By Joe Mason
Times Sports Editor
The undefeated championship season that the Holmesburg Ramblers accomplished in 1984 certainly was nice.
But the friendships that the players, coaches, trainers and even the fans enjoyed during the course of the season, that was special too.
The Ramblers, a semi-pro football team that competed in the Delaware Valley Football Conference from 1982 to ’86, still have many great memories of their championship season.
Ask any of the players and they can tell you everything about a key play that catapulted them to the title.
They can tell you everything about one of their key players who paved the way to the league crown.
But, more important, they can tell you about the bond that the local team formed when it was competing every Saturday night at the Ramblers’ home field at Cottman and Torresdale avenues.
“I can honestly say that it was the highlight of my athletic career, and it’s something I miss every day,” said Jack Morley, a defensive tackle for the Ramblers who also had tryouts with three teams in the NFL, including the Philadelphia Eagles. “It was just a great football team. I remember standing on the sidelines and looking at the guys. Some of the players were better than the guys who were playing in the NFL.
“It was a great time because we loved the game,” continued Morley. “We had a lot of guys get tryouts in the NFL and many played in the (now-defunct United States Football League, a professional football league that competed with the NFL from 1982 to 1985).”
On Oct. 23, the team will hold its 20-year reunion celebration at the DoubleTree Club Hotel to commemorate that big season.
Talented players who possessed great size and strength greatly attributed to the success of the Ramblers. But it was the work ethic, dedication and desire to succeed on the gridiron that separated the Ramblers from the rest of the teams competing in the DVFC.
On top of working at least 40 hours a week at their daytime jobs, each player participated in the intense, two-hour practices every Tuesday and Thursday nights during the season.
And almost every player on the team spent his nights on the track, running laps, or training hard in the weight room to build the strength needed to perform at the highest level possible. But just because being the best meant committing to a grueling schedule, the rigors didn’t make participating any less fun.
“It was the time of my life, but it was a job, it wasn’t something we just did for fun,” said linebacker John Shultz, a graduate of North Catholic High School. “We took it serious. We wanted to win. It was our life. And when we played, it showed how serious we took it.”
And the players weren’t the only ones passionate about their team.
At every home game, roughly 3,000 fans packed the field to see their local heroes in action.
Led by head coach Jim Meskil, the coaching staff spent countless hours preparing for each game.
And there were plenty of men who served as trainers and managers, to make sure that all the odds and ends were taken care of.
“It was a great time, and I enjoyed being a part of it,” said head trainer Matthew “Heady” Mullin, a graduate of Abraham Lincoln. “The players spent a lot of time working to be the best, so everyone who was a part of it did the same. It was a great time. My claim to fame is that I spent twenty-six consecutive years as a trainer on the sidelines (for various teams, including many high schools), and the time I had there ranks up there with the best of them.”
The pride the players had for the team came from the success.
But it also had a lot to do with the bonds they formed while practicing, playing and winning together.
Though it’s been 20 years since they won a crown, they all remain close.
Many have moved from the area, yet the players still jump at any chance to revive the friendships and the memories.
“We’re not good friends, we’re best friends,” defensive end Joe Mazeika said. “These guys are all from around here, but I’m from (Maple Shade) Jersey. I just walked up one day and asked if they needed a defensive lineman.
“I didn’t really know any of them when I joined, and now they’re all my best friends. It’s really something special.”
“We always get together, our wives have a special bond and a lot of the guys bring their kids,” said tight end Jim Walsh, a graduate of Father Judge. “The wives always say, ‘You guys tell the same stories every time you get together.’ But we had so much fun, and it still gives me chills to talk about the fun we had.”
Another aspect that helped the Ramblers was that every player was a student of the game.
And many of the players went on to be teachers of the game after their careers ended.
Shultz now coaches youth ball in Winslow Township, N.J. Jim Whitehead, a defensive end, was an assistant coach for his alma mater, North Catholic. Morley coaches youth ball in South Philadelphia. And Tom “Reds” Walsh went on to be the head coach of St. John Neuman, and is currently an assistant at Conwell-Egan.
“It doesn’t hurt that we love football and we enjoy coaching. But we also do it because football has given us so many great memories,” Tom Walsh said. “We want to do the same for the new players.”
Dealing with youngsters is nothing new to the Ramblers. In fact, one of the many great memories they had during their playing days was the admiration shown by local children.
“We were like celebrities,” Whitehead said. “We’d leave the field and there would be kids asking us for our autographs. It was such a great feeling.
“That’s why the reunion should be so much fun,” Whitehead continued. “Not just the players, but it will be great to see the kids and the fans who were just as important to the team as we were.”
Times sports editor Joe Mason can be reached at 215-354-3035 or jmason@phillynews.com