New Gridiron Season Recalls Fall of 1975

The Fairfield Warde Mustangs, direct descendants of our Andrew Warde Crimson Eagles, begin their varsity football season this Saturday afternoon at home against Wilton High School. Kickoff is at 1:30 at the newly-christened Tetreau-Davis Field. The Warriors defeated the Eagles, 29-12, during our senior year at Warde.

Naturally, the start of another high school football season brings back memories of Fall weekends during our years at Warde, especially the Autumn of 1975. That's when the the Eagles defeated arch-rival Roger Ludlowe High School twice in the same season.

According to our research, that's the only time in the long and storied rivalry between the two schools that it's ever happened. Unfortunately, it also marked the only two triumphs for the Coach Bill Davis-led gridders during the 1975 season.

How well do you remember the 1975 football season at Warde? The Crimson Eagles actually began the campaign with a game against another town rival. Perennial power Fairfield Prep defeated Warde, 28-10, in the season lidlifter. Remember, in those days, Prep was a member of the Metropolitan Bridgeport Interscholastic Athletic Conference, which no longer exists today. The Jesuits consistently fielded strong teams in the 1970s.

The next four games were nightmares. Warde was outscored 128-7 and shut out three times by Danbury, Trumbull, and New Canaan, respectively. Although the Eagles scored 21 points the next week in a 20-point loss to Westhill, they were blanked, 12-0, the following week by Ridgefield.

So, after starting the campaign with seven consecutive losses and four shutouts, the Crimson Eagles finally hosted Ludlowe. They beat the Flying Tigers convincingly, 27-13, for their first taste of victory. They "improved" to 1-7 on the season.

Not surprisingly, Warde was blanked the following week in a 33-0 loss to Darien. After the aforementioned defeat at the hands of Wilton, our heroes concluded the season by traveling cross-town to complete a two-game sweep of Ludlowe by beating the Tigers, 28-6, on Thanksgiving Day.

"Thanksgiving Day was always a football day," Bill Davis' brother, Tom, told me prior to the field dedication ceremony last year. "It was an enjoyable day. We were thankful that we won every Thanksgiving we played." He pointed out that during his playing days, Warde took on Kolbe in the annual Turkey Day rivalry. Davis said the Eagles never lost a Thanksgiving Day contest against Kolbe when he attended Warde.

Despite the 2-9 campaign, the high school football experience during our senior year was fun and exciting. Watching the games at our Melville Avenue campus every Saturday afternoon gave us the opportunity to get together with classmates and develop meaningful friendships which have continued to this day.

Four players gained individual honors for their fine play duirng the season. Tom Skultety was awarded honorable mention from the FCIAC and was also rated second team Class AA by the Bridgeport Post. Glen Brown achieved honorable mention status in both the FCIAC and Post ratings. Steve Cameron and Steve Baxter also hearned honorable mention status in the Bridgeport Post ratings.

What are your memories of going to watch the Warde Crimson Eagles play football? I'd like to hear from you.

Paul

Please sign the AWHS Class of 1976 Guest Book.

Visit the AWHS Class of 1976 Gift Shop.