| Fifty years ago, Caldwell was off to a 4-0 start and the
Chiefs were rated the team to beat for the old Suburban Conference football championship. The Chiefs were beginning
to prepare for their clash with Livingston when tragedy struck on the practice field. |
| One of the Caldwell reserves, Kenny Straub crumbled to the
ground and passed away on the practice field. The game with the Lancers, who have been routed 71-0 by Verona the
previous Saturday was canceled. |
| Because a state-wide flu epidemic had erased the third week of the football
season, the open week prior to the Thanksgiving Day games had been filled with re-scheduled games so the game of
November 9 between Caldwell and Glen Ridge went on as scheduled. The result was a 31-6 rout by the Ridgers who
surged to a 25-6 halftime advantage. Glen Ridge went on to claim the conference title in its final season in the
league that had begun in 1935 as the Little Five and was re-named the Suburban Conference a year later when Madison
joined the Chiefs, Hillbillies, Ridgers, Millburn and Summit. |
| The November 10th edition of the Star-Ledger stated "Glen Ridge High
jolted Caldwell out of the unbeaten-untied ranks with a 31-6 upset...." |
| What should have been a Titanic battle between the state's No. 1 Group I
squad the Ridgers and one of the top-ranked Group III teams, the Chiefs, became a "no-contest" when the
Chiefs could not only overcome the grief contributed by the sudden demise of a teammate, but also suffered from
a limited practice schedule over the next two weeks. |
| This is not a normal sidebar to a tragedy for I was there as Glen Ridge's
fullback on Novemver 9, scoring a pair of touchdowns and accounted for the game's only extra point conversion.
The "highlight" of the game for the Chiefs came in the second quarter when, following my second six-pointer,
Caldwell's fleet Dan Gervasi raced 80 yards into the end zone with the ensuing kickoff. |
| Gervasi and Lew Lockward were the halfbacks on this Chiefs' squad that arguably
was and would be ranked the top football team in the school's storied gridiron history had it not been for the
tragedy. Gervasi, Lockward, tackle Tom Larkin and tight end Ron Cassie were named Suburban Conference All Stars.
Glen Ridge's all stars included myself, Tony Corbo, Jim Corcoran, Steve Ward and a quarterback named Gary Cuozzo
who went on to play 11 years in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints after beginning his career
with the Baltimore Colts as the understudy to Johnny Unitas. Cuozzo still holds the Colts record for most touchdown
passes in a game at five. |
| Lockward and I have remained close friends for more than half a century.
I have said to him many times that this was one game that two great teams did not walk on the gridiron with equal
advantages. My legendary head coach Bill Horey had the usual time to prepare us while the Chiefs' mentor Jim Robinson
was handicapped by a lack of practice time and emotional grief. I repeat that statement. |
| Another sidebar to this story is that the athletic trainer on duty that
afternoon for Caldwell was a 12th grade student named Bill Battershall who served for many years as the athletic
trainer for West Essex when he was known as "Doc" Battershall. Ken Trimmer, the Chief's head coach, was
a sophomore on the Verona Hillbillies that season. |
| Though Glen Ridge and Caldwell, who traditionally played the only game in
the State of New Jersey in the 1940s and 1950s on Election Day, have not met on the gridiron since November 9,
1957, there are many fond memories and friendships that developed through the years between the Chiefs and Ridgers.
Dave Silverthorne, Caldwell's quarterback and captain, is another friend who I clashed with on the gridiorn two
decades back when my Essex Fells Bengals played his Caldwell Cardinals. Quarterback Jack Lynch, tackle Joe O'Dowd
and defensive back Tony Paladino are others elicit great memories and Kenny Starub's older brother Eugene provided
the plumbing services to my residence. |
| On behalf of all the survivors of the game of November 9, 1957, I offer
our prayers and support to the family of James Bliss, his parents as well as his brothers Tim and Dan. |
