Welcome back: Struthers’ ‘Four Spacemen’ return to Earth
Special to The Vindicator
50 YEARS ON: Nick Gentile, Ben Bruno, Jerry Lucas and Tom McIntire, nicknamed the "Four Spacemen," helped the 1957 truthers High football team to score a school-record 402 points and compile a 9-1 record. They celebrated their legacy recently at their 1958 class reunion.
The former Wildcats scored most of Struthers’ school-record 402 points in 1957.
BY JOHN KOVACH
VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF
BOARDMAN — In October 1957, high school football, as usual, and the Russian-launched “Sputnik,” the first man-made satellite to orbit the Earth, attracted much of the attention in the Youngstown area.
While the South, Campbell Memorial and Struthers teams were on their way to becoming the best in the area that year, the Russians launched Sputnik on Oct. 4, which presented a strong challenge to American ingenuity to catch up with their Cold War adversary.
Sputnik could be seen revolving the Earth at a certain spots and at certain times in the Northwest skies every day.
And because of that Soviet feat and visibility, interest in science and space quickly increased in America and found its way into high school students’ discussions, classrooms, courses and laboratories.
And as it uniquely turned out, space interest even found its way to the Struthers football team, which mirrored the times by launching the “Four Spacemen,” the nickname given by the school to the Wildcats’ backfield of quarterback Ben Bruno, fullback Nick Gentile and halfbacks Jerry Lucas and Tom McIntire.
These “Four Spacemen,” who combined to score most of the 402 points that season — still the most ever recorded at Struthers — recently returned to Earth to attend the 50th reunion of their 1958 graduation class.
Bruno, Gentile, Lucas and McIntire, now 50 years older but still only a young 17 in football memory and team camaraderie, were overjoyed at having the nostalgic opportunity to huddle again and reminisce about the special 1957 season, their unique space nickname and old times in general.
“I think our best game was against Steubenville Big Red. We beat them 20-14,” said Gentile, recalling that Tom Chako’s interception return (25 yards) saved the Wildcats, who were trailing, 14-13.
Gentile, Bruno and Lucas are members of the Struthers Athletic Hall of Fame, but Gentile feels that McIntire should be inducted, too.
“[McIntire] was a safety and halfback and was a great pass receiver and set up a lot of our TDs by making a lot of catches and runs,” Gentile said. “He scored 10, 11 TDs.”
Gentile led Struthers in total yards with 1,021 while scoring 19 TDs that season, while Lucas scored a school-record 22 TDs and caught 10 passes for 224 yards.
While enjoying their reunion, the “Four Spacemen” didn’t realize the only team to beat them that year — Campbell Memorial, 27-6, for the Steel Valley Conference championship before 8,000 fans in the eighth game of the season — also was celebrating its 50th graduation reunion at the nearby Holiday Inn.
Had either class known, it would have been 1957 all over again — not playing football but dancing to the oldies like “At The Hop,” “In the Still of ther Night,” and “The Stroll.”
Campbell players returning to the reuinion — Rocco Miceli, Tom Mingo, Dr. John Geletka, Jerry Beck, Robert Brayer and Mike Bruner — also reminisced about their nine wins that year, including the big victory over Struthers, and also their own “Waterloo,” a 9-0 loss to South High before 11,000 fans at South in the fifth game of the season.
The Red Devils (9-1), humorously referred to as “my ‘pore’ little boys” by coach John Knapick, ended No. 9 (AP) and No. 11 (UPI) in the state. South (10-0) wound up No. 5 in the AP poll.
“Beck’s pass interception was the game-turning play,” said Gentile, recalling that after Campbell had scored first, that Struthers was threatening at the 12 before Beck stopped the drive. The Red Devils then went on to build a 27-0 lead.
Perhaps the biggest fan of that game played on a cold, 40-degree and very windy November night at Campbell Stadium is Boardman philanthropist Tony Lariccia, a 1963 Struthers High grad who attended the game when he was 12 years old.
“Campbell killed us. I’ll never forget that game,” Lariccia says almost every time someone brings up that special moment in his life.
That game also has helped forge bonds between the players from both schools, some of whom went on to become college roommates, classmates, basketball buddies and life-long friends.
In fact, ironically, when Dr. Robert Ricchiuti, a junior member of the 1957 Campbell team, wanted to create a DVD of the game, he had to turn to Gentile for the original 16-millimeter film to make a computerized copy. Gentile was the only one who had the film taken by Struthers.
So, the return of the “Four Spacemen” has rekindled cherished memories. And the 1957 classmates from both schools, who unbeknownst to each other were celebrating 50-year reunions just a quarter-mile apart, are grateful they are back.
kovach@vindy.com