Good morning!
In 2016 the late Garry Brown published a collection of his favorite columns — Garry Brown’s Greatest Hits — that appeared in the Springfield Republican. The book is a compendium of local and regional information about bygone days, from Eddie Shore’s Springfield Indians to Nun’s Day at Fenway Park.

“Peanut Bowl Memories” was about the West Springfield High School football team that played Valdosta (Ga.) High School in the 1951 Peanut Bowl, an annual tilt that matched a league champion from Massachusetts against its Georgia counterpart.

The game was played at 15,000-seat Memorial Stadium near Auburn University, but there was one caveat. Black players weren’t allowed on the gridiron in segregated Georgia.

During the selection process, Brown mentioned that “Undefeated Greenfield High School made it clear that it did not want to be considered because it had an African American in its backfield.”

Startled by this revelation, I contacted retired GHS history teacher Skip Fotopolous who put me in touch with his classmate Dan “Tut” Parda who wore No. 38 and played linebacker that season.

Dan had his press clippings ready, including a team photo and an award that was presented to him by former athletic director Tom Suchanek on the occasion of the team’s 50th anniversary. “We had two African Americans,” said Parda. “Charlie Harris was a tri-captain, and Bob McCain. They were both running backs. Charlie was tough, he was a plowhorse, and McCain was our fastest player.”

The Recorder called them The Nicholsmen after coach Ump Nichols, but, said Parda, “Stan Benjamin was more the head guy. Ump was the coach, but Stan was in charge of the team and we were damn good in those days.”

The Green Wave’s lone blemish was 32-6 against Weymouth High School, an eastern Mass. powerhouse. “You couldn’t get into that game because it was so crowded," said Parda. “Weymouth brought a lot of fans.”

Otherwise GHS was 8-0 and had outscored its opponents, 117-19. After shutting out Turners Falls on Thanksgiving, 20-0, The Recorder played up the possibility of going to the Peanut Bowl: “The Western Mass. champion has been picked three years in a row. Two Westfield teams and last year Holyoke went. Cost of raising money for the trip and the playing of [African American] football players would be factors to consider.”

As far as Parda and the rest of the team were concerned, it was a non-story. “We knew we weren’t going. We weren’t going to leave those guys behind.”    

Parda grew up on Water Street off of Deerfield Street in the shadow of the Greenfield Tap & Die plant that was demolished and replaced by Arbors at Greenfield. “A lot of us on the team were from that part of town,” said Parda. “We hung around and walked to school together. McCain’s the one who gave me my nickname ‘Tut.’”

“What’s it mean?” I asked.

“Chodz tutaj,” smiled the 89-year-old Parda, “Polish for ‘come here.’”

After he was honorably discharged from the Air Force, Parda moved to Gill and worked at Ingersoll-Rand, which like GTD, Lunt Silversmiths, and Esleeck Paper helped make Greenfield and Turners Falls thriving melting pot communities.

Today he lives in a quiet, comfortable neighborhood near the Bernardston elementary school. A few years ago he went to a GHS basketball game and was dismayed by what he saw, or didn’t see. “There wasn’t one stinking trophy from those years we won those championships,” he said.

A shame indeed, but it’s never too late to honor Ump Nichols, Stan Benjamin and the gridiron team that refused to play in the Peanut Bowl without Charlie Harris and Bob McCain. 

****

UMass hockey coach Greg Carvel spoke with Adam Wodon of the College Hockey News while the team was in Arizona for the Desert Classic “We swooped up a kid while the other teams were too busy chasing Canadian Hockey League kids,” said Carvel.

He was referring to Justin Kerr, a Michigan product and RW/C who turned 21 on Wednesday and has found the net wherever he’s played. Bird doggers started to notice when he was 14 and playing Bantams in Grand Rapids where he scored 31 goals and had 29 assists in 60 games.

Two years ago playing Tier I hockey in St. Louis, Kerr had 52 points in 46 games, and in Youngstown last November he scored the decisive goal in a 2-1 win against the Team USA U-18s. All told he has three goals and seven assists in 14 games at Youngstown, the last stop before the NCAA (Stats provided by Elite Prospects).

Kerr is 6-5, 205 pounds and has racked up a healthy number of penalty minutes, including 39 so far in Youngstown. He’s expected to suit up for UMass next season.

Meanwhile Jackson Irving solidified his rep as the No. 2 backup while Michael Hrabal was winning a bronze medal for Czechia at the World Juniors in Ottawa. Irving stopped 53 of 56 shots (.946 save percentage) against Cornell and Robert Morris.

“He’s becoming the goalie we thought he could be,” Carvel emailed. “Very good backup for Hrabal. Very reliable, great teammate and kid. … The Desert Classic was a great tournament. Loved it. Great setup. Nice town, hotel, food, etc.” 

****

SQUIBBERS: A right field seat for the Red Sox-Yankees farm hands game at JetBluePark in Fort Myers on Feb. 24 costs $54.50 … Trivia: Curt Schilling has the same middle name as a Franklin County town. Can you name it?… Mike Francesa did an LOL after NY Giants GM Joe Schoen said, “I never wavered in my confidence I was coming back” after the team’s 4-13 season. “Who cares if you never wavered?” laughed Francesa. … Pop Watson III had his you’re-not-in-Springfield-anymore moment in the Duke’s May Bowl on Jan. 3. A star at Central, Watson was 8-for-12 for 81 yards, was sacked five times and threw one interception in Va. Tech’s 24-10 loss to Minnesota. … At this writing Jonathan Quick was sitting on 399 wins after letting in 11 goals in back-to-back losses to Washington and Dallas. … Sometime sooner or later, former UMass QB Liam Coen will be an NFL coach, and when that happens he’ll be the first former UMass player to ascend to that lofty title. … The Tennessee Titans were 2-15 against the spread this season. … Chad Graff reported in The Athletic that Patriots defensive play caller Steve Belichick left for the University of Washington after Jerod Mayo passed him over for DeMarcus Covington to be the defensive coordinator. … Gary Sanchez signed with the Orioles last month, his sixth team since the Yankees traded him on March 13, 2022. …Trivia Answer: Curtis Montague Schilling.  …. “The Breakdown with Peyton and Belichick” aired a clip of Bill Parcells turning to Bill Belichick at a crucial  moment and saying, “I’ll tell ya don’t start giving me any s*** Belichick. Your a** will be out in the parking lot.” … Wildfires forced the LA Kings to postpone Wednesday’s game. Ironically, the King were playing the Calgary Flames. … Happy Birthday to The Greatest, Muhammad Ali, born Jan. 17, 1942. When the champ was asked by a flight attendant to put on his seatbelt before takeoff he looked at her and said, “Superman don’t need no seatbelt!” to which she smiled and replied, “Superman don’t need no plane!”

Chip Ainsworth is an award-winning columnist who has penned his observations about sports for decades in the Pioneer Valley. He can be reached at chipjet715@icloud.com