Photo Credit: Sports Graphics
Sports and Recreation in Brighton-Allston
by Michael O’Hara of the Brighton Allston Historical Society
The 2022 Brighton Allston Historical Calendar began with a short introductory essay about the theme, “Sports and Recreation in Brighton-Allston.” The essay below is an expansion of the original essay and includes information that due to space restrictions was not be included in the calendar.
In Brighton-Allston, we are fortunate to have access to sports and recreation at all levels, from well-equipped parks, playgrounds and pools, tennis courts, exercise venues, skating rinks, community rowing, kayaks, bicycle trails, a skateboard park, T-Ball, Little League baseball, youth hockey, high school teams, college teams, and nearby professional teams. We even have three-piece-suit football. What’s more, we also have a fishing academy!
Whether we choose to participate in athletics or just appreciate the shared experience of sports and recreation, we know they boost our physical and mental health, contribute to our feelings of belonging, and give us pride in our community.
Brighton-Allston was in the vanguard of sports development in America, making its mark in tennis, golf, figure skating, harness horse racing, rowing, and especially professional baseball.
We chose to use the 2022 BAHS historical calendar to illustrate some of these contributions and we have included them here in the order in which they appear in the calendar.
Once we sorted out what we would like to do with the assignment, and what types of photos and research might be necessary, the first person we called for advice was our State Representative Kevin Honan, an avid sports fan and local expert on Brighton-Allston sports celebrities.
Kevin had many suggestions, but probably the most important was that he advised that we contact Richard Johnson, the Curator of The Sports Museum of New England, located at TD Garden. Richard was very generous with his time and even sent us several photographs from his personal collection for our consideration. Within this group of photos was a color postcard of Braves Field at night that we immediately knew would become the cover of the 2022 calendar.
Braves Field at Night
Gold Medalist Harold Connolly
Photo by Liane Brandon
Our one exception was Harold Connolly (1931-2010), Brighton’s phenomenal Olympic hammer-throwing gold medalist, whose statue graces the front lawn of the Taft School, now the Boston Green Academy. He was the winner of the Olympic gold medal for hammer throwing at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics, the first of his four consecutive Olympic appearances.
Connolly, at twelve and one-half pounds, suffered arm/shoulder/nerve damage at birth, resulting in his left arm growing four inches shorter than his right. This injury ironically helped him develop his winning technique.
Raised near Ringer Park, Harold grew up in Allston, attended the Taft School, played football at Brighton High (graduated 1949), and graduated as a history major from Boston College in 1953. Following his graduation from BC he taught Civics for one year at the Edison School before moving to the West Coast where he earned a master’s degree in English as a Second Language at UCLA. He taught for thirty years in Santa Monica and in his subsequent career served as Executive Director of the Special Olympics.
His statue, designed by Bolivian artist Pablo Eduardo, was dedicated in December 2005. Among Eduardo’s other local works are Mayor Kevin White (Faneuil Market), St. Ignatius Loyola (Boston College), Brian Honan bas relief (Honan Allston Library), and Major General George Casey (Smith Playground).
Kevin Honan was the moving force in the creation and funding of this testimonial to Connolly.
Sammy White’s Brighton Bowl
Sammy White's was a bowling alley on Soldier’s Field Road in Brighton, the site of the present-day Acura dealership. It was owned by Boston Red Sox catcher Sammy White and featured lanes of both standard Ten-Pin and Candlepin bowling, the latter being the more popular style in New England.
A second Sammy White's was on the V.F.W. Parkway near the Boston/Dedham line. It closed in the mid-1980s. Sammy also owned the Alpine Lanes, a ten-pin establishment in Chelmsford, Massachusetts.
The popular lanes were an integral part of our local sporting experience for twenty-five years, enjoyed by bowlers participating in individual and league bowling. It is also a tragic part of our history and is mostly remembered for an infamous quadruple murder that occurred there in 1980, committed by a disgruntled ex-employee out on parole - Brian “Shaky” Dyer.
