The last Chronicle of 1960 featured an amusing item involving a classmate. The photo above (from page three) shows a somewhat embarrassed Joe DeCaro after falling, rather than jumping athletically, through the hoop at a basketball rally. (Gene Ryzewicz, No. 11, looks bemused.)

In the “Sports Briefs” column below the photo, the Chronicle said this (with the original punctuation errors retained): “Frank Wynn, general chairman of the second annual Catholic Hooperama and Charlene Cabana designed and decorated the ‘hoop,’ through which the Cathedral team was to make its appearance. However, Joe DeCaro leading his band of pint-sized freshmen, across the court and throughout the hoop ahead of the team, tripped and actually fell through the hoop landing flat in the center of the court.”

Joe now shares his slightly different memories of that event and of some other fun times as a team manager.

“This particular event was one of the milder hazing adventures Mr. Wise, Sr. (I would never call him “Bill”) [physical education instructor and coach, photo at right] put me through that year. He had recruited me to be one of the team ‘managers’ cum water boy, cum snapping-towel target, of football, hoops and baseball teams. Alas, my ‘career’ ended the afternoon I skipped out on detention and was pulled by the ear from the baseball field by a particularly unhappy Sister. But, I digress. Contrary to the article, there were no other ‘pint-sized freshmen,’ although I’m grateful for the reporter thinking of me as an army of one :).

“Mr. Wise had a bit of Barnum & Baily in him and decided he wanted his ‘manager’ to lead the team out on the court. I did not want to do it. Mr. Wise had a particularly effective technique of persuasion–threatening to have me thrown out the gym doors nekkid! I was not a fast runner, and complied.

“Either my nervousness or the distraction of being smiled at by Carolyn and Charlene caused me to miss their lifting the hoop ever so slightly off the floor in preparation for my burst through the paper. Years before the movie, I demonstrated that white men can’t jump, tripped on the bottom of the hoop and did a perfect face-plant on the CHS gym floor.

“It could’ve been much worse; Mr. Wise originally placed [Anthony] ‘Bumpy’ Scibelli’s shoulder pads on me. The Patron Saint of Perpetual Hazing must’ve changed his mind.

“Thinking back, the camaraderie of a locker room with ‘Bumpy’, Bob Buoniconti, Walt Jujuga, the Rogan brothers, Tim Sullivan, and the teasing of the upper class cheerleaders on bus trips around the district are pretty good memories. Well, most.

“Mr. Wise pulled one that worried me. Returning on the team bus from North Adams, I fell asleep next to Carolyn Vose. Mr. Wise took her lipstick and made a few dashes on my cheek. Unaware of what he’d done, as I departed the bus he made a scene about the lipstick on my cheek and wondered what would happen when Carolyn’s boyfriend heard about it. I think I skipped school for three days! Carolyn’s boyfriend (now husband) was Bumpy!”

Here’s the December 23, 1960 edition of the Chronicle