A game for a lifetime
LHS, FHS captains find memories linger
FIFTY YEARS LATER
Nov 18, 2007
By Jay Gearan CORRESPONDENT

LEOMINSTER On that unseasonably warm Thanksgiving Day morning at
Doyle Field back in 1957, the Fitchburg High and Leominster High
football captains met at midfield for the coin toss.

Last week, Ken Rostedt and Dick Robichaud met again.

As they looked out from the Doyle Field stands, recalling those days
long ago, both men could easily recall their favorite plays.

"Forty-two dive," said Mr. Rostedt, who played right halfback
for the Fitchburg Red and Gray.

"We’d go 51, and I would take it off tackle," said
Mr. Robichaud, the Blue Devils’ left halfback. "The 60 pass plays
worked well too."

And then the talk turned to that special Thanksgiving Day 50 years
ago, the 73rd renewal of Fitchburg versus Leominster, a game played in
front of 8,000 fans, including proud parents Eero and Mildred Rostedt
and Roland and Exilda Robichaud.

Coach Eddie Sullivan ran the show for Fitchburg. On the Leominster
side, it was Charlie Broderick. "C.B., we called him," said
Mr. Robichaud, whom his teammates called "Roby."

The final 1957 Thanksgiving Day score: Fitchburg 20, Leominster 14.

Was it an upset? Mr. Rostedt was asked. "One of the biggest," he
quickly responded. "We hadn’t beaten them in six years, not since
1951. It was euphoric."

Pointing to the end zone, Mr. Rostedt recalled his winning touchdown,
a 7-yard end-run sprint early in the fourth quarter, lifting Fitchburg
ahead for good.

"They called my number," said Rostedt, who also scored a 1-yard
TD that day. "My heart was pounding, I was so scared."

"Around the left end,"Robichaud recalled. "I can’t forget
that play, I can still see it."

Although he’s quick to praise his teammates, talented players like
quarterback Ed Mahoney, backs Louis DeAmicis and Robert Hembrow, ends
James Gardner, Charles Breau and his fellow captain for the game,
James Gately, Mr. Robichaud, a first-team Worcester County All-Star
selection in both his junior and senior years, was the main man for
the Blue Devils. He ran, passed, kicked extra points and was a terror
on defense.

"Our quarterback, Buzzy Congram, had orders," Mr. Rostedt
remembered. "When he saw Dick on the right side, we ran to the
left. Dick was a cut above the rest, no doubt about it."

Mr. Rostedt added, "I remember throwing a block at Dick when we
were getting pummeled by Leominster the year before at Crocker
Field. I knocked him down and I went down, too. And then he got up,
walked over to me, picked me up and asked me if I was all right."

Reflecting on that 1956 game, a 44-13 Leominster trouncing, keyed by
senior star Ron Palazzi, Mr. Robichaud reminded Mr. Rodstedt, "It
was 13-13 at halftime. In C.B.’s day, if you beat Fitchburg and you
played in the game, you’d get a little gold football with the score on
it, and that was a tradition that went back to my grandfather’s
days."

Leominster entered the 1957 game with a 4-2 record with wins over
Nashua, Arlington, Chicopee and even Gardner, the eventual Worcester
County champions that season.

But Mr. Robichaud, who would throw a touchdown pass the next day
giving his team a 14-13 lead, said that he can still recall the
ominous feeling he had in the team’s final practice before the
game. "It wasn’t a good feeling at all," he said. "Something
just wasn’t right."

Fitchburg had opened with three straight losses to Notre Dame, Nashua
and Marlboro. Then came three straight wins, each a shutout over
St. Bernard’s, Athol and Hudson as Mr. Sullivan inspired players like
Norm Dooley, Pete Stephens, Dave King and left tackle Roger Kielty,
future father of Red Sox outfielder Bobby Kielty.

Unlike his opposing team captain, Mr. Rostedt had a much different
pre-game feeling. He said, "Driving from Westminster to Fitchburg
that day to get ready, I just felt so confident."

After that Thanksgiving Day 50 years ago, Mr. Robichaud and
Mr. Rodstedt met up only on the basketball court or in spring track
competition when the Red and Gray faced the Devils. And, after their
graduations in June of 1958, their paths just never crossed.

Until last week at Doyle Field in a meeting arranged for this
article. There were no words at first. The two men hugged, and a small
burden carried for a half-century disappeared.

Said Mr. Robichaud to Mr. Rodstedt, "When the game was over, all I
can remember is all the commotion and C.B. crossing the field to give
you the game ball. I’ve always regretted not going over with him. I
should have."

Joked Mr. Rodstedt, 67, to the 68-year-old Mr. Robichaud, "The last
time you hugged me, you tackled me."

The ensuing 50 years had flown by, both admitted. Along the way, Dick
Robichaud married Judy Caisse, and they had three children, Keith,
Tammy and Daryl. Ken Rodstedt married Marge Magner and they had three
children, Kirsten, Karen and Sarah.

Now, in their retirement years, perhaps more than ever for the two
former captains, Thanksgiving truly means giving thanks for
memories of the joy of high school football, and the love of family
members, present and past.

Recalling his father, a foreman at Heywood Wakefield Co. in Gardner,
Mr. Rostedt said, "My dad was a dyed-in the wool Fitchburg fan. He
was so happy that day."

Mr. Robichaud, moved to tears recalling his own mother’s death just a
year ago, also praised his late father. "Our original house had
burned down, and my father was building a new one, and that was after
working 50 hours a week as a machinist at Standard Tool. When he was
in high school he had to work, so he never could play sports. He put
up with everything I had going on during my senior year. I still thank
him when I go to the cemetery." 

Fitchburg High School Athletics and Competition Home Page