Sammy deserved better. He was a good guy and a supporter of local Little League. Sammy White's closed its doors in 1986. Sammy played for the Red Sox from 1951 to 1959, and later for the Milwaukee Braves and Philadelphia Phillies. He retired from baseball in 1962. He was an avid supporter of Brighton – Allston Little League.
Knowing the popularity of Sammy White’s Brighton Bowl, we wanted to include it in the calendar, but were initially unable to locate suitable photographs of either Sammy or his establishment. To the rescue came Aaron Schmidt, Curator of Photography at the Boston Public Library, who found the two pictures included in the calendar: that of Sammy (standing) with his business partner George Page admiring the artist rendering of the Brighton Bowl, plus a full-scale photograph of that artist rendering. Thank you, Aaron.
Trotting Parks
The earliest was Beacon Trotting Park, a pioneer racetrack in New England. It was a 60-acre parcel with a mile-long course used for harness racing. Located at what is now Beacon Park Freight Yard in Allston, it operated from 1864 into the early 1890s. The Doubletree Hotel stands on one corner of its footprint. A couple of interesting facts about the Beacon Trotting Park:
- On occasion it was the site of the Buffalo Bills Wild West show, and
- From 1872
until its closing, it was owned by Eben Jordan and
Charles Marsh, the owners of the Jordan Marsh
Department store chain.
North Allston Little League
Allston Brighton was once a thriving mecca of youth baseball at many levels, especially Little League. At one time Little League in Allston-Brighton boasted five local leagues: Brighton Central (McKinney Park), Brighton East (Cleveland Circle/Cassidy Park), Oak Square (Rogers Park), Allston North (Smith Field), and Ringer Park.
One of the North Allston Little League teams from about 1974 is represented in the 2022 calendar. We discovered this photograph in the Massachusetts Memories Road Show archives, a site run by UMass Boston, which records Massachusetts history through family photographs and stories.
The calendar contains a nice circa 1974 photograph of Opening Day at Smith Field, featuring the Allston North Little League Dodgers, proudly sponsored by Allston’s VFW Post 669.
Standing left to right are Coach Bill Corrigan, Brian Golden, Lonnie Puglia, Chris Golden, Mark Cooper, and Billy Keane. Kneeling left to right are Billy Corrigan, Unidentified, David Meade, David Martin, and Alex McLaren.
To add further festivity to the occasion, members of the world-famous Boston Crusaders Drum and Bugle Corps, based in Hyde Park, are present and standing at attention in the background, with the venerable Harvard Stadium as a backdrop.
Octagon Tennis Club, Allston, 1890
This area was home to residents who had leisure-time interests in golf and tennis, and who dressed the part in striped team hats, long-sleeve button up shirts with neck wear, and the full-length flannel pants. The decorum of the time dictated that players cover up no matter how hot it might get out on the court. It wasn’t until the 1920s that styles began to relax and more comfortable attire (tennis shirts and shorts) began to enter the tennis scene.
Ted Williams, 39 Foster Street Home
One month of the calendar is dedicated to three Boston Red Sox players who lived here. Most beloved of these celebrity residents was Red Sox player Ted Williams, who in the late 1940s lived in the classic triple-decker at 39 Foster Street near the corner of Washington Street in Brighton Center, facing the CVS parking lot. Ted fit comfortably into his Brighton neighborhood, hitting grounders to kids at Rogers Park and playing catch with neighbors in nearby Horrigan’s Market parking lot (now CVS).
Ted Williams, baseball's greatest hitter, played for the Red Sox from 1939 to 1960, interrupted by tours of military duty as a Marine combat pilot during both WWII (1942-1946) and the Korean War (1952-53).
Ted’s good friends and Red Sox teammates, Billy Goodman (infielder) and Mel Parnell (pitcher) occupied the other two apartments.
Once again, Aaron Schmidt, the Curator of the Boston Public Library’s Photography Collection, came to our aid and provided the photographs of these three gentlemen. They are part of the Leslie Jones Collection within the BPL’s Archive holdings.
