SEYMOUR — A celebration of 75 years of Seymour Wildcat football will take place at DeBarber Field later this month.
The 75th anniversary season of Seymour High School’s Wildcat Varsity Football program is scheduled to touchdown at 10 a.m. Oct. 30 at DeBarber Field, 2 Botsford Rd. The festivities, in part, will include tours of the school and its Sports Hall of Fame, along with a reunion of former alumni who’ll be invited onto the field during halftime.
According to the event coordinator and Wildcats Assistant Football Coach Jamie Burns, the day will celebrate all those who sported the blue and gold colors since the football program’s inception in 1946. Burns (SHS Class of 2003) is himself a Wildcat at heart. He was a first team All-Naugatuck Valley League defensive lineman during his senior year, and helped his teammates finish the season 10 – 3 and reach the 2002 Class MM State Championship.
“If you’re from Seymour, this is one event you can’t miss,” Burns said.
A major highlight, Burns said, is expected when the last living member of the Wildcat’s inaugural team of 1946: 91-year old Richard Malinauskus will take the field and do the coin toss to start the day’s game at noon. The Wildcats will host Waterbury Career Academy.
Malinauskus, who played several positions during his senior year, including second string quarterback, said he’s looking forward to the celebration.
“Wow, 75 years certainly goes by fast,” Malinauskus said. “This was a new program and we didn’t know much about football back in the day, especially since there was no Pop Warner or anything like that. But the coach was looking for players, many of us were farmers, and maybe he thought we were tough. Me and my friends were excited to play, and I just wanted to be one of the boys.”
Thinking back to his glory days, Malinauskus recalls the camaraderie, pride and sense of community that came with being part of a team.
“Any time we won, it was fun,” he said.
And of course you can’t talk Wildcat football without mentioning one of its former players and longtime Head Football Coach Paul “Spooney” Sponheimer.
Sponheimer (SHS Class of ’69) was an All-Housatonic player during his Wildcat days. He later went on to coach the Wildcats for nearly 30 years before retiring in 2008, leaving a legacy of winning four state championships and 210 games.
“This event is a celebration of the young men that played as Wildcats, and who have become great examples for future Wildcats, not just on the football field but more so as important parts of their community,” Sponheimer said. “We learned what a family is about and how important friends are.”
Sponheimer recalled being coached by Joe Gesek, who later became his father-in-law, along with former coach Dan Heffernan (both inducted into SHS’ inaugural Sports Hall of Fame), and how their mix of coaching styles shaped him. But it was another player, former standout Ed Shay (SHS Class of ’68 and inaugural Hall of Famer) who Sponheimer said “really taught me the game of football.”
Longtime Board of Education member Fred Stanek (SHS Class of ’72) introduced a resolution at the Oct. 4 school board meeting to honor all former Wildcats — football players, cheerleaders, dance team members, majorettes, and band members.
“It’s an opportunity to bring together Seymour High School graduates to remember their high school years together, their experiences as part of our legendary Wildcat Football Program and to reflect that “Once a Wildcat, Always a Wildcat,” Stanek said.
