The Near Perfect Season 7-0-1
By Bruce Doorly
For A.J. not only was a hall-of-fame caliber Athletic Director, but he was also a hall-of-fame caliber athlete. He excelled in sports at Somerville High School (which for decades was the only local high school). In 1929, A.J. was their star quarterback who led them to an undefeated season (with one tie) 7-0-1. That team, along with A. J., are legendary in the local sports lore. So, the article this month will be about them.
Next month, we will cover A.J.s tenure as Athletic Director at Bridgewater-Raritan High School.
could be found of A.J. It is from microfilm from
the Somerset Messenger Gazette
A prosperous, fun era, where despite prohibition, people drank with gusto celebrating the booming (about to collapse) stock market.
Radio had just emerged, 40% of homes had a radio.
from local newspapers in 1929
The high school was then in the building on Cliff Street that is today used for the Middle School.
That building was relatively new having been built just seven years earlier.
That year they started playing on a new football field. Things were a bit different then as all players played both offense and defense.
from the school newspaper in 1927
A.J. Troisi, while usually the quarterback, would score one of the four touchdowns by catching a pass.
Troisi, elusive Orange quarterback, was the hero of the battle. In the first quarter he dodged through the Princeton line, cut past the secondary defense, and was tackled after a thirty-two-yard gain. Later in the same quarter Troisi again amazed the spectators and the opposing team by breaking through the tiger line and tearing through for a fifty-yard gain.
It went on to say how Troisi carried the tackler on his back for several yards before brought down. However, after both of his long gains, which could have setup touchdowns, the team fumbled turning over the ball.
Despite dominating the game, they went into the fourth quarter scoreless. Somerville finally put together a scoring drive led by several short runs by Troisi and Joe Brokaw. Final 6-0.
The newspaper described it like this:
Roselle men were advancing at him from every direction … he whirled from under the grasp of three tacklers ... he seemed enmeshed in a maze of tumbling men, but he was side stepping and treading this way and that. His teammates tore a clean path and, in a flash, the fast flying Troisi was away sprinting like mad for a touchdown.
In addition to the touchdown that day he had several long gains. He even made a key tackle on a Bound Brook rusher who found open field.
In this game Troisi was aided and abetted by a special pair of silk football pants that he wore in order to make it harder for defenders to tackle him. The silk pants story has become the stuff of legend.
(This author heard the silk pants story from several old-timers before doing any research and thought it was just legend. Thus I was quite shocked when I actually read about it in an old newspaper.)
The game became a defensive battle. Troisi was sent into play in the second quarter. Neither team could come close to scoring. It was not until the fourth quarter with time running out that Somerville had a scoring opportunity. That was setup by a Troisi punt return that put the ball on the opponents 18-yard line. Somerville fought their way down to the three-yard line but time expired. Thus, the game ended in a tie.
Their final record was 7-0-1. It was the first undefeated season for the Somerville Football Team.
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A Somerville guard, Gerald Fischetti, was selected to the first team.
Brothers Joe Brokaw and Tab Brokaw would also get honorable mention.
