by John "Choo-Choo" Shannahan
6/18/2012

One of the sites I like to visit is Ebay. Armed with a modest Paypal account (the pleasant residue of my days at the Holliston Patch) and an interest in the past, I troll for artifacts of my youth, particularly sports related items, as well as those devoted to my favorite American small town. 

On this specific night two weeks ago, I entered “Holliston” into the search box, clicked, and saw a number of interesting items.   

The first to catch my eye was a 1996 Boston Herald photo of future Holliston Citizen of the Year Patti Osten greeting her son Brad home from his first day of kindergarten.  I chose not to “Buy it Now” for $28.88.  Continuing my search, I placed a $3.00 bid on a 1905 photo postcard of “Holliston, Mass from Strawberry Hill”. There are lots of old Holliston Post Cards on Ebay, but I liked this one in particular because of the clear depiction of individual structures and the numerous verdant fields stretching down the hill toward our town’s center. 

I was about to conclude my search, when I came upon an item that stopped me cold.   The item was captioned “VINTAGE AMERICAN BASEBALL HOLLISTON VARSITY JACKET NYLON QUILTED L LETTERMAN”.

I couldn’t believe what I was seeing.  This was a 1987 Holliston High School State Champion Baseball Jacket and it was being offered for sale for 34.95 Pound Sterling by Beat-Niks Clothing in York, England.   

Beat-Niks Clothing?  Was it possible that a jacket produced to honor and commemorate a season of American athletic triumph was now destined for some multi-pierced British street punk? Faster than you could say Harvey Krupnick, I emailed the disturbing notice to my brother James who had been a member of that distinguished team.  I was sure my brother would be dismayed to learn that a fellow teammate cared so little for this precious memento as to make it available to the highest bidder. 

While awaiting his reaction, it struck me that this month marked the 25^th anniversary of that sensational season.  The word “sensational” doesn’t begin to describe the tremendous ride through the state playoffs that this team enjoyed.  Through the years, when finding myself discouraged and disgusted with professional sports, I’ve often thought of this team and the joy experienced by all who jumped on its band wagon and rode to the ultimate destination.

The team was led by long-time Holliston Coach Harvey Krupnick, who had a pair of dynamic and inspirational captains.  Mark Sweeney, who would enjoy a 14 year major league playing career, was highly skilled, intensely focused, and in total control at all times.  Rich Cordani, who would star at NCAA Division I Champion LSU in 1991, was explosive at the bat, and helped define the roll of the high school closer with his brilliant relief pitching during the playoff run.

I was lucky to be along.  My brother James was a sophomore pitcher, who having started the season with a sore arm on the junior varsity, was brought up in midseason and blossomed into a superb starter.  As the playoffs began, I joined Dan Sweeney on the HCAT broadcasts of the games, where from our front row seats, we saw the improbable become reality.

Holliston had won seven in a row and eleven of their last twelve Tri-Valley League games to win the league title.  The playoffs began with a 10-5 victory over Canton (Sweeney and Cordani homering) followed by a 16-0 spanking of Dighton-Rehoboth (Sweeney and Cordani again homering and baby brother James pitching the nine inning shutout).  A 13-5 win over Middleboro brought the squad up against a tough Walpole team.  Sweeney delivered again with a dramatic three run eighth inning homerun, and with Cordani contributing a gutsy relief performance, Holliston won the game 10-9, winning the Eastern Mass Division II South title in the process.  That was a mere precursor to the team’s 12-11 ten inning victory over Stoneham, a true game for the ages. That game included a bases loaded triple by Cordani and concluded with a bases loaded single by Sweeney off future major leaguer Joe Vitiello.  As detailed by the Boston Herald, “The scriptwriters from Dynasty couldn’t have produced a more dramatic episode.”  By comparison, the state final victory over North Middlesex was a humdrum 9-5 affair. 

Many players contributed to this championship season.  In addition to those previously mentioned, Peter Northgraves was a hard hitting catcher and a steadying influence behind the plate.  Steve Kiley was the fiery shortstop with a golden glove, while his double play partner Mike Day provided an unexpected and huge homerun against Stoneham.  Matt Bearer is remembered for general excellence, as well as a terrific game saving throw during the season.  Dave Vertuca and Eric Spada delivered quality innings on the mound and Paul Travers is remembered for a great catch in the state final.  Tom Renda would DH and play third when Cordani was on the mound; his long homerun against Walpole in the state playoff run helped start the Panther comeback.  Mike Massarelli was sure handed at first base and Dave Kittredge a mainstay in the outfield, while Jay Cohen, Chris Kuharich, Jay Bradshaw, Scott Gollnick, and Lou Ballerene made huge contributions in supporting rolls.  Rick DeCina was the assistant coach with Bob Henderson, Mike McKeown, Todd Sanchione and Jim Demichele performing the team manager responsibilities. 

Following the season, the team was awarded bright red state championship jackets.  My brother would wear his with pride during his final two varsity seasons.  I found it hard to believe that any member of that team, knowing so well the depth of their accomplishment,  would care so little for the memory that they would discard its most tangible reminder like an old pair of jeans. 

An hour after I emailed my brother, his response arrived.  It was obvious that he had studied the photo in the offering closely, as he revealed the original jacket owners name: 

…Scott Gollnick #21…

I’m friends with him on Facebook. 

A week later, my brother mentioned to me that he had spoken with Matt Bearer and that they were planning a reunion for the team, to be held this Wednesday night, June 20th at 8PM at Casey’s.  It was an appropriate date, marking to the day the 25^th anniversary of their championship. 

Then on Saturday morning my brother emailed me the following:
 
John-I got the following message from Scott Gollnick.  I forwarded the info on the jacket.  Here is the response… 

Hi James!  Great to hear from you!  I wish I had more time to make plans to get up there next week.  I will be in Florida next Wednesday but will check flights to see if I can get up there somehow although doubtful with my schedule.  Glad to hear you are doing well.  That’s pretty funny about that jacket.  It’s probably mine!  I noticed the item location is York, England.  I lived in Prague, Czech Republic for five years and had it over there but it was stolen.  I should bid on it and get it back!  Keep me posted on the reunion. –Scott 

So there you have it; an international crime story about a man and his lost jacket and the effort made to retrieve it.  A story of personal disappointment and subsequent redemption.  A story of teammates never forgetting.

While it is true that a jacket can be put on but one arm at a time, it can be stolen with a single swift angry move. The return of this jacket would mark another triumph in the fabled story of the 1987 state championship team, but it’s not the last victory I will mention.

I won the postcard.