This year’s Central Catholic Football Team had a great record and also won the Catholic League Division 1 for the second year in a row.
Dick Moynihan, then a South Lawrence resident, also coached baseball for the red and blue. He is enshrined in the school’s Hall of Fame. His team Captain was Joe Riviezzo who was a two-year captain of football. Joe came from the West St. area and graduated from St Mary’s Grammar School. He was the secretary of the Student Council and a member of the Glee Club and Sodality. He retired as a timekeeper for New England Power and lived in Florida until his recent death.
His teammates were R. Quinn, Mike Palladino, Joe Papparlardo, J. Rajotte, Phil and Frank Sirois of the Sacred Heart section of South Lawrence. R. Guilmette and Jack Swift, Ron Heggarty was the manager, Ray Matton, R. Belisle, Bobby Laplume of the Sacred Heart section, Bobby Topping was a fine athlete and qb went on to play at Brown University he came from the West St. section and was a great team leader, W. Johnson, K. Dumais, Roger Bossineau and George McCafferty from Andover a fierce running back who also was one of the area’s best baseball players as a hitter and a first baseman.
He later became a probation officer in Plymouth NH. He was also a teammate of mine as we played for the St. Patrick’s CYO and his great attitude added to his talent. R. Drew also played for the red and blue. Joe Bosse was a gigantic tight end and made almost every all star team around; he lived in the Sacred Heart part of the City and his quiet, easy going ways disappeared once he hit the gridiron. Joe went on to play at Notre Dame and later became an executive at U.S. Steel.
Pete Lambert came from the same neighborhood as the Sirois and Bosse and was the team’s center; he also played for a very good Central Catholic hockey team.
Bob Rosemarino is in the school’s Hall of Fame along with Bosse and the Coach Moynihan and the Coach’s son Buffer.
Rosie played hoop and baseball as well; he was a good catcher on the diamond. He became a teacher coach and worked under some great coaches including the legendary Ed Buckley through the Lawrence High School title runs in the 50s. He played football at Holy Cross before a broken back suffered in a game against the Quantico Marines a team loaded with pro football players. Rosie became a head coach at St. Rita’s in Chicago and later at St. Thomas Aquinas in Rochester, NY before returning to the area to coach Methuen High. He later took over the Greater Lawrence Vocational School reigns and led them to two titles and is now enshrined in their Hall of Fame. He still lives in this area in Salem, NH.
Georgie Lydick was a lineman form the West St. area and his brother Don is still a photographer in the city. Don was a fine hoopster and one year lost the Essex County League scoring title in a tight race to former fast pitch softball pitcher from Rockport, MA Sherm Anderton. Don is in the LHS Hall of Fame. George went and played at Hofstra University and was recommended to that school by legendary Lawrence High School coach Mark Devlin. Later he moved to Florida and became a longtime lifeguard in the Ft. Lauderdale area.
Ronnie Saccuzo was a fine running back and a basketball star. Don Watkins as a lineman and Charlie Fiorino, a school Hall of Famer who is now retired from Raytheon and living in Florida, was to become a super star as a QB in football. A fine hoopster, he was a star baseball player and played on the same St. Pat’s baseball team with Mc Cafferty and yours truly. Charlie was also a good team player and went on to play and captain two sports at Boston University later becoming the head basketball coach for his old high school team at Central Catholic.
Roger Vachon now retired and a fine golfer resides in Methuen and he also played three sports. Kevin Judge now retired from Merk Pharmacuticals now resides in Hilton Head where he and former Central Catholic classmate Dick Ehrler used to hit the links quite often until a bad back took Judge out of the games.
Ehrler as a youth was a great gymnast and won many exhibitions for the now defunct Turn Hall on Park St. His sister Marilyn was married to the great Central Catholic baseball catcher Archie McCarthy who passed away at a much too young age. She later became the hostess at the reckoned Bishop’s restaurant in the city and resides in Haverhill these days.
Kevin became a paratrooper and played baseball for his Army team as a first baseman. He and Vachon also played for the aforementioned CYO team.
Ronnie Ford was Judge’s paratrooping mate while serving as a Ranger.
No, I didn’t make that up I swear it’s true.
