September 23, 1961, 60 years ago: East Brunswick High School plays its first varsity football game. They beat Carteret High School, 7-0.
EBHS, in Middlesex County, New Jersey, 38 miles southwest of Midtown Manhattan and 60 miles northeast of Center City Philadelphia, opened on September 8, 1958. Until then, public school students from the Township of East Brunswick attended South River High School, in the next-door town of the same name. E.B. experienced tremendous growth in the 1950s, and they knew even more was coming in the 1960s, so in 1955, they began building their high school. Two junior highs, eventually named for world statesmen Dag Hammarskjold and Winston Churchill, would open in 1961 and 1963, respectively.
When EBHS opened, it housed grades 6 through 9. Students in grades 10 through 12 were allowed to remain at South River. By the 1960-61 schoolyear, EBHS was ready to begin most varsity sports. In 1961-62, with grades 8 through 12, it was ready to begin varsity football.
James F. "Jay" Doyle was the school's 1st head coach in football, and also in wrestling, and also its 1st athletic director. He would coach the 1st 2 football seasons, then stick to coaching wrestling and running the athletic department. He died of a heart attack during Christmas Week 1972, only 41 years old. The school named its football stadium for him.
That stadium wouldn't be built until 1965. For the 1st 4 seasons, EBHS played on what became its practice field. As part of the 1998-2001 renovation of the school, that practice field and the varsity baseball field switched locations, so the baseball field, from the 1st base line to left field, is now the site of the 1st EBHS football field.
But that field would have to wait for the team's 2nd game, 2 weeks after its 1st. The opener was held at Carteret's field, names Walter B. Overholt Jr. Stadium, for a Carteret football player who died in service in World War II. With its distinctive overhanging roof, Overholt Stadium is known as "The Pit."
That nickname was not in place in 1961. The game in question was scoreless until the last 4 minutes, when a 2-yard quarterback sneak by Bill Gruver gave E.B. the lead. The Bears' defense held on for the win against the Ramblers.
The Bears would finish a respectable 4-4 that 1st season. They've won Conference Championships in 1966, '67, '68, '69, '70, '72, '84, '86, '87, '90 and '94; made the State Playoffs in 1980, '84, '85, '87, '88, '90, '94, '98, 2004, 2009 and '10; and won Central Jersey Group IV Championships in 1966, 1972, 2004 and 2009. However, that 32-year gap between 1972 and 2004 -- including my tenure there from September 12, 1984 to June 23, 1987 was full of moments that could lead people to think the program was cursed.
The program celebrates its 60th Anniversary this season. Under new coach Andy Steinfeld, things are looking up.
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September 23, 1961 was Saturday. Despite it not being a Sunday, there was an NFL game played that day: The Chicago Bears beat the Los Angeles Rams, 21-17 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
There was also 1 played in the AFL: The Boston Patriots beat the Buffalo Bills, 23-21 at War Memorial Stadium in Buffalo.
Not all college football teams had begun their season yet. None of the Big Ten teams had, including Iowa, ranked Number 1 in the 1st poll. Nor had Notre Dame. Nor had Rutgers and Princeton: The 2 big New Jersey teams would open their seasons the next week, against each other, at Palmer Stadium in Princeton. Rutgers won, 16-13, starting them on an undefeated 9-0 season.
On September 23, Number 3 Alabama beat Georgia, 32-6 at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia. But in a shocker, Number 5 Louisiana State lost to Rice, 16-3 at Rice Stadium in Houston.
And, of course, there were Major League Baseball games played that day:
* The New York Yankees beat the Boston Red Sox, 8-3 at Fenway Park in Boston. Whitey Ford advanced to 25-4 on the season. Home runs were hit by Mickey Mantle, Elston Howard and Bob Cerv.
For Mantle, it was his 54th of the season. It would be his last, as he had been sick, and, to make a long and sordid story short, the treatment he sought made things worse, and he had to be hospitalized. He would return for the World Series.
Roger Maris got a hit that day, but not a home run, and was stuck on 59 home runs. He would hit his 60th on September 26, and his 61st in the season finale on October 1.
* The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 5-4 at Connie Mack Stadium in Philadelphia. Wes Covington won it with a home run off Roy Face in the bottom of the 16th inning.
* The Cincinnati Reds beat the San Francisco Giants, 10-6 at Crosley Field in Cincinnati. Gordy Coleman hit 2 home runs in support of Jim O'Toole. Orlando Cepeda hit one for the Giants. Willie Mays had a 2-RBI single. Three days later, the Reds would clinch the National League Pennant. The Yankees beat them in the World Series, in 5 games.
* The Milwaukee Braves beat the Chicago Cubs, 6-3 at Milwaukee County Stadium, in a game called due to rain at the 7th inning stretch. Eddie Mathews hit 2 home runs, and Joe Adcock hit 1. Hank Aaron went 0-for-3. Ernie Banks went 1-for-3 for the Cubs.
* A doubleheader was split at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota. The Minnesota Twins, who had been the Washington Senators until the year before, lost the opener to the new Washington Senators, 6-4. The Twins won the nightcap 10-0. Camilo Pascual pitched a 2-hit shutout. After the 1971 season, the "New Senators" moved to the Dallas area, becoming the Texas Rangers.
* The Los Angeles Dodgers beat the St. Louis Cardinals, 8-5 at the original Busch Stadium in St. Louis. (It was known as Sportsman's Park from 1909 to 1953.) Duke Snider went 2-for-4 with 3 RBIs. Stan Musial only appeared as a pinch-hitter, and did not get a hit.
* The Cleveland Indians beat the Kansas City Athletics, 9-5 at Kansas City Municipal Stadium.
* The Detroit Tigers beat the Los Angeles Angels, 4-2 at Wrigley Field in Los Angeles. The previous version of the Angels had been in the Pacific Coast League, and a farm team of the Cubs. Cub owner William Wrigley Jr. had their ballpark built in 1925 to look like what was then known as Cubs Park in Chicago. He then renamed Cubs Park "Wrigley Field," so, while the L.A. version was newer, it had the Wrigley name first. When Dodger Stadium opened for the 1962 season, the Angels began groundsharing with the Dodgers, until Anaheim (now Angel) Stadium opened in 1966.
* And the game scheduled for Memorial Stadium in Baltimore was rained out, and rescheduled as half of a doubleheader the next day. The Chicago White Sox won the 1st game, 8-7. The Baltimore Orioles won the 2nd game, 5-3.