprise. Leominster didn't fare too well. "'It is possible that this is a wonderfully scientific game, but we are not anxious to learn the science,'" Bodanza said, reading the words of a disgruntled Leominster Enterprise reporter. "(The article) didn't give a score, but apparently it wasn't pretty." In 1894, the teams met on Thanksgiving Day, and Leominster won, 40-0. But the then-Fitchburg Sentinel's account gave descriptions of Leominster players who were beyond high school age, Bodanza said. "Back in those days the supervision of those games by an organization like (the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association) or the high schools wasn't the same," he said. "Gradually the school supervision increased, but in the 1890s, that wasn't the case." Despite some questions over the official start of the rivalry, the Thanksgiving match-up between the Red Raiders and the Blue Devils is known as one of the oldest in the country. Fitchburg Ward 3 City Councilor Joel Kaddy, a 1973 FHS graduate who played center for the Red Raiders, said family traditions have also kept the rivalry strong. "The kids that play, their fathers played, their grandfathers played," Kaddy said Wednesday. "It goes back generations and generations. For whatever reason it started, it's just been something I think will probably last forever." By the start of football season, players were already looking forward to playing in the Thanksgiving game, Kaddy said. He recently visited a friend doing groundskeeping work on Crocker Field and walked across the grass, and said he couldn't describe the rush of feelings. "I walked across the field, it just came right back," Kaddy said. "It's more important than the Super Bowl. You can lose every game all season, but if you win on Thanksgiving, it's a winning season." Leominster Ward 3 City Councilor Claire Freda said the rivalry's rich history is healthy and fun. "I think parents transfer their feelings to their kids," she said Tuesday. "You can't create this. This is something we've been able to inherit, and it's something that's special to the region." Fitchburg Mayor Dan H. Mylott said the game in itself is a holiday. "No question, the Thanksgiving Day game is the most important part of the season," he said. "Everything else is secondary." Leominster Mayor Dean J. Mazzarella said the rivalry is one of the first things people know about the region if they're visiting from out of town or are new to the area. "It's always going to be a rivalry, no matter what," he said. "People are still running around explaining about it. If they married someone from the other town, it's like they have to give a reason." The two mayors traditionally make a friendly bet on the game, but as of Friday afternoon, they hadn't set their wager. Both Mazzarella and Mylott said they are pleased tension between the schools has not erupted in vandalism or other trouble this year -- last year the two cities saw offensive blue graffiti on the FHS campus and red paint splashed on new bleachers at Leominster's Doyle Field. "It's actually pretty good this year, and I hope it stays that way," Mazzarella said. "We're keeping an eye out." Lawrence Piermarini, 76, of Leominster, remembered playing right guard in the 1948 Thanksgiving game for LHS. "It was a lot of fun," he said. "The whole time I was in high school, we had good teams. Leominster always held their own." Piermarini said although his team lost or tied the game, he remembered having a good time playing, and said he's glad the spirit of the rivalry has stayed intense. "It gives you bragging rights for the year," he said. "They're wonderful times when they happen. But you know, the years go by fast." Charlie Hauler, an 82-year-old Fitchburg resident, hasn't missed a Thanksgiving Day game since his discharge from the Army in 1946. And he'll be at Crocker Field, decked out in red, for Thursday morning's game. "Fitchburg's got to win it this year, it's our turn," he said. Hauler's got 61 years of memories of come-from-behind wins and heartbreaking losses, "through mud and rain and sweat and snow," he said. "It's just school spirit," he said. "It's the best rivalry in the country. I just love high school sports. Win or lose, they always have a good spirit."
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