Nothing But Net
Smith Academy Falcons in 1960 and 1961
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In February of 1960, Smith Academy, Hatfield's public high school, was largely known for its famous founder (Sophia Smith) and its tight-knit community of students. Then something started to happen in the gym where the Falcons played.
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Tony Symanski. left, and Bob Kovalski flank an opposing player in the Hatfield Town Hall gym
Image courtesy of Carol Symanski
Image courtesy of Carol Symanski
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Smith Academy, built in 1871 at the corner of Main Street and School Street, was a beautiful brick building without room for a gym. Next door, Hatfield's Town Hall gym also served as the venue for school plays and public events.
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There were only 53 boys in the whole school in 1960, and yet, from that small number, there were 12 who just started winning basketball games one after another. Then the following year, they did it again.
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Marty holding his trophy, his grandsons wearing his jackets.
Image donated by Marty Wilkes. |
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The whole town was behind the team. Parents, teachers, friends, civic groups, churches - everyone knew these teams were something special, and wanted to be part of it.
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These two years energized the student athletes in Hatfield for decades to come, and shaped the lives of everyone involved with the championships in large and small ways.
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Marty Wilkes played on both the '60 and '61 teams and kept a scrapbook to record the teams’ success. It was Marty’s prompting, on the 60th anniversaries of their Western Mass titles, that led to the creation of this website, and the accompanying online program with former participants (soon available on our YouTube page!)
Image of scrapbook pages courtesy of Marty Wilkes |
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Kathy Godek donated the book of memories to the Hatfield Historical Museum, You can read it by clicking here or in person when we are open in the future!
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Kathy Godek, who was in 8th grade in 1960, reached out to players, cheerleaders, managers, reporters and fans who might have a story to share about the 1960 & 1961 Falcons, gathering a wealth of history that might have been lost. All quotes in purple on this website are ones she collected!
Binder created and donated by Kathy Godek |
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Star player Bob "Jingles" Kovalski's sister, Rose Kovalski Mulherin, kept every article she could find from the years her brother led the team, resulting in a scrapbook and a trove of additional newspapers.
She donated the scrapbook and papers to the Hatfield Historical Museum, including all the articles in the two slide shows below, as well as any newspaper clipping not otherwise credited on this site! Scrapbook created and donated by Rose Kovalski Mulherin |
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Road to the Garden - 1960
Road to the Garden - 1961
Newspapers and clippings donated by Rose Kovalski Mulherin