Famed baseball legend, Warren Spahn, one of the best pitchers in major league history, lived on Monastery Road while playing for the Boston Braves from 1941 to1952. He opened the Warren Spahn Diner on Commonwealth Avenue, now the Sullivan Tire location. His diner became a Hayes-Bickford after he moved to Milwaukee with the Braves.
Famous golf champion, Francis Ouimet, winner of the US Open in 1913 at the age of 20 against some of the world’s greatest professional golfers, lived for a time on Lake Street. In 1974, he was elected to the World Golf Hall of Fame.
The Allston Golf Club
The calendar includes information on one unique piece of real estate with multiple lives. It is at the easternmost extremity of Allston.
It is the Allston Golf Club.
It encompassed the land along Commonwealth Avenue between Buick Street and Babcock Street and extended back to the Charles River.
Established in the 1890s, this golf club was one of America’s earliest golf courses. Its layout was designed by Arthur H. Fenn, a well-known professional golfer and golf course designer, and had a beautiful Frank Lloyd Wright style clubhouse that overlooked the Charles River. Despite its relatively short length, just 2,303 yards, the 9-hole club (which most were in that era) was well-regarded in Massachusetts golfing circles and was influential with the rules committee of the fledgling United States Golf Association, the game’s governing body, founded in 1894. It produced several accomplished championship-level players.
The eastern-most portion of the course was sold in 1914 to the state of Massachusetts on which to build the Commonwealth National Guard Armory, and the western section was sold in the same year to James Gaffney to build Braves Field. Each of those structures was built in 1915, and in later years were replaced by Boston University’s Agganis Arena, Fitness & Recreation Center, student residence complex, and Nickerson Field.
Braves Field, Allston,1933
Braves Field was a spot that countless Brightonians fondly remember from days in their youth when they hopped onto a trolley car and headed down to the ballpark to watch their favorite players.
The Braves team was founded in 1871 as the Boston Red Stockings (not to be confused with the Boston Red Sox) and played their games at the South End Grounds (near Ruggles MBTA Station and present-day Northeastern University).
In 1914, after winning the World Series against the Philadelphia Athletics, Braves owner James Gaffney decided that the old grounds were no longer suitable for World Champions. He bought the western-most portion of the Allston Golf Club and built Braves Field in time to open the 1915 season.
Gaffney devised an innovative system to expedite the movement of fans following games. With the cooperation of the Boston Elevated Railway System (now “the T”), a closed loop trolley system was designed that allowed trolley cars to depart the main Commonwealth Avenue line, turn onto Babcock Street, and enter a holding pen capable of storing 20 trolleys at a time within the stadium property behind the right field bleachers. After the game passengers could board those cars, which would then proceed up Gaffney Street (now Harry Agganis Way) and reconnect to the Commonwealth Avenue line.
This was a team you could fall in love with. When they originally relocated to Allston in 1915, they brought the infield grass from the South End Grounds with them and transplanted it on Braves Field.
After Lou Perini and his partners (dubbed “The Three Little Steam Shovels” by local reporters) bought the Braves in 1945, they began to make important changes to the ballpark. The lights were installed in 1946 and soon afterwards Perini constructed skyboxes on the grandstand roof. To eliminate the need for long treks to the concession stands in the lower concourse level, ushers and pages were employed to fill customer food and beverage orders. Although these skybox seats were not like today’s luxury boxes, they were quite innovative for their time.
By 1952 Perini realized that it was financially impossible to continue to field a team in Boston. He bought out his partners and decided to move the team to Milwaukee where the Braves already owned a Triple-A farm team (the Milwaukee Brewers) and where the city had built the city/county-funded County Stadium, hoping to attract a major league team.
Finally, after years of declining attendance, the last game at Braves Field was played on September 21, 1952, before only 8,822 fans.
Boston baseball fans often speculate: could two major league baseball teams have survived in one city? In 1952, the last year of the Braves in Boston, the immediate answer was clear: the Braves averaged 3,677 fans per game, while the Sox averaged 14,490.
