THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Friday, June 16, 2023 Page 3 ~ Malden Musings ~ “Frank ‘Red’ Harris Remembered” By Peter Levine S herman, set the Wayback Machine to... Red Harris, at times, is all but forgotten except for those of us who care about keeping our glorious Malden sports history alive. Frank “Red” Harris is (really) “All About Malden,” proudly graduating Malden Catholic after winning a state football title in 1965. He hails from Edgeworth. Don’t they all?! A proud fl ag waving Edgeworthian in a long line of exceptional athletes that came out of Ward 2. That famous 1965 M.C. football team went undefeated, winning the Catholic League Championship and becoming the Class B Co-Champs with outstanding players, such as Red, Steve Wishoski, Neil Hurley and Dickie Cullen. This was just the beginning of Red’s fabulous football career. His fame would grow when he went off to Boston College to play ball. Red set just about every B.C. passing record during his three varsity football seasons at the Heights, establishing standards that stood for more than a decade until another local guy, 1984 Heisman Trophy winner (Natick boy) Doug Flutie, personally rewrote B.C.’s football record book. Frank helped Joe Yukica’s Eagles become an Eastern football powerhouse from 1968-1970: going 19-9, completing 366 passes for 4,555 yards and 44 touchdowns. How ’bout that! Red was named co-captain his senior year, and in an interview years later he fondly recalled beating Army in 1970 at Alumni Stadium, 21-13: “I remember that score very well, because I had a running touchdown on a bootleg play that day. I didn’t have many running touchdowns in my career, as we had Fred Willis and a few others who took care of the running stuff .” Drafted by the Detroit Lions after graduating B.C., Red played behind Greg Landry (allPro in 1971) and Bill Munson as a taxi squad player. Taxi squad players were paid $500 a week for a 14-week season; total pay for the year: $7,000. After three years he decided to try Canadian football with the Edmonton Eskimos of the C.F.L. An early season injury stopped Red’s football career in its tracks. Red joined the ranks of the Boston College football immortals after his terrifi c varsity career on Chestnut Hill. Many B.C. football fans still remember him for his stellar play. Red recalls that “growing up in Malden, playing for M.C. and then ANGELO’S A FULL SERVICE 1978-2023 Celebrating 45 Years in Business! s! Regular Unleaded $3.359 MidUnleaded $3.739 Super $3.899 Diesel Fuel $3.739 Heating Oil at the Pump $4.759 $2.99 9 DEF HEATING OI 24-Hour Burner Service Call for Current Price! (125—gallon minimum) DEF Available by Pump! Open an account and order online at: www.angelosoil.com (781) 231-3500 (781) 231-3003 367 LINCOLN AVE • SAUGUS Hours. Mon.-Wed. 6AM - 6PM / Thurs. & Fri. 6AM - 7PM / Sat. 7AM / Sun. 9AM-5PM Boston College football players Frank Harris, Fred Willis and George Gill celebrate after a win against Holy Cross. at B.C., it’s amazing how many people still remember me.” “It really makes me proud. Things went awfully well for me at B.C. and Boston College has always been a big part of my life.” Malden and Edgeworth are very proud to call you our own, Red! It is said in “Malden Musings”... • Kudos to Mayor Christenson, Cemetery Director Chris Rosa, Veterans’ Services Director Kevin Jarvis and his assistant Martha Ferratusco, Robby Santo and his bang-up crew at Garrick-Santo Landscape and former Cemetery Director Jimmy Cahill for the outstanding job they did at the Forestdale Cemetery for the Memorial Day Remembrance. Well played, ladies and gentlemen! You made Malden proud, once again! Thank you! • Tommy Feagley passed on May 5. Tom departed after “dedicating his life to making the world a better place through spreading peace and adding color.” How wonderful to be remembered like this. Just my humble opinion but just think about this for a brief moment: If each of us strived to live through Tom’s philosophy (even if it’s just once in a while) – how much better off we’d be!? • Terrestrial radio will never be the same again with the loss of WJIB’s Bob Bitner – another pure human soul who brought happiness into our lives through the joy of music. Also, his PSAs and prerecorded political commentary, forgetaboutit! Insert smiley face. • Three years gone, oh my! Time surely does fly... “Damn it! It just isn’t fair. You were invincible, Jimmy! You loved life too much not to be here with us any longer. That voice! That smile! That hair! Those fi sts of fury for such a gentle man. The way you took over a room, whether you meant to or not. That sense of humor – throw MUSINGS| SEE PAGE 18 www.eight10barandgrille.com OPEN DAILY FOR DINNER AT 4 PM. CATCH THE CELTICS, BRUINS & NCAA SPORTS ON OUR 6 LARGE SCREEN TV'S! om WE'RE OPEN! 8 Norwood Street, Everett (617) 387-9810 Prices subject to change DIESEL TRUCK STOP FLEET
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