East Providence - La Salle Thanksgiving Tradition. On life support, are you going?

Are you attending the 2024 EP - La Salle Thanksgiving Day game at EPHS?

Despite an iffy weather forecast and waning interest in this once storied rivalry, will you attend the 2024 Thanksgiving Day game? Gametime is 10:00 AM at EPHS and their new school stadium.

THE HISTORY
The rivalry on Thanksgiving started in 1927. The big question on the minds of Thanksgiving football traditionalists is will the once storied rivalry reach its 100th anniversary which will occur in 2027? East Providence vs. La Salle on Thanksgiving Day is the longest running football series in Rhode Island. For this writer who has attended just about every game since the early sixties, the memories are rich and many. The Townies and the Rams have played some of the state’s most memorable games in history. For many of those years the state championship was on the line. There are glorious memories of an unexpected victory knocking the favorite team out of championship contention. The series alternates between school sites except for several years when the game was always played at Pierce Memorial Stadium. After the Rams old home stands were deemed unsafe for fans, LSA hosted their home year at various venues in Providence including City Stadium and Brown University. However, the best deal financially for the Rams was to play every year at the venerable Pierce Stadium. Legions of fans from both schools only knew playing at Pierce. Once LSA built their new Turf stadium, the game returned to an alternating status. The 2024 game will be played at East Providence High School. The new high school has its own field and no longer plays at Pierce. Some traditionalists, including this writer, advocate for a Pierce Stadium venue should the game make it to 2027.

RI OFFICIALS & SOME SCHOOLS VOTED TO CHANGE FORMAT
The state RI Interscholastic League and some high schools have changed the Thanksgiving Day format. "Beginning in 2014 all Thanksgiving Day “league games” must be played during the regular season. As a result, all semifinal games will be played on the Friday before Thanksgiving. The traditional Thanksgiving Day games will be played as in the past, but as “non- league” games. Divisional championship games will be played a minimum of seven days after Thanksgiving," said former RIIL full time director Tom Mezzanotte at that time. The Townie-Ram game is merely an exhibition game now. This big game is no longer critical for many reasons: In no particular order:

SOME FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO THE GAME'S DEMISE
•The RIIL & most high schools voted in 2014 to make Thanksgiving Day games non-league
•East Providence & La Salle voted to keep Thanksgiving a league game but to no avail
•State championship games must be completed before Thanksgiving
•Therefore, most Thanksgiving games are merely exhibition games
•College bound seniors may be reluctant to play in a non-league Thanksgiving game fearing injury
•The increased intensity of private school recruitment has depleted most public-school teams
•Recent La Salle student-athletes consider Hendricken their rival, no longer is it EP
•Hendricken has won most RI Super Bowls (Hend 19, LSA 17, EP 15)

HENDRICKEN DOMINATES EVEN OVER LSA
Hendricken has dominated recent Super Bowls from 2010-2016, LSA won 2017, Hendricken again from 2018-2021, LSA in 2022 and Hendricken from 2023-2024. East Providence has won 15 titles (’43, ’49, ’50, ’53, ’66, ’67, ’69, ’70, 79, ’80, ’97, ’99, ’02, ’03 and 2006.

A GREAT SERIES AT ONE TIME, THRILLING THOUSANDS
The Townie - Ram Thanksgiving Day series has thrilled thousands through the years. Most games were standing room only and you had to arrive by 8:30 am for the 10:00 start time if you wanted a good seat. Pierce was often known to house nearly 10,000 spectators during the rivalry’s glory days. Today’s players have only heard older family members and friends talk about the game’s history. It was something to behold for fans of tradition and football. Each school, especially EPHS, would hold massive rallies on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. EP Alumni would return home for the rally and from Wednesday through Sunday of Thanksgiving week, class reunion parties would pop up all over East Providence. In addition to partying the night before the game, many Townie & Ram alumni and former players would gather for “breakfast” before the big game starting at 6 am at Bovi’s. Alumni would also crowd into Bovi’s the night before the game. Bovi’s Tavern at six-corners on Taunton Avenue was the place to be during Thanksgiving week. Bovi’s owner, the late John Bovi (an LSA grad), would host scores of fans from both schools, although it was mostly Townies. After “breakfast” on Thanksgiving morning the group would move on to Pierce Stadium or to Providence and join thousands of other fans. And, of course, Thanksgiving dinner couldn’t start until the game was over and it always tasted better after a win. Halftime shows were epic with the Townie marching bands to entertain the large crowds. The Townie band continues to dazzle crowds and is maybe the strongest remaining link to this rivalry. "Football teams are up and down but the band must always perform and sound good," said former band director Jack McNamara. Bovi’s tavern is gone, now an empty lot. Indicative of the rivalry was a two year span in the early nineties. La Salle spanked EP in 1992 by a 50-6 score but EP returned the favor with a 41-6 victory in 1993. Back and forth it went until the series changed in intensity for many reasons. Each year, if the game wasn't being played to determine a champion, it was played for seeding in the playoffs. Once the game became a non-league game, much of the excitement was lost believe many.

AN EDGY RIVALRY? YES IT WAS!
The game wasn’t always the friendliest as the rivalry reached an intense peak through the early 2000’s. At the end of the game in 1971 there was a brawl between the two teams. It involved players, coaches and fans who left the stands to join the fray on the field. Extra East Providence police were called in and bedlam ensued for a while. Solid sources have confirmed that EP coaches were warned before the game that trouble was brewing, and they would have a tough time during the game. A referee had an "unkind" comment toward an EP player at the game's end and more words were exchanged as the all-out donnybrook broke out. A hockey game between the two schools for that Friday night was cancelled and rescheduled to 3:30 pm the following Monday at the (now closed) Dudley Richards arena in Rumford. Both EP and LSA were also hockey powers during that era. You might say the rivalry was a smaller scale of Red Sox-Yankees or Ohio State-Michigan. Yes, a smaller scale but just as intense for many. Making that ’71 game memorable was the coaching situation for both teams. Long time Townie head coach Jim Deffley left teaching and was hired as the new LSA coach. Deffley’s assistant at EP, William “Bill” Stringfellow took over the reins of the Townie team. Townie fans didn’t love seeing Coach Deffley wearing LSA colors! Let’s just say that even the coaches got into the “mix” a little that day at Pierce.