Here’s a relatively little-known fact about a well-known Boston sports personality: Billy Sullivan, later the owner of the Boston/New England Patriots was the Public Relations Director for the Braves from 1946 to 1953, and it was in 1948 that he was instrumental, with the support of Perini, in establishing the Jimmy Fund at Children’s Hospital, and when the team moved to Milwaukee after the 1952 season, he and Perini were influential in having Tom Yawkey and the Red Sox adopt the Fund as their principal charity. Both the Red Sox and the Perini family remain steadfastly committed to the Jimmy Fund and to the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
Boston University bought the property in 1952 and converted it to Boston University Park and in 1963 renamed it Nickerson Field.
Note: For those interested in additional Boston Braves and Braves Field lore, there is a very active Boston Braves Historical Association here in the area that can be researched online. Also check out the Society for American Baseball Research.
Brighton High School Football Team: 1900
The BHS squad achieved success quickly. As the school publication “The Imp” reported in its January 1899 edition: “This fall (1898) a football eleven was formed but was not very successful as there were not enough fellows who could come out for the team.”
A mere two years later, the team was defeated only once, playing a ten-game schedule against strong local high school teams: Brookline, West Roxbury, Boston Latin, Everett, Chelsea, Medford, Salem, Mechanic Arts, Volkmann School, plus the MIT Freshman team. In those days college Freshmen competed as a Junior Varsity team and often played high school teams to round out their schedule.
Head of the Charles Regatta
Founded in 1965, the Head of the Charles Regatta (HOCR) is the largest and most prestigious regatta in the world, with 11,000 athletes, 2,000 boats, and 64 events. According to the Greater Boston Convention & Visitors Bureau, the three-day event brings up to 300,000 people to the Greater Boston area and $72 million to the local economy.
Held during the third weekend in October, the field includes competitors from colleges, high schools, and rowing clubs from around the world. The three-mile course begins at the BU’s DeWolfe Boathouse near the Charles River Basin and ends at Artesani Park on Soldiers Field Road. With its six multi-arched bridges and various twists and turns, it is one of the toughest courses in the world.
Harvard Stadium and the Charles River
Harvard Stadium cannot be ignored in any discussion of sport and recreation in Allston and Brighton. Built in 1903, it is perhaps the most frequently photographed football stadium in America and is the nation's oldest permanent concrete structure dedicated to intercollegiate athletics.
The stadium was constructed in Allston on 31 acres of land known as Soldiers Field, donated to Harvard University by Henry Lee Higginson in 1890 as a memorial to Harvard men who had died in the Civil War (1861–1865).
It was a pioneering example of reinforced concrete in the construction of large structures. Because of its early importance in these areas, and its influence on the design of later stadiums, it was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1987
Although thought of as principally a football stadium, it has also been the venue for track and field events and even ice hockey, when in 1904, Harvard built two rinks inside the stadium for its hockey team. The hockey team played its home games in this outdoor space for several years before moving to the Boston Arena (now Matthew’s Arena at Northeastern University).
The stadium has also held numerous non-Harvard events over the years, being the venue for Olympic track and field trials, professional lacrosse, Olympic soccer, and women’s professional soccer. In 1970 it was the home field of the Boston Patriots.
Other recreation events have been held at the stadium. Following the November 1969 concert by Joan Baez, Boston’s 1970 “Summerthing” hosted Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead, Ray Charles, the Supremes, Van Morrison, Ike and Tina Turner, B.B. King, The Four Seasons, Miles Davis, John Sebastian, Jose Feliciano, Johnny Mathis, Tom Rush, and others.
The nearby Charles River is home to the Head of the Charles Regatta, and is also the site of high school, college, and club crew meets, as well as the locale for rowers, kayakers, boating and fishing enthusiasts.
Skating on Chandler Pond
The calendar photo shows the pond abutting the rear of the houses on Lake Street, as the present Lake Shore Road was not built up at the time of the photo. The pond abuts Kenrick Street to the north.
