Smith Academy takes the state championship, March 17, 1990.
If you lived in Hatfield in 1990 and were interested in sports, you probably knew that the Smith Academy basketball team made it to the state finals and won. Maybe you listened to the game on the radio, or were even there at the Worcester Centrum. But it was news to me when John J. Woloss (formerly of Hatfield) called me from Maine last fall to ask about donating some basketball memorabilia to the Hatfield Historical Museum.
I was reminded of his donation this past week as this year’s Falcon’s, #4 Smith Academy, beat #5 New Leadership Charter School in the Western Mass Div. 3 Basketball Quarterfinals (see Gazette article here).
I was reminded of his donation this past week as this year’s Falcon’s, #4 Smith Academy, beat #5 New Leadership Charter School in the Western Mass Div. 3 Basketball Quarterfinals (see Gazette article here).
Autographs from the 1990 winning team
John's donation not only included an envelope of dated news clips about the team's 1990 winning season, but also a VHS tape of the championship game, and CD copies of two other championship games (see images below) taped off the radio. To top it all off, he included an index card of autographs from players on the 1990 championship team -- which I love!
If you'd like to listen to one of the games on CD, feel free to come visit the museum on a Saturday morning starting in April and we'll set you up with headphones. Or, if you have a working VHS player and would like to watch the 1990 championship, you're welcome to borrow 1 copy (of 2) for a week's loan. (John says he'd even be happy to make copies for a nominal fee, plus mailing costs. Thanks, John! And in some other post, I'll tell you about the other items he donated.) If you have any recollections of an exciting or funny moment from the 1990 championship game (or some other championship year), please tell us about it in the Comments box below the post.
If you'd like to listen to one of the games on CD, feel free to come visit the museum on a Saturday morning starting in April and we'll set you up with headphones. Or, if you have a working VHS player and would like to watch the 1990 championship, you're welcome to borrow 1 copy (of 2) for a week's loan. (John says he'd even be happy to make copies for a nominal fee, plus mailing costs. Thanks, John! And in some other post, I'll tell you about the other items he donated.) If you have any recollections of an exciting or funny moment from the 1990 championship game (or some other championship year), please tell us about it in the Comments box below the post.
But back to the present: The SA Falcons (19-3) move on to the semifinals to play #1 Renaissance (19-2) at the Curry Hicks Cage at UMASS this coming Wednesday at 8 pm. You could watch history being made THIS year, and get your own autographs!