~ Malden Musings ~ Summer of ’79 Revisited

By Peter Levine

It was the summer of ’79…Larry Bird’s rookie season, “The Warriors,” Jimmy Carter’s lustful heart and disco. Locally the Malden Men’s Recreational Basketball League was in its infancy. Year 2 saw the games being played that summer at, where else, Amerige Park. Joe Gaffey was Rec Director. Larry Gilbert and I received $75 from City Hall to get the league on its feet – eight teams, two games a night, twice a week, starting in July, wrapping up by early September. Opening night saw some of Malden’s finest hoop players converge for some spirited roundball. I am reaching back, way back deep down inside the cobwebs of my mind for a brief synopsis of the two games from that long-ago night (in the spirit of full disclosure I have the scorebook right here in front of me):

• Game one: Kelly Klub v. Wilkie’s Warriors. The Warriors eked out a 62-60 opening night upset against a team stacked with some of the best athletes in Malden. Johnny Wilcox’s (the “Wilkie” in “Wilkie’s Warriors”) collection of hoopsters wasn’t too shabby either. Lincoln Park’s Johnny Stanasek paced the Warriors (“Warriors, come out and play-i-ay…”) with 22 points on 11 field goals. Stana was untouchable back in the ’70s; arguably, pound for pound, Malden’s finest athlete. John had a sweet touch, never took a bad shot and was a born leader. Eric “The Red” Dannenberg was a terror on the court. He chipped in with 12, all with that Dannenberg game face scowl. Tall and lanky at 6′ 4″ (running the court like a point guard), Eric had just completed a stellar season of hoop for Jack Schlagel at M.H.S. Joe Bartosiewicz had 10 points. Joe Bart was a legendary high percentage shooter for M.H.S. as a senior in 1974. At 6′ 4″ with an uncanny ability, if left open, drain it more often than not. Joe seriously needed attention every second on the court. John Furlong had 8 points. Furgie, as many Maldonians know, was an outstanding athlete at M.H.S. (now in the MHS HOF) who went on to have a stellar hoop career at Salem State. Captain Johnny Wilcox had 4 points. Think about this. Stana, Furgie and Wilkie as your guards. What!? Check out who also contributed to the win: Lesley Hume, (everybody’s best friend – the late) Paul “Fitzy” Fitzpatrick, Vance Ferratusco, Billy Murray and former M.H.S. Principal Dana Brown (wasn’t his Ferryway Park Chronicles wicked good?!). They combined for 6 points. Hey, there’s only one basketball!
• Kelly Klub was formidable, to say the least. (The late) Tom Kelly recruited a nice balance of brute force and athletic ability – talented cats one through seven! Not all “hoop players,” so to speak, but all seasoned competitors/athletes. Kell was a “colorful” character: athlete, coach, mentor and, at times, mishigas. So, arguably the top gun in Malden in 1979 was Amerige Park’s own Danny Meyers. Stana, Rod “Puggy” Forbes, Harold “Puggo” Sparrow, Bruce Vining – all outstanding. But nobody could stop Danny. He could score 30 in his sleep as the old saying goes. Again, in the spirit of full disclosure, I was a Danny Meyer’s fanboy. I watched him play more pick-up and park league games and traveled to watch him play more high school and college games than anybody, Danny Lynch and I, that is. Catholic Memorial’s Ronny Perry, Don Bosco’s Dwan Chandler, Medford’s Tommy Ryser, Everett’s Hank Vetrano and Mike Marchese, Somerville’s Dave Knight all tried, to no avail. I even saw them stick 6′ 7″ Rudy Williams (Providence College Friars star & New Jersey Nets 1981 draftee) on him one night in this same Rec League. He made Rudy earn whatever Bobby Chew at Broadway East was paying him that night. Bottom line on Danny was he was a better shooter than you. He out hustled you. He out toughed you. And he was in better shape than you – the perfect storm of athleticism. In this 62-60 loss, Danny carried the KK. His 32 points on 15 for 22 shooting (2 for 2 from the line) far outpaced teammate Shawn Brickman’s 10 points. M.H.S. mid ’60s hoop legend Billy Hanifan brought up the rear with 9 points. WW’s swarmed Danny all night. I remember the night. I kept score. It was a hard-earned 32 points. Check out the athletes playing tough hard-nosed defense (typical of the way D was played back then) to keep the game close: Kell, Paul “Flash” Norton, Johnny Salmon (yes, that Johnny Salmon) and Mike “Pitty” Pitts.
• Game two: The young and hungry for respect Devir Park squad matched up against the veteran ringers that Cliff Cioffi put together and called Mr. James. With a short bench this night, Devir Park upset Choff’s cagey old veterans, 63-59, behind 20 points from team captain Peter “Pistol Pete” Levine. Levine shot a dazzling 9 for 13 from the field (Levine never took a bad shot, so they say), hitting two free throws. The whole team contributed to the win actually. They were pumped for game one. Word got back to the Devir Park 5 that Cliff had been running his mouth the previous weekend at the I.T.A.M.’s – how he and his band of ringers would “teach the young pups how to play the game” – locker room ammo delivered to our doorstep. Paul “Pony” Coleman chipped in with 11 points while neutralizing their big guy, holding the legendary George Miller to 12 points. Greg “Son of Paul” Phaneuf and adopted Malden boy via Melrose Dave Johnson combined for 20. Both shot exceptionally well this evening, hitting just about every shot they took – an amazing display of shooting accuracy. The Lynch brothers, Danny and Jerry, added 14 between them. Danny bullied his way to the hoop for 8 and Jerry finessed his way for 6. Danny also received a “T.” Danny was from “Parts Unknown.” PU were known to be hotheads. Insert smiley face.
• Mr. James was a hair salon in Malden back in the day. Choff had a nice head of hair at the time (think Barry Gibbs meets David Cassidy). This was his go-to place to get his moss ready for weekend nights – ready to party at the many discos, singles bars and piano lounges that dotted Route 1 during this era. As I previously noted, Choff would recruit ringers that he had played with in college and in various hoop leagues around Greater Boston. This particular team uncharacteristically carried a few of Cliff’s old friends from Amerige Park, who would be replaced in the ensuing years with non-Maldonians named Polange, Pike, Morrison and Lovallo. Well, you get the good-natured ribbing I am giving Cliff, right? So anyway, tonight Cliff brings in a defensive bulldog from Somerville, Tony Borgasano, and Arlington’s very own Eddie Woods to help balance out the homegrown talent – to no avail – Cliff paced Mr. James with 20 points in the process, taking most of the shots for his team that night. Eddie chipped in with 13 and “Handsome George” Miller had 12 with a bucket full of rebounds to match. Dave McNary (who also took his fair share of shots) was held to 6 by some dogged defense from Dave Johnson. Old war horse Bobby Hyde had 2 points but was invaluable under the boards and on the defensive end. Cliff’s brother Bert produced a goose egg. By ’79 inertia had set in with Cliff’s little brother. His hoop career took a back seat to more pressing issues in his life. Insert great big smiley face.