A highlight of skating on Chandler Pond is that skaters can enjoy the grandeur of St. John Seminary and chapel on the opposite side of Lake Street. Dating back to 1884 and designed in the Norman Chateau style by South Boston architect John H. Besarick, the main building was modeled on the Seminary of St. Sulpice in Paris.
The separate Romanesque Revival chapel was designed by Maginnis, Walsh and Sullivan and reportedly in use as early as 1899. The firm designed numerous churches and Catholic institutions in the Boston area, including (in Brighton) the Cenacle Convent and Chapel (1912-1922) now the EF Language School on Lake Street, Our Lady of the Presentation Church (1913-1921), and St. Gabriel's Monastery Chapel (1929).
Braves Field: 1916 World Series
Braves Field, with seating for 40,000, was the largest stadium built in that era. To take advantage of its greater seating capacity compared to Fenway Park, the 1915 and 1916 Boston Red Sox played their World Series home games there; in 1915 against the Philadelphia Phillies and in 1916 against the Brooklyn Robins. Attendance at the final game against Brooklyn was 43,620; Fenway would have held 38,600 at that time, including standing room.
Additional Allston and Brighton Sports Information
The following is information that due to space limitations could not be included in the 2022 Calendar but is important to include here.
- Mike
Brady (1887 – 1972) Born in Brighton and a
Brighton High School graduate, Mike Brady was a pro
golfer in the early days of professional golf
competition. Despite having a hugely successful
professional career in golf, he is best known for
finishing second in a major tournament: the U.S. Opens
of 1911 and 1919.
In the 1911 U. S. Open, he joined Johnny McDermott and George Simpson in a playoff. Carrying only six golf clubs in his golf bag, he shot 82 and Simpson 85, but McDermott won with an 80. Had Brady won, he would have been the first native-born American golfer to win a U.S. Open. Instead, that distinction belongs to McDermott.
At the 1919 U.S. Open, held at the Brae Burn Country Club in Newton, Massachusetts, Brady again lost in a playoff, this time to the famous Walter Hagen, by one stroke. After his win, Hagen quit his job as head golf professional at Oakland Hills Country Club in Bloomfield, Michigan, and was replaced by Brady. After leaving Oakland Hills, Brady became the head pro at Winged Foot Country Club in Mamaroneck, New York from 1924 through 1939.
Brady never played the British Open and The Masters did not yet exist during the years of his playing career. His best finish at the PGA Championship was reaching the Round of 16 during its match-play era. However, he was a significant professional golfer and won ten major PGA events between 1914 and 1925, beginning with the 1914 Massachusetts Open and finishing at the 1925 Westchester Open.
Brady died in Dunedin, Florida in 1972 at the age of 85.
- John
Kelleher (1893 – 1960) was born in Brighton and
was only 18 years old when he broke into baseball’s
big leagues on July 31, 1912, with the St. Louis
Cardinals. After St. Louis he also played for the
Brooklyn Robins, the Chicago Cubs, and finished his
major league career in 1924 with the Boston Braves. In
a six-season career, Kelleher was a .293 hitter.
Following his playing career, he was an assistant baseball coach at Harvard University in 1925 and head coach at Brown University from 1930 to 1941. Kelleher died in Brookline, Massachusetts, at the age of 66.
- Fred
Cusick (1918 – 2009) grew up on Falkland Street
and attended St. Columbkille’s from first grade to
high school graduation (1936) and became the beloved
“Voice of the Bruins”. He credited the St. Columbkille
Debate Club for developing his oratorical abilities
and Chandler Pond for honing his skating and
stick-handling skills.
Fred served as the Boston Bruins radio play-by-play announcer from 1952 until 1970 (WBZ-AM) and television play-by-play announcer (WSBK-TV Channel 38 and NESN) until 1997. He also spent four years broadcasting the NHL Game of the Week for CBS television, during which time he was also Sports Director for WEEI radio in Boston. Counting his radio broadcasts, he was a Bruins announcer for an unprecedented 45 years and was an active sports announcer for over seven decades.
At Northeastern University, from which he graduated in 1942, Mr. Cusick excelled at hockey and also played football and baseball. Then he joined the US Navy, commanding sub chasers during World War II and staying in the Naval Reserves until 1946, when he left as a captain.
