Glory days remembered
Former star running back looks back 25 years
PAWTUCKET — When the phone rang at his home last Monday evening, Joey Wilson picked up and seemed stunned – or was it mortified? – by the news.
That’s when a longtime friend reminded him that the Thanksgiving Day he had celebrated with family and friends just a few days before happened to be the 25th anniversary of one of the best sports days in the history of Tolman High School, his alma mater.
“Are you serious? I never thought about it,” Wilson laughed. “Has it been that long? Geez, that’s scary. It’s incredible.”
To be honest, so was his outing on that brisk morning, Nov. 25, 1993. Wilson, then a junior tailback, not only erupted for 205 yards and three touchdowns on 19 carries but also secured a pivotal interception to lambaste rival St. Raphael Academy, 28-6, before thousands of fans inside a juiced McCoy Stadium.
Wilson also seemed to be unaware that it happened to be the 65th version of the storied rivalry, and marked the last time the Tigers ever defeated the Saints on the holiday, a coveted series that lasted only a few more falls.
That’s when school officials decided to end it because Tolman, more often than not, suffered lopsided defeats, and explained to the press (and mighty disgruntled alumni) that a better fit for a new Turkey Day opponent would be Shea.
“Everybody was there on time, and everyone was in good spirits; they were pumped. I immediately thought, ‘This is going to be OK.’” — Tolman graduate Joey Wilson on the Tigers’ last win over St. Raphael
“You know what, after you called me, I started going through some old clippings that I had put away in a box, and I have to say, it brought back a lot of great memories,” Wilson grinned at his home just days after his fabulous feat’s 25th, though he has experienced many before and after. “I never noticed the kinds of numbers I put up back then, and – I have to say – I’m surprised.”
(Anyone who thinks that’s merely a line, or an attempt at false humility, just doesn’t know the man, now 42 and devoted husband, father and employee of Pawtucket’s Department of Public Works).
“I’m surprised because you don’t think about that kind of stuff at that age,” he added. “You take it for granted. I was just as focused on other things in my life, like family and school and friends. You look at what kids are doing nowadays, with yearround training, off-season lifting and running, etc., and all I ever did back then was pick up a ball when that season came along.
“In August, it was a football, and in late November, it was a baton (for indoor track). Then it was a baseball in early March. The only reason I ran track was because John Toth was the coach, and he believed in me; he took me under his wing, told me I could be a good sprinter. He taught me everything I know, and I love him for that ‘til this day.”
On that particular Thanksgiving, Wilson took control from the start; on the fourth snap of the contest, he took a handoff off right guard, burst through the hole and raced 41 yards down the middle of the gridiron for the score.
The ensuing PAT attempt proved to be the indicator as to Tolman’s fortune that late morning. After the center snap flew high, kicker Tony Maciel hustled for the loose ball, evaded a would-be tackler to his left and threw to Jon Fillmore for the two-pointer for the 8-0 lead.
On SRA’s last possession of the half, it moved to its own 48, good for its best field position of the day, but Wilson helped his teammates again when he picked off Mike Byron’s aerial, one intended for Joe Laplante.
It appeared the Saints might close the gap – or knot it – when they maneuvered to the Tolman 20, but a fumble destroyed that drive. Three plays later, Wilson galloped 74 yards for the paydirt, and – seconds after Ed Rezendes converted an 11-yard scoring jaunt to slice it to 15-6 – Maciel took the ensuing boot 72 yards to cushion the score.
Wilson tacked on the Tigers’ final TD, capping an 11-snap, 66-yard possession, with a 20-yard coast.
He had to be signaled off the team bus by head coach Bob Holt and his assistants following the memorable performance for an interview. He not only was too busy celebrating with teammates, but too reserved and humble to want the limelight.
“My offensive line did a terrific job, pure and simple,” were the first words out of his mouth, and he mentioned all by name – Eric Quimby, Lou Nieto, Marco Matos, Brian McKenna, Jimmy Abbott and the tight end Fillmore.
“At the beginning of the season, they didn’t do such a good job, but neither did I. Everything was clogged, but the holes were so big (Thursday) that I had to stutter-step when I ran. I didn’t know which hole to choose.
“I dedicated the game to the seniors,” he continued. “I still have another year left. I wanted to let them know I did everything I could for them.”
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While Wilson doesn’t recall the details of all the long rushes, he certainly does the off-field “stuff.
“I remember getting to the locker room at Tolman around 7:30-7:45 [a.m.], and – when I walked in – I just had a great feeling,” he stated. “Everybody was there on time, and everyone was in good spirits; they were pumped. I immediately thought, ‘This is going to be OK.’
