Slatington lived up to ’69 motto
Honor set for team of ‘10-0, here we go!’ fame
Slatington High School had a very good football team in 1968. The newly named Bulldogs — changed from Slaters — went 9-1 and outscored their 10 opponents 388-67.
They won the Lehigh Valley League championship despite a 6-2 loss to Parkland in late September.
Despite that success, Jack Cassebaum left the program to become head coach at J.P. McCaskey High School in Lancaster.
Paul Turner, who had been one of Cassebaum’s assistants, took over as head coach in 1969 and set a goal of repeating as league champs, but with one difference. This time, he wanted the Bulldogs to go undefeated and had T-shirts printed with the phrase “10-0, Here We Go!”
Slatington took the slogan to heart and made the T-shirts collector’s items by following through with a perfect 10-0 season that is fondly remember by the players and their families.
A half-century later, the 1969 Slatington team will be honored Friday night at halftime of Northern Lehigh’s Colonial League game against Saucon Valley in Slatington.
About 50 members of the 1969 team are expected to attend and participate in a pregame party in the high school library from 4 p.m. until kickoff.
Those helping to learn all about the first unbeaten team in school history can also purchase a historical book compiled by 2011 Northern Lehigh graduate Michael T. Hofmann Jr.
Hofmann has also written a book called “Clad in Iron” on the school’s famous 1953-54 “Iron Men” basketball team that won Lehigh Valley League and District 11 championships and wrote a 159-page section on the history of Slatington/Northern Lehigh athletics for a book published by the Slatington History Preservation Committee for the town’s 150th anniversary in 2014.
The new book, which cost $15, will be available for purchase at the game with proceeds going to the nonprofit SHPC with the idea of preserving local history.
“This is my way of giving back to the town and to what sports meant to me growing up,” said Hofmann, who was a threesport athlete at Northern Lehigh. “There were a couple of really important teams in Slatington High School history. This was one of them. This team isn’t talked about as much after the 2003 team made it to the state finals, but it was a very strong team.”
There was linkage to the great Northern Lehigh team that would follow 34 years later.
In 2003, Pete George, who blocked three punts for touchdowns in 1969, gave a “10-0, Here We Go!” T-shirt to linebacker Kyle Follweiler, one of the standouts on Jim Tkach’s team.
After the 2003 season over, Follweiler gave the shirt back to George with the autograph of every team member.
Hofmann said the 1969 Slatington squad was a true team and while it had standouts, the headlines weren’t dominated by one player.
“They had everything … a quarterback named Dan Rubright who threw six touchdowns in a game … an all-state wide receiver named Karl Andreas who went on to play at Clemson … an all-state defensive tackle named Ivan Weiss who played at the University of California,” Hofmann said. “They had amazing offensive and defensive linemen.”
The closest game was the first, a 13-6 nailbiter at Pennridge on Sept. 19, 1969. Back then, the high school season didn’t begin until late September.
Among the more impressive wins was a 39-6 rout of Parkland, a 39-0 thrashing of Emmaus, a 54-0 blanking of Catasauqua and a 62-0 Thanksgiving pounding of rival Palmerton.
With no district or state playoff system in place, the season ended after the Thanksgiving contest.
But even after the helmets and shoulder pads were taken off, the honors poured in. The team received eight first-team selections on the Lehigh Valley League all-star team to go with three second-team choices and seven honorable mention honorees.
Of course, as is the case with many of today’s current successful high school teams, accusations stemming from jealousy tried to taint the accomplishments.
The team had to deal with allegations of using “pep pills.”
Turner vehemently denied the rumors with comments published in the book.
“That’s ridiculous,” he said. “It sounds like sour grapes on the part of some people. We work harder at football than anyone else. We don’t need anything beyond what we have — a lot of desire and a heck of a lot of ability.”
In the end, nothing could bring the Bulldogs down.
Hofmann talked to several of the players and said they are excited to come back and be honored.
“Most of the players are still living and they’re living all over the country as well as locally,” Hofmann said. “They’re really thankful the school is honoring them.”
Hofmann plans more books to document the special bond between sports and the community.
Next up is a look back at Smith Hall, the famous gym where the Slatington High teams played and many playoff games were held.
“But that won’t probably be released until 2021,” he said. “There’s a lot of research to be done there and a lot of stories to be told.”