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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