“I usually had my ankles taped by Coach (Al) Vieira; he was the only one I wanted to have tape me because he was the best,” he added. “He always did a good job, but that day? He did an incredible job. I had such a feeling of security, like I had air casts on my ankles. I felt invincible.
“And you know what? When I walked back into the locker room, that smell, it was tremendous! Only an athlete remembers that smell. It was, like, ‘Man, I’m home!’ We got on the team bus and I had my Sony Walkman headphones on, and I had (the song) ‘Eye of the Tiger’ blaring. That still gets to me to this day.
“We pulled into the parking lot at about 9, and I saw people tailgating (despite the early hour), fans all over the place. I saw all the red and white, purple and gold; it was an unbelievable atmosphere. Now that I sit here and think about it, it’s amazing the crowds those two schools drew for a Thanksgiving game.”
His mind drifted back to the short trek he and his fellow Tigers took to the PawSox clubhouse after pregame warm-ups.
“There was a ton of plastic (sheets) down so we wouldn’t muddy up the floor, and we sat in front of the lockers while the coaches were talking,” he said. “They reminded us this was our Super Bowl. They had told us all week that we were a Class C Super Bowl team, but we weren’t going because we had turned the ball over and been penalized too many times.
“Coach Holt told us to play like ‘There’s no tomorrow,’ and I guess we did. It was amazing out on the field to hear the roar of the crowd. While we were standing for the National Anthem, I looked into the crowd and remember, ‘Wow! There’s a lot of people here.’
“I also can still remember (the legendary Pawtucketer) George Patrick Duffy saying over the PA system, ‘Ball carried by No. 34, Joey Wilson. Gain of … ‘ whatever, and it still gives me chills. At the same time, I can remember him announcing, ‘Ball caught by Felix Ramos (a Saints standout),’ or ‘Ball carried by Ed Rezendes’ or ‘Nelson Rodrigues.’
“You know, they’re all still really good friends of mine, despite the fact they played for St. Ray’s. The Ramos brothers (Felix and Shaun), and their father, Felix, Sr., they’ve always been great to me. (The eldest) has been like a dad to me, even to this day.”
Wilson knows all too well, as he was raised by his grandparents and Aunt Charlene.
He explained years ago his parents never watched the multiple All-State and All-Class award winner compete in his three athletic endeavors for an abundance of sad reasons.
“You know, ( Ramos Sr.) will still call me every now and then to get together with the boys, and they never let me live it down,” he grinned, referring to the 33- 0 Thanksgiving pasting the Saints leveled on Tolman during Wilson’s final game in a Tigers’ football uniform. “They always say that their main jobs was to hit me whether I had the had the ball; those were direct orders from the coach ( Todd Vasey back then).
“I remind them that our record (my junior year) was 7-4, same as theirs, and that we had gone ahead in the series (31-30-4), that we had crushed them. They’ll say, ‘Really? You’re gonna say that after 33-0?’ then we’ll laugh some more.”
As a high schooler, Wilson began his career on a 2-8 squad as a sophomore (when he gained 340 yards and scored four TDs) to 7-4 as a junior, though the Tigers dropped extremely tough decisions to Shea, Lincoln and Barrington. If they hadn’t lost two of those, they would have gone to the title tilt.
The team’s record when he was a senior nearly matched that of his 10th-grade season, but he earned AllState first-team honors as a kick returner (12 scores).
Also as a soon-to-be graduate, he shattered the state indoor record in the 45-meter dash (5.43), and – on the diamond – captured second-team All-State and first-team All-Class accolades as a pitcher/outfielder.
Still, he remembers his penultimate game at McCoy the best – and also the aftermath. When he won the Providence Gridiron Club’s 1993 R.I. Class C Running Back of the Year laurel, he didn’t have a ride, so track coach Toth told him he’d bring him.
“I didn’t have a tie to wear, so he gave me one,” he offered, smiling ear-to-ear. “If it wasn’t for him, I probably never would have got there. I thank him to this day.”
He also thanks his wife (and high school sweetheart) Kelley (Mooney); in-laws Kevin and Karen Mooney; and his two children, Leiandra (now a senior at St. Anselm’s College) and Cameron (a junior at, ironically, St. Ray’s).
“I recall that day because I had a good view from the bench,” laughed former teammate Patrick Head, a freshman Wilson’s senior year. “Joey just lit it up that day. Everyone looked up to him in high school because he was the best running back, the best sprinter, the best pitcher. People adored him. He was a legend.”
When asked what he remembers best from Thanksgiving Day, 1993, he states without hesitation, ‘Watching his [butt] sprinting all the way to the end zone.”
Then he got serious.
“Ask anyone about Joey Wilson, and they’ll say, ‘I know him as a father, a husband, a worker and a high school athlete, and he’s tremendous at all of them,’” he noted. “Everyone knows him, and it’s not just because of that day.”