Celebrating history: Unbeaten 1964 RHS Football Team to be honored at Harry Della Russo Stadium on Sept. 6

Halftime ceremony and banner reveal during Revere’s season-opener against Whittier Tech

Special to The Advocate

The start of this year’s high school football season marks the 60th Anniversary of one of the most compelling chapters of Revere High School sports history. The 1964 RHS Patriots, coming off a one-loss season in 1963, rolled through the first eight games of their schedule with a 7-0-1 record and were poised to face Winthrop on Thanksgiving Day in a game that would decide the Massachusetts Class B Championship. However, a shocking decision just days before Thanksgiving by the Massachusetts Secondary Schools Principals Association determined that the Revere football lineup included a player who was ineligible to compete, and Revere was forced to forfeit its first eight games. After heavy rain postponed the Thanksgiving Day kickoff to Saturday, November 28, Revere – undaunted in the face of the devastating ruling – topped Winthrop, 8-0, in a thrilling game decided in the final seconds.

Revere High and Boston College graduate Brandon Brito, an assistant coach at RHS, is completing a documentary film about the 1964 saga. The September 6 ceremony that will include members of the 1964 team will be included in Brito’s film, which is currently scheduled for release on November 23.

This is a chance for football fans young and old to come honor a team that exemplified grit and determination and achieved so much more than just wins on the field. Come celebrate history and be part of history yourself! Please make plans to attend Revere vs. Whittier, Friday, September 6, 2024, 6:00 p.m. kickoff. Cheer for the current Patriots and give a round of well-deserved applause to the boys who wore the blue and white 60 years ago.