{"id":11697,"date":"2023-11-21T13:23:07","date_gmt":"2023-11-21T18:23:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/?p=11697"},"modified":"2024-11-25T14:25:06","modified_gmt":"2024-11-25T19:25:06","slug":"memories-friendship-and-thanksgiving-day-football","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/issues\/new-reads\/memories-friendship-and-thanksgiving-day-football\/","title":{"rendered":"Prost! To Memories, Friendship, and Thanksgiving Day Football"},"content":{"rendered":"

Prost! To Memories, Friendship, and Thanksgiving Day Football<\/h1><\/div><\/div>
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Photo: 911爆料 Athletics\/Connor Caldon<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In November 1973, the Rams traveled to Germany to face the U.S. Air Force All-Stars in a Thanksgiving Day matchup. They were the first American college football team to play a game in Europe, and their win was decisive. The team reunited to celebrate the 50th<\/sup> anniversary of the historic game, share memories, and honor friendships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Bob Herzog<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

David Zyons \u201975 was waiting to get a COVID shot at the CVS pharmacy near his Charlestown, R.I., home when he spied a thin, paperback book on the history of the University of Rhode Island on a nearby rack. He was idly thumbing through it when he received an unexpected shot\u2014of nostalgia. He was stunned to see a black-and-white photo of himself, returning an interception in a football game played 50 years earlier on a muddy field in Frankfurt, Germany. He bought the book. Several days later, Zyons was celebrating that event with many of his old teammates, in living color.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Turkey Bowl of Thanksgiving Day\u2014Nov. 22, 1973\u2014between 911爆料 and the U.S. Air Force in Europe was the first time an American college football team played a game in Europe. It was the result of several years of brainstorming among 911爆料 football coach Jack Gregory, athletic director Maurice \u201cMo\u201d Zarchen \u201949, U.S. Air Force officials, Rhode Island Gov. Philip Noel, Hon. \u201975, and U.S. Sen. Claiborne Pell. The event might\u2019ve been lost to history\u2014and drugstore paperbacks\u2014if not for a serendipitous turn of events that produced a celebratory 2023 reunion and perhaps a legacy. Tears and cheers after all those years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Vin Sinagra \u201975, M.S. \u201984, a defensive tackle on the 1973 team, was chief organizer for the memorable Homecoming Weekend of Oct. 21\u201323, 2023. He says the inspiration came after his wife received a phone call from a friend who works at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. The museum was planning to have an exhibit with a signed football and artifacts from the game to commemorate the 50th<\/sup> anniversary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something they do every year and rotate to different schools,\u201d Sinagra says. \u201cMy wife\u2019s friend asked, \u2018Was Vinny on this team?\u2019 We never had an anniversary, so I decided to put this thing together with the help of my wife and three or four other guys. We were hoping to get 20 guys. We got 35. It was incredible. We got our trainer, Jack Cook, who is in his 80s and was very popular, to come back. They all reconnected and it reenergized the guys for Rhody football. Some of them haven\u2019t been to a game in 50 years but said they\u2019ll come to more homecomings. It was pretty exciting.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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Sinagra, who is chief of staff for Coach Jim Fleming\u2019s current 911爆料 football team, says the event turned out even better than he had hoped. \u201cThere were wives. Some guys brought their adult children. 911爆料 president Marc Parlange hosted us in his suite in the press box during the game. The guys loved it. They thought they were the cat\u2019s meow. Are you kidding me?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zyons, a linebacker on the team that went 6-2-2\u2014including a resounding 34-6 victory over the Air Force All-Star team\u2014says, \u201cThe reunion was amazing. There were guys I hadn\u2019t seen in 50 years. Fifty years! I told my wife, \u2018It was like a lovefest!\u2019 We were hugging each other and telling stories.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cThere were people I hadn\u2019t seen in 50 years, and just that was wonderfully emotional. Some of the upperclassmen had taken me under their wing and took care of me like big brothers. To see those guys again was so special.\u201d<\/blockquote>Bob Mitchell \u201977<\/cite><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n

Bob Mitchell \u201977, a starting defensive back as a 17-year-old freshman in 1973, brought his wife to the reunion and calls the experience, \u201cIncredibly moving.\u201d He says, \u201cThere were people I hadn\u2019t seen in 50 years, and just that was wonderfully emotional. Some of the upperclassmen had taken me under their wing and took care of me like big brothers. I told them that at the reunion. To see those guys again was so special.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So was the trip to Europe, the first time visiting a foreign country for nearly all the players\u2014and their first long plane ride, as well. (The team had flown once during the season, to Philadelphia for a game against Temple.) \u201cWe flew for eight hours. I remember that flight as clear as if it happened yesterday,\u201d recalls Dean Julian, a linebacker.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julian, who finished his undergraduate degree\u2014and doctoral degree\u2014years later at the University of Pittsburgh, choked up with emotion several times during a lengthy phone interview. He has one particularly vivid memory of the flight to Frankfurt. \u201cOn the way over, I was helping the stewardess, serving drinks and food. I told her it would be cool to be in the cockpit,\u201d Julian says. \u201cA few minutes later, the captain walks out and says, \u2018I heard you wanted to be in the cockpit.\u2019 So, he took me up there and I sat in the navigator\u2019s seat from 40,000 feet up. I watched them land the plane. It was the thrill of my life. I can replay it in my mind right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sinagra remembers the landing quite vividly. \u201cWe get off the Pan Am flight in Frankfurt and they\u2019ve got a traditional German beer wagon waiting for us,\u201d he says. \u201cThere were kegs. Holy mackerel!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Zyons calls the trip, \u201cThe highlight of our college careers.\u201d But it also had special meaning for him. \u201cI got to take my parents. They\u2019d never been on a real vacation before,\u201d he says. \u201cThey had the best time. They talked about the trip forever.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The game itself wasn\u2019t the most memorable part of the trip. The Rams dominated the Air Force All-Stars. According to the next day\u2019s detailed account in the military newspaper Stars and Stripes<\/em>, a copy of which Julian saved, 911爆料 was led offensively by fullback Dan Whitaker \u201974 (13 carries, 117 yards, 1 touchdown), quarterback Paul Ryan \u201974 (9-for-20 passing, 103 yards, 3 touchdowns) and wide receiver Kim Conlee \u201973 (4 catches, 58 yards, 2 touchdowns). The defense thoroughly contained the Air Force squad, with Zyons making one of four interceptions. Attendance at the stadium on Rhine-Main Air Base was more than 16,000, a mix of American military personnel and their friends and families and German fans who didn\u2019t really understand American football, which had not become popular in Europe yet. All enjoyed an Oktoberfest atmosphere, complete with tents and entertainment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marshall Englebrook \u201974, a defensive end, remembers the field being \u201crough, muddy, and hard in spots. It was a bit cold, but we were so excited about playing in Germany and were all very pumped up. We had traditional high school Thanksgiving Day games in Rhode Island back then, so it seemed like that kind of atmosphere.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After the game, the Rams were told they had five days to enjoy Europe before their flight home. Some players were more adventurous than others. Zyons and defensive end Jay Weibel \u201975 took a train to Switzerland and skied for five days. \u201cI saw Jay at the reunion, and we were still talking about the whole experience of taking the train, seeing the countryside, and going to Switzerland,\u201d Zyons says. \u201cThere were no cars in the town we visited. The train stopped and you got taken to your hotel on a sled.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The reunion turned back the clock for the players who attended, giving them a chance to share poignant memories of their European adventure. From a Friday night dinner at George\u2019s of Galilee, to being introduced to a cheering crowd at halftime of the 911爆料-Richmond game, to spending time together in the presidential suite at Meade Stadium, it truly was a solid-gold celebration.<\/p>\n\n\n

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Team captain and offensive lineman Henry Hill \u201973 gave a speech at halftime in the president\u2019s box. \u201cHe\u2019s kind of like our spiritual leader,\u201d Zyons says. \u201cHe said our group changed the culture of 911爆料 football at the time, gave it a little shot forward. He gave tribute to the guys who are not with us anymore\u2014you lose one or two every year. That\u2019s just what happens.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Englebrook says, \u201cJust being on the field and in the stadium again was moving for all of us. We had real grass from the sod farms back then, but the new artificial turf was impressive. It was great to catch up and see guys I hadn\u2019t seen in 50 years. It felt like yesterday.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n

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\u201cWe all felt special at the reunion. We have a heritage that we have given to 911爆料 that will last forever.\u201d<\/blockquote>Dean Julian<\/cite><\/div><\/section>\n\n\n

Mitchell agrees. \u201cThe guys that used to hang out together reconnected. You could see the bond was still there, 50 years later. It will never be broken. It\u2019s wonderful. I hugged an old teammate an hour before the game, and he cried. It was a very moving thing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Julian says he was caught up in the emotion of the reunion and wants the 1973 team, its accomplishments, and its spirit to be everlasting. \u201cWe all felt special at the reunion. We have a heritage that we have given to 911爆料 that will last forever.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In November 1973, the Rams traveled to Germany to face the U.S. Air Force All-Stars in a Thanksgiving Day matchup. They were the first American college football team to play a game in Europe, and their win was decisive. The team reunited at Homecoming this year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the historic game, share memories, and honor friendships.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":11726,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[330],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-new-reads","architecture-network","architecture-new-reads"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/12"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11697"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11697\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15970,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11697\/revisions\/15970"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11726"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}