WHICH TOWNIE STOLE THE LSA BANNER?
At one EP football rally during the '80's, a LaSalle banner was introduced during one of the Townie rally skits and was not treated too nicely. It seems like an overzealous Townie “procured” the banner from LaSalle the day before. The culprit has never been identified! The EP school administration returned the banner to LaSalle with apologies (wink, wink).

ICONIC COACHES ABOUND AT EPHS
Several coaches reached iconic status. Very early Townies will remember Lou Farber who later moved away and became one of Arizona's best coaches ever. The late Lou Farber coached the Pueblo, Arizona football team for 17 years, winning two state titles and just missing a third. Farber was a Brown University "Iron Man." William "Beansy" Stringfellow took over after Jim Deffley left EP to coach briefly at LSA. Beansy became a beloved football coach and his son, Jonathan, an EP all-state player, is now continuing the Townie tradition. Of note is the Townie star player from the seventies, John “Sandy” Gorham, who went on to teach and coach at EPHS. Gorham became the winningest coach in EP football with 5 Super Bowl championships. He has also coached winning teams in softball and swimming. Gorham retired from EP and also went on to win state championships in football, swimming and softball at Barrington High School.

WILL THE TRADITION MAKE ITS 100th YEAR IN 2027?
"I would hope that the game would continue, but so much of the enthusiasm for it has waned. Attendance has gone from counting it by the thousands to counting it by the hundreds. We played one game in heavy rain and I think I have a pair of shoes that are still wet 13 years later. Sun, rain, snow, or cold, it was always an event to look forward to," recalled Ted Quigley former La Salle Athletic Director Ted Quigley. “This is still the longest in-state rivalry in Rhode Island. We are a few years from the 100th anniversary of the first game in 1927. It would be a shame to see it end, but I am also realistic enough to know that not everyone feels that way," Quigley added.

East Providence officials, including Townie Athletic Director Alex Butler, hope the 100-year mark can be reached. “It’s still EP-La Salle. Will it happen? Will there be a game filled with ceremonies and alumni returning? Can year 100 be held at Pierce Stadium to commemorate the occasion? Time will tell. What do you think!

THANKSGIVING DAY SCORES THROUGH THE YEARS

1927- East Providence 6-0
1928- no game
1929- La Salle 19-6
1930- East Providence 8-0
1931- La Salle 50-0
1932- East Providence 13-0
1933- Tied 0-0
1934- La Salle 13-0
1935- La Salle 7-0
1936- La Salle 18-6
1937- East Providence 13-2
1938- La Salle 13-0
1939- East Providence 10-0
1940- Tied
1941- La Salle 12-0
1942- La Salle 12-0
1943- La Salle 19-6
1944- La Salle 13-0
1945- La Salle 13-0
1946- La Salle 18-12
1947- La Salle 24-6
1948- La Salle 19-0
1949- East Providence 19-0
1950- East Providence 13-6
1951- La Salle 7-0
1952- La Salle 34-0
1953- East Providence 13-0
1954- East Providence 13-7
1955- La Salle 26-0
1956- East Providence 7-0
1957- La Salle 24-7
1958- La Salle 26-14
1959- La Salle 19-14
1960- East Providence 25-13
1961- East Providence 21-7
1962- East Providence 16-0
1963- East Providence 27-14
1964- East Providence 16-0
1965- East Providence 14-6
1966- East Providence 57-7
1967- East Providence 27-0
1968- La Salle 27-20
1969- East Providence 17-0
1970- East Providence 13-6
1971- La Salle 14-7 (Brawl)
1972- East Providence 34-12
1973- East Providence 28-26
1974- La Salle 12-10
1975- La Salle 29-22
1976- La Salle 20-6
1977- East Providence 13-7
1978- East Providence 17-0
1979- East Providence 29-0
1980- East Providence 39-14
1981- La Salle 20-0
1982- East Providence 20-7
1983- East Providence 30-19
1984- East Providence 28-8
1985- La Salle 34-12
1986- La Salle 30-7
1987- La Salle 26-15
1988- La Salle 26-20
1989- La Salle 20-6
1990- La Salle 45-0
1991- La Salle 44-36
1992- La Salle 50-6
1993- East Providence 41-6
1994- La Salle 28-22
1995  East Providence 8-6 

1996- La Salle 34-12
1997- East Providence 34-6
1998- East Providence 31-6
1999- East Providence 33-8
2000- La Salle 14-6
2001- La Salle 35-6
2002- La Salle 21-12
2003- East Providence 28-27 OT
2004- La Salle 26-7
2005- La Salle 15-7
2006- East Providence 12-8
2007- La Salle 21-19
2008- La Salle 54-27
2009- La Salle 48-34
2010- La Salle 14-6
2011- La Salle 34-13
2012- La Salle 34-0
2013- La Salle 30-6
2014- La Salle 24-21
2015- East Providence 41-23
2016- La Salle 35-32
2017- East Providence 41-0
2018- La Salle 21-18
2019- La Salle 35-14
2020- No Game Covid
2021-La Salle 34-6
2022-La Salle 41-36
2023- La Salle 17-14
2024 - ?

(Opinions expressed in this article by Bob Rodericks are his own and may not necessarily be the same as other school, city and state officials, or this publication)