Tiny Templeton High beats Boston for state baseball title

Headlines of the Past - June 22, 1936: Tiny Templeton High beats Boston for state baseball title

By Mike Richard / Special for The Gardner News

Posted Jun 15, 2019 at 7:00 AM

The continuation of a yearlong series

Big Ed Mizerick stood on the mound at Fenway Park, one strike away from leading his little Templeton High School baseball team to an upset of monumental proportion.

As he was ready to go into his windup, he paused briefly and – along with the rest of his teammates – inexplicably gazed high into the heavens above the Boston skyline.

Were they looking for divine intervention from up above? Not exactly.

As an airplane circled overhead, many of the so-called country bumpkins who were making their first-ever trip to the big city paused to take in the sight of the airborne vessel, which was quite a novelty for the day.

The home plate umpire snapped the players back to attention bellowing, “Play ball.”

So Mizerick rocked into his delivery and let a fastball zip past the batter for the final out.

It was June 20, 1936, and tiny Templeton High School, wearing patchwork uniforms and using hand-me-down equipment, knocked off mighty Somerville High 2-1 for the state baseball championship.
The victory marked the first-ever state baseball championship won by a central Mass. high school team.

Under Coach Chet Poliks, the rag-tag collection of ballplayers didn’t even have matching uniforms and were “garbed in the discarded Temple Stuart hand-me-downs,” as reported in The Gardner News.
It’s been more than 80 years, and the Templeton win over Somerville still ranks as one of the most incredible David-beats-Goliath stories in Massachusetts schoolboy annals.

Consider this, if you will.

Templeton High School had a student body population – grades nine through 12 – of exactly 90 students. Meanwhile, their opponents from Somerville – one of the largest high schools in the state – boasted a student body of more than 2,000.

In addition, Somerville averaged 12 runs scored per game, and Boston pundits who previewed the game noted that the “Hillbillies” from the central Mass. town wouldn’t stand a chance against the big boys from Somerville.


However, these athletes from Templeton had already achieved success the previous autumn under Poliks when they posted an undefeated football season.

In the midst of an 8-0 campaign that fall, Templeton outscored its opponents 250-21 and hung up five shutouts, with many of the gridiron players also dotting the starting lineup of the baseball squad.

Sophomore Mizerick, who was one of the area’s most outstanding pitching prospects, played quarterback on the football squad. On the mound he possessed a sharp breaking curveball and a blistering fastball as part of his repertoire.

He would later spend some time in the New York Yankees farm system, just missing out on a big-league career.

Third baseman Johnny Lendo was thought by many to be the greatest all-around athlete produced by the school. A running back in the fall, he was also a key arm on the pitching staff and played third base when Mizerick was on the mound.

Sadly, he was lost during a World War II training mission on Feb. 18, 1944, when the plane he was piloting seized up while attempting to land on an aircraft carrier and crashed into Lake Michigan.
Around the infield was freshman Eddie Bullock at first base, Mickey Baczewski held down second and Ed Savoick was the shortstop.

In the outfield were Leland Greenwood in left, captain Vinny Valliere in center and Carl Valiton in right, while Erwin Moore was the catcher.

Other members of the team included Prentiss Spaulding, Ed Saunders, Phil Mahoney, James Young, Dick Bockus, Donald Monahan, Edgar Dennis, Ed Welch, Steve Flis and Robert Hawkes.

Following the regular season, Templeton entered into the Western Mass. tournament where the squad opened with a 10-2 win over Amherst as Lendo scattered three hits for the win. In that game, he also tripled, singled twice and was so dominating from the mound that he not only struck out 10 batters, he also had eight assists from the field.

From there, they edged Turners Falls 4-3 and then captured the Western Mass. crown with a 6-2 win over Greenfield to send them to Fenway and their state title showdown with Somerville.

Factories closed down on that Saturday in Templeton as the Hilltowner faithful – some 600 strong – made the trip some 60 miles east to Fenway Park.

It wasn’t long before the fans and the players – dressed in their array of Temple Stuart uniforms from the old shop league team – were the targets of catcalls from the Somerville fans.

“As is usual with big city folks on such occasions, the Hub breds made the Hilltowners targets for the old cracks about the cows, the chickens and the hay when they appeared on the field,” The Gardner News noted, “but somehow the chorus died down after a few innings.”

That’s because Templeton threatened from the start.

In the first inning, Baczewski led off with a walk off highly-touted Somerville ace Dave White, and Ed Savoick followed with a perfect sacrifice bunt. Lendo then ripped a ball into deep left field, but Baczewski was cut down at the plate on a perfect throw from left fielder Szylowski. Lendo stole second on the next pitch, but Mizerick struck out to end the inning.

The Hilltowners grabbed their first run in the second when Bullock led off with a single to left and promptly stole second. After an out, Carl Valiton grounded to Davis who threw to second, attempting to cut down Bullock off the bag, but the throw was dropped.

White seemed unnerved by the play as he promptly walked Moore to load the bases, and then another walk to Leland Greenwood forced in Bullock with the game’s first run.

In the third, Johnny Lendo walked and Ed Mizerick reached the Green Monster with a long double.

Bullock’s blooper behind shortstop scored the second and eventual game-winning run.

Somerville finally got on the scoreboard in the fourth when catcher Galvin roped a single up the middle. Then on a hit-and-run, MacRae singled to left, and when the ball was misplayed, he came all the way around to score.

From that point, the game would become a pitcher’s duel between Mizerick and White. The hefty Templeton hurler allowed only one more hit and one walk between the fifth through eighth innings.
In the last of the ninth, Somerville’s left fielder Szylowski reached on a one-out single past shortstop, stole second and was in scoring position with the tying run. However, Mizerick bore down from there and struck out Ciampa and White in succession.

The ragtag tiny Templeton team had achieved the impossible and captured the 1936 state title against the Goliaths of Somerville.

To this day, more than 80 years later, it ranks as one of the most incredible stories in the annals of local sports.

Next week: Tornado devastates Hubbardston, Westminster and Winchendon (June 1981).
Comments and suggestions can be sent to Mike Richard at mikerichard0725@gmail.com or in writing to Mike Richard, 92 Boardley Road, Sandwich, MA 02563.