The School
In small towns, people sometimes double up on jobs to get the work done. The teams had a major booster in their corner: superintendent of Hatfield schools, principal of Smith Academy AND coach of the Falcons, John Skarzynski. In 1961, he stepped down as coach and his assistant coach Maxwell Moczulewski took over, keeping the team focused and on the move, sometimes literally.
|
"Max used to stand under the basket under the balcony during practice with a rolled-up towel. During 3-man drill if one man missed the lay-in Max would snap [the towel on that player's] behinder."
-Jim Southard, SA '60 |
The coaches ran practice, helped players with bad "charlie horse" leg cramps get therapy at UMass Amherst so they could play, prayed with them before games, and yelled at them when they needed it. Coach Skarzynski (1960 team) and Coach Moczulewski (1961 team) knew the 1960 and 1961 Falcons could be champions; there had been Falcons in the spotlight before, and could be again.
|
The basketball teams had champions to cheer them on, as well: the award-winning cheerleaders, who attended every game and encouraged the crowd, even missing a tournament of their own to go with the team to Boston,
"Cheerleading tournaments were all very thrilling and involved a lot of time and hard work, especially coinciding with the basketball tournaments." -Jeanne Zembiski Fitzgerald, SA '63
From Marty Wilkes scrapbook, comparing Smith Academy gym to the Boston Garden arena! Image courtesy of Marty Wilkes
The Garden was a long way from the Hatfield Town Hall!
"Cheering at the 60/61 championship games at Boston Garden: It was scary! All of a sudden you were thrown into this huge area. You couldn't find your support group. You couldn't hear yourself talk. It was exciting to be a part of it, though! -Judy Porada Champagne, SA '61 |
Having the attention of the sports writers in Boston, and even the nation, focused on the "Cinderella team" from Hatfield was a LOT to take in. Sports fans, and sports writers, do love a story of a scrappy underdog making a run for the win, and the 1960 and 1961 Falcons put Smith Academy in the spotlight.
|
David Byrne was the student reporter who covered the 1961 team, attending all the games, doing the write-ups, and then his father would take his column over to the Daily Hampshire Gazette.
"Reporting 22 victories including the Western Mass tourney was such a pleasure. The only loss, to Hartford Public in the New England's, was covered by the sports editor Ben Page." -David Byrne, SA '61
"Reporting 22 victories including the Western Mass tourney was such a pleasure. The only loss, to Hartford Public in the New England's, was covered by the sports editor Ben Page." -David Byrne, SA '61
David Byrne and Ben Page were only a few of the sports writers captivated by the team; Garry Brown of the Springfield Union wrote about them at the time, and on multiple occasions since then, as well as in his book of sports memories, Garry Brown’s Greatest Hits, and most recently as a guest on the Hatfield Historical Society blog!
|
"Falcon fever" swept the entire region. The team's history-making back-to-back Western Mass wins even got Smith Academy recognized in the state legislature. Everyone wanted to cheer for the team from the little school in Hatfield.
(In the flurry of research this 60th anniversary project created, Susan Maciorowski discovered the resolution above in the MA state library archives and emailed the link to Kathy Godek, who shared it with us. It could be said that Falcon fever is still going strong in Hatfield! )
Newspapers and clippings donated by Rose Kovalski Mulherin unless otherwise noted