The Montclair Times from Montclair, New Jersey • B1

The Montclair Times THURSDAY, JULY 15, 2021 1B SPORTS It was the heyday of Montclair High School football. Coach Clary Anderson and his right- hand man Butch Fortunato had it roll- ing after World War II and throughout much of the 1950s and From 1946-67, Montclair football compiled an incredible record of 177- 16-4 including no less than nine perfect 9-0 seasons. Lineman Bill Byrne was a big part of both the undefeated 1956 squad (9-0) which is considered by some to be one of the two or three best teams in school history and the once-beaten edition, which battled back from late-season adversity to ish strong. Byrne was a key contributor on For- defensive line in and was a standout All-County and third-team all- state, two-way lineman on the squad, which went 8-1 while featuring the Haines twins Richard and Robert or as they were called while excelling as outstanding half- backs for Anderson and company. Byrne was also the only member of those two great Mountie teams to make it to the NFL.

He was drafted by the Phil- adelphia Eagles out of Boston College in 1961 and played seasons in the league. The Montclair product, who spent most of his adult life as a success- ful real estate developer in both Hilton Head, S.C., and in Georgia, passed away June 23 at the age of 80. have known Bill Byrne since the third grade, 70-plus said Bill Kennedy, also from Montclair Class of and a former sports colum- nist with the Elizabeth Daily Journal and assistant sports editor with the Trenton Times. was a small kid in Edgemont School and then Mt. Hebron Junior High.

When he got to Montclair High he played as a 159-pound sopho- more and in the he began to weight train at the Montclair YMCA. He got to 175-180 for his junior season and was a starting defensive lineman. that he was back to the Montclair and got to 195 pounds as a senior when he played both ways as a tackle. Boston College made him a two- way guard and he started there three seasons playing at 235-240. In the NFL he got to 255 pounds as an guard, two years with the Eagles and two years with the (Cleveland) Byrne provided support on the D- Line for the undefeated squad that featured star quarterback Ray Festa and end Tony Carnevale, along with out- standing linemen such as Mike Nicholl and Dick and Bill were good said Kennedy, who is now retired and living in Maine.

worked out reg- ularly in the weight room at the Mont- clair While the undefeated Mounties were dominant from start to the team during senior season ran into a roadblock in a week 7 loss vs. Clifton (26-0) when Richard Haines in- jured his knee and had to sit out the rest of that contest in addition to being side- lined for the remaining two games that fall gridiron campaign. The loss to Clif- ton ended a 37-game unbeaten streak and 21-game winning skein which start- ed after a 27-14 loss to East Orange in week 5 of the 1953 season and later in- cluded a 0-0 tie vs. Kearny in week 3 of the 1955 campaign. That team won its nal six games followed by the perfect 9-0 mark in and a 6-0 start to the season.

The Mounties went right back to work in the week that followed and breezed past Irvington, 52-0, on the same week 8 Saturday when was defeating Clifton, 33-6. Originally slated to be a week 2 con- test, the Irvington game was moved to week 8 after the Campers went through a bad epidemic that disrupted activ- ities for a period of time for the students at the high school on Clinton Avenue. The rout of Irvington set the stage for a big Thanksgiving Day showdown at Foley Field as the Mounties attempted to create what would later be termed a tri-champion- ship. Barbara Tango Franciosi provided a 1958 MHS yearbook to Montclair High School Football historian Vince Tango in which she recapped the positive turn- around for Byrne and company which rebounded with gusto in that Turkey Day showdown with the rival Bengals. stage was set for a Ms.

Tango wrote. Montclair- tilt was the talk of the town. An unprecedented metropolitan tele- cast was arranged (televised in color with Chris Schenkel announcing) and tickets obtainable unless you knew the mayor. The Mountie team, which had lost to Clifton, was a thing of the past. It was a new team that took the that morning, a team with desire.

Running the multiple to perfec- tion, Bobby Haines, Dave McKelvey, Butch Foster and company rolled to a convincing 21-3 victory. the only rea- son for success, not by a long shot. An ingenious defense was de- vised by Coach Fortunato and featured the superlative play of linemen such as Earl Spivey, Bill Byrne, Mark Gerardi and Eric Graber, who were invaluable. The game was a team and climaxed another great The events leading up to that Turkey Day of redemption for the Mounties are remembered with explicit detail by cer- tain keen observers from that era. day I went to a Dartmouth at Princeton football game with a friend on our Montclair High basketball re- called Kennedy.

we got the Gar- den State Parkway, I told my friend to drive on Broad Street in to see if we could someone with the score. We found a bunch of girls, who told us had won, 33-7, and one added: state As we drove to Montclair from there, I said to my friend, guess they have forgotten they have to play Montclair on Thanksgiving Thanksgiving came and the game was at Foley Field in I cov- ered it for which was the MHS student newspaper. I also knew that Channel 5, the Dumont Net- work, was televising the game and that Chris Schenkel was doing the play-by- play. So, I typed a Montclair High roster, with each position, height, weight and a sentence about him. got to a 3-0 lead when Jack Panico kicked a 27-yard goal.

Montclair then marched down the on a lengthy drive and went ahead 7-3. We got another TD to go up 14-3. Then tried to pass its way back into the game and our safety, Vito Cetta, intercepted a pass and returned it for a TD. Montclair 21, 3 the score. It was the New Jersey high school football game ever televised.

of the results, the three- way share of the Newark News state championship probably was the fairest way to deal with it. Hard to believe that was years Byrne, who played right tackle, wore No. 28 which would be considered a uniform number today. He was a bright, and a hard-working indi- vidual who had a way about him which made life more fun for friends and team- mates. was an honor to play next to Billy in our senior year in high said fellow Mountie Class of lineman Mark Gerardi.

was a great team- mate and friend in addition to being an all-stater. During a game he would con- stantly say to me, thanks for watch- ing my He was a true leader, great teammate and a friend, and was always trying to make you feel better about yourself. He was never a person. Wherever we were, at a reunion or a de- dication at Woodman Field, he always talked about me watching his back. I told my brother Billy, made all- state, you played at Boston College, and then played pro ball.

was watching And, he would give me that big smile he had. we would see each other, you could not separate us as we had a spe- cial relationship. I will truly miss my brother Kennedy, who played baseball for Anderson at MHS, has plenty to thank Byrne for, including promoting the cir- cumstances that helped lead him to meeting a very important woman in his life in addition to stirring interest in what would become a life-long sport for the former Jersey sports scribe. 1962 we were at the Verona Inn for beers and a bunch of girls walked Kennedy recalled. asked me what this was about and I explained that they were Montclair State coeds.

They went into the back room so Bill ordered some pitchers and we went back there. One of the girls came to our table because she A leader and great teammate: Byrne was part of rich history Bill Byrne was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles out of Boston College in 1961 and played seasons in the league. The Montclair product, who spent most of his adult life as a successful real estate developer in both Hilton Head, S.C., and in Georgia, passed away June 23 at the age of 80. PROVIDED BY BYRNE FAMILY Sideline Chatter Steve Tober Guest columnist See BYRNE, Page 2B.