LYNN — Dan Dill and Jim Tgettis wonder where the time has gone.
Back in 1969, Dill and Tgettis were members of a special William P. Connery Post 6 American Legion baseball team that came one win away from reaching the World Series.
Saturday, they gathered with fellow teammates at Tony’s Pub and Grill on Franklin Street for the team’s 50th reunion. Dill and Tgettis, along with Frank Valeri, played key roles in reuniting the group.
“To get together with these guys 50 years later, words can’t describe how great the feeling is,” Dill said. “Back then, we were teenagers. We had the whole world ahead of us. We went to the New England final. At the time, you’re just playing and having fun. You don’t think of the magnitude of it. As you get older, you realize what a significant accomplishment it was.”
Mayor Thomas M. McGee and state Sen. Brendan Crighton presented the team with city citations.
“Most important is that this celebrates 50 years of showing teamwork and making contributions, not just on the field but also in life, in your community,” Tgettis, who went on to coach St. Mary’s to two state championships, said. “If you look at the character and fabric of this team, I think it stands out for those reasons. The guys represent all aspects of life.”
One of the pioneers behind the reunion was the late Jimmy Clancy, who died in January. The Lynners met for their 25th anniversary in 1994 and it was Clancy’s wish to do it again in 2019.
“Jimmy was a great guy,” Dill said. “He had a wonderful personality. He was a core member of the team. The catcher’s a critical part. Tgettis and Valeri came up to me and said ‘we heard you were trying to get a reunion.’ They wanted to pick up the mantle. I said ‘great.’ And we’re all here.”
Jimmy’s father, Nipper, coached the team. The Lynn City Baseball Tournament (Clancy Tournament) is named in his honor.
Jimmy’s brother, Chipper, a former Lynn mayor and state senator, was an assistant coach.
“It was a tremendous core,” Chipper recalled. “They were like brothers. That’s how I remember that team. My father coached many years but he never had a team like this team.
“It meant a lot to my father. It was his life. He lived and breathed coaching baseball.”
Making the Post 6 cut was no small accomplishment. The Lynners were stacked from top to bottom with elite pitching, skilled gloves and clutch hitters. Speed and athleticism were also their strong suits.
“We were fast, we played excellent defense and we had outstanding pitching,” Tgettis said. “It was hard