As Peter Falk’s iconic TV character Columbo would say, “Just one more thing, sir” – that was fun to write. Hope you enjoyed it and took it in the spirit in which it was written. The Malden Men’s Recreational League ran approximately 15 years, give or take. Larry Gilbert and I started the league at Green Street Park in 1978 (I believe) with a handful of mostly neighborhood-based teams – Al Small and Tommy Restuccia from Linden Park as well as Devir, Amerige, Green Street and Harvard Street squads. Bragging rights were your reward that first year of competition. We expanded in 1979. I kid Cliff about his ringers. It was Choff and all those great teams he cobbled together that elevated the league into one of the best and most competitive Rec Leagues on the North Shore. Thank you for that, Choff. Cliff, as always, thinking outside the box. Eventually the league drew the cream of the hoop crop like Somerville’s Dave Knight and Mike Philpot, Medford’s Ray Buckland and Mike Hodnet, Providence College’s Rudy Williams, Chelsea’s Jay Ash and Bobby Chew, Lynnfield’s Chuckie Cavallaro, Saint Joseph’s stud “Dashing Dennis” Cakert and so on and so on. The league was eventually handed over to one of the best hoopsters Malden ever produced, John Furlong. Furgie took the league home sometime in the mid ’90’s and the rest (as they say) is history. It was fun. It was super competitive. Great friends were made. We live today with lifelong memories. What do ya say, Furgie?!

Postscript: The photo, my Devir Park team morphing into the Stadium Café by 1980. The Stadium in those days was owned by the Settemio brothers, Billy and Dommy. They were located where John Brewer’s Tavern once sat. Before that location the Stadium was on Medford Street – owned by the Marinellis – located between Commercial Street and Canal. Billy and Dommy would feature “3 Stooges Night.” A couple times a year they would choose a slow night and play Stooges all evening on VHS tapes on the TV located in the corner; SRO until the Howard family got wind of it and sent a cease-and-desist letter to the brothers Settemio. But I digress. This 1980 team expanded to 7 players and, yes, the gym pants were short. I kid Cliff about ringers; I was no angel myself when it came to foreign-born talent.

—Peter is a longtime Malden resident and a regular contributor to The Malden Advocate. He can be reached at PeteL39@aol.com for comments, compliments or criticisms.