Football fever gripped Pottstown 50 years ago

Sept. 7 marked the 50th anniversary of an important event in Pottstown history: the first regular season game of the Pottstown Firebirds.

In the summer of 1968, football fever gripped Pottstown. A new professional minor league team, the Pottstown Firebirds, had just joined the Atlantic Coast Football League (ACFL) as the affiliate of the Philadelphia Eagles.

The ACFL served as a taxi squad and talent feeding ground for the National Football League. That July and August, aspiring and former NFL players from all over the country flooded into Pottstown for the chance to try out for the new team. They took over Pottstown’s boarding houses, the Downtown Motor Inn and private residences. They attended local church services. Many who made the team took day jobs at local businesses.

Head Coach-General Manager Dave DiFilippo, a well-known figure in Philadelphia area football, led the team. Jim Haynie from West Chester State quarterbacked. Players included linebacker Mark Kosmos who went on to an outstanding career in the Canadian Football League, guards Leo Levandowski and “no-neck” Walt Hughes, tight end Bob Pelkington, defensive backs Buddy Allen and Sherman Ross, and defensive tackle Pressley Day.

As the start of the season neared, a “David versus Goliath” swagger took hold of local residents. Firebirds paraphernalia such as bumper stickers and pennants could be seen everywhere. Teams from much larger cities, including Harrisburg, Richmond, and Bridgeport, Connecticut, were on the schedule. Pottstonians felt, however, that none could match the excitement being generated here.

Despite a raucous crowd of over 6,100 fans who crammed into Pottstown’s Franklin Field for that first game, the Firebirds lost to the Hartford Knights 13-7.

The Firebirds later got their revenge on Hartford, defeating the Knights in both 1969 and 1970 for the ACFL championship.