Mr. Cusick was the first American broadcaster inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame and in 1988 received the Lester Patrick Trophy for outstanding contributions to hockey in the United States. He passed away in 2009 at his home in Barnstable.
- Harry
Agganis (1929-1955) Although born and raised in
Lynn, Massachusetts, Harry Agganis has become linked
with Brighton through his remarkable athletic career
at Boston University, where he was an outstanding
athlete in basketball, football, and baseball, and
later a rising Red Sox star. On one memorable Sunday
(1954) against the Yankees at Fenway Park, he
delivered three hits, including a home run, then
hopped a trolley up Commonwealth Avenue to receive his
degree at BU’s graduation ceremonies.
Nicknamed “The Golden Greek” due to his outstanding athletic ability, good looks, and cheerful personality, Agganis died at the age of 25 of a pulmonary embolism following a bout with pneumonia.
- Tenley
Albright (born 1935) started training at age
eleven at the Skating Club of Boston on Soldiers Field
Road, now located in Norwood. Founded in 1912, it is
the third oldest skating club in America. It opened
its Brighton rink on New Year’s Day,1939.
Tenley is a five-time U.S. champion (1952-56), two-time World Champion (1953, 1955), the 1952 Olympic silver medalist, and the 1956 Olympic gold medalist. She was the first U.S. woman to win a World figure skating title, and the first U.S. woman to win Olympic figure skating gold.
- Dick
Kelley (1940 - 1991) A 1957 graduate of St.
Columbkille High School where he lettered in baseball
and basketball, Dick Kelley became a major-league
pitcher for the Milwaukee and Atlanta Braves from 1964
to 1968, and the San Diego Padres in 1969 and 1971. A
nearly 6-foot-tall left-hander, Kelley pitched 520
innings in the major leagues, finishing with a record
of 18-30 and an ERA of 3.39 that was just above league
average. His professional career was cut short by a
shoulder injury suffered in 1970; despite an attempt
at a comeback, he retired after the 1972 season.
After his retirement from baseball, Kelley became the field director for the Joe Torre Baseball Camp in Torrance, California, and later founded the Dick Kelley Pitching School in Newport Beach.
Kelley died on December 11, 1991, in Northridge, California, after suffering cardiac arrest. He was 51.
- Bill
Margolin Thousands of Allston-Brighton kids have
been inspired and benefited through the efforts of
Bill Margolin, who continues to influence generations
of young people in Allston-Brighton and beyond. His
tenure with West End House spans more than 60 years –
as a camper, camp counselor, and Executive Director of
the Club. Bill currently serves as the Executive
Director of the West End House Camp in Maine in
addition to serving on the Board of Directors for the
Club in Allston.
- Fred
Steinfort (born 1952) A Brighton High grad,
Steinfort was a star placekicker for the Boston
College football team from 1972 to1976, and enjoyed an
eight-year NFL career, from 1976 to 1983.
A highly accurate and long-distance placekicker, he set a Boston College football scoring record with 215 points, including the longest field goal in Eagle football history with a successful 55-yard kick vs. Tulane in 1974.
He was originally drafted by the NFL's Oakland Raiders, and also played for the Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos, and the New England Patriots.
- Noah
Welch (born 1982) was a professional hockey
player from Brighton. He graduated from St.
Sebastian’s School in 2001 and from Harvard University
in 2005, where he captained the ice hockey team and
was a two-time All-American award winner.
During his thirteen-year professional career Noah skated for the NHL’s Pittsburgh Penguins, Florida Panthers, and Tampa Bay Lightning. During this time he was selected assistant captain for Team USA competing in the 2018 Winter Olympics in South Korea.
Beginning in 2012 he joined the Växjö Lakers in the Swedish Hockey League (Sweden’s elite league), winning the league championship in 2015 and being selected playoffs MVP during the team’s first championship run. In 2016 he changed teams but returned to Växjö in 2017 to finish his professional career and help win the team’s second championship.