Firebird Heritage
by
Herb
Nauss
The
Folklore
states
that
the
''bird
of
fire'
(the
Phoenix)
arose
from
the
ashes
as
a
rebirth
of
good
over
evil....
The contemporary
version is not
quite so dramatic.
Cosmo
Iacovazzi, Commissioner of the Atlantic Coast Football Conference
was
traveling
throughPottstown, Pa., and stopped to eat at a restaurant along
Pa.
route
100. He
was overheard talking about minor league professional football
to
some people.
Someone mentioned that "Chuz", the owner of a local
gasoline
station
would be someone to talk to regarding any interest in this area.
So
Mr. Iacovazzi
decided to gas up before leaving town.
Bob
Calvario (Chuz)
talked with Al Cavallo. After a few meetings with other
town
people,
he spear-headed agroup that would apply for a franchise in the
ACFL
for
1968. A league
founded in 1962 that had many yearly adjustments of teams in it's
short
history.
The league asked for a bond of $10,000 (franchise fee) be made
available
as a
good faith
promise tocompete in 1968.
The
town was accepted
to compete with big cities such as:
Hartford,
Conn.
Roanoke, Va
Bridgeport,
Conn.
Quincy, Mass.
West
Chester,
N.Y.
Harrisburg, Pa.
Richmond,
Va.
Jersey City, N. J.
The
group needed
to get financing... most members supplied a few hundred dollars,
realizing
they
wouldprobably never reclaim it. Public stock was sold within the
community
to
raise income for operations, player salaries, coaches, and
publicity.
They
fell well
short of their goal.
?? SOLUTIONS ??
Financial
The
wealthiest
man in the area was Mr. Ed Gruber.
Reluctantly
the
group realized their needs could only
be
made
possible if they became secondary partners
with the
'power
& personality' he possessed. They would
need
$250,000.
to be competitive with the big city teams
financial
backing/
marketing / TV - Radio / etc.
Operations
At one
of their group meetings, a short, stocky man stood at the back of the
room.
After
a short
while , someone asked him his name, and why was he present? The door
was
now open for the "Italian motivator" to step into the lives of these
salesmen,
entrepreneurs, small business owners, teachers, and the like.
Dave Defillipo announced his
presence,
and noted his experience as a
previous NFL (Eagles) player, coach
(high school/ college/ professional),
and small business owner (beer
distributor and insurance).
Right
Place
- Right
Time
The 'incubation
period' had begun
in
this small
town along the Schuykill River, at the intersection of Pa. routes
100 and 422. Springtime was filled with tryout camps, visits with
professional
teams, college coaches were contacted, and word spread in the region.
'Go
for your dreams young men'! A coaching staff , and players were slowly
organized into the 1968 Pottstown Firebirds.
The ACFL was able make
informal arrangement
with NFL/CFL teams to attract released players from their summer camps
to spend a 'development year' in the minor leagues... (similar to the
baseball
arrangement) but the NFL would never jeopardize their 'college Draft'
system,
as their formal development tool... thus, it was a very loosely managed
concept at this time. (More on personnel, staff, rosters, and etc. will
be forth coming.)
In 1968, the season ended with
a 6-5-1
record, good enough for 2nd place in the Southern Division. But
expectations
were much higher for all involved. From a successful business man, Mr.
Ed Gruber
( largest underwear producer in
the US) that
sought excellence.. to a the Head Coach, Dave Defilippo (career
football
man)who sought perfection, and a community, Pottstown (small town in
Penna.),that
wanted to challenge and defeat the big city braggarts
A sense of
'Pride' drove
them all.
In 1969,
Pottstown claimed their 1st ACFL
Championship
with a (11-2) record by defeating the
previous
years
champion- Hartford Knights 20-0.
Several
players
signed contracts for 1970 summer camp
tryouts,
a couple made their teams, and played
for
the NFL
and Canadian teams.
In 1970,
the franchise in Pottstown changed
their
name to the Pennsylvania Firebirds
to reach out into the region for
support.
The Firebirds defeated Hartford
once
again by a shutout 31-0 in a
driving
snow blizzard (6 inches). They
almost
ended the season undefeated (12-1),
and gained notoriety with a made for
TV
documentary by NFL films ' Pottstown Firebirds',
film
available from NFL Films
and
a
book written by Jay Acton, "The Forgettables".
book
available at Amazon.com
In 1971,
Pottstown could no longer support
the
team.
Only four teams remained affiliated to
the
ACFL,
and they were the bigger city teams with
a
TV
market, business base, fan support, and
larger
stadiums.
Such as:
Norfolk, Va. Bridgeport, Conn.
Roanoke,
Va.
Hartford, Conn.
(all owned by business
multi-millionaires)
A core of 10 players from Pottstown
Firebirds
combined with 12 players from Norfolk
Neptunes
( partnership of Mr. Ed Gruber, and the
Neptune
Group)
Ron Waller became the Head Coach
-
GM
and managed to merge the players skills
and
egos.
They won the 1971 ACFL
Championship
-
'a three - peat'
over the Hartford Knights.
--More to come--
Note from Mr. Jim Keil, Maine:
Jim brought to my attention that the
ACFL
franchise
Pottstown purchased was originally
located
in Wilmington, Delaware, and that Ron
Waller
was a coach with 'Clippers'.
Coach with several of the players
from this team migrated to Pottstown.
Also, Coach Dave DiPhillippo, and a
few players
were
members of the Philadelphia or Canton
Bulldogs
of the Continental Football League prior
to their arrival in Pottstown.
The Minor League 'connections' that
helped
form the foundation
of the Championship Firebirds will be
traced
more fully.
Follow the link below to read more :
click here
not active as of June 13th, 2001
**** under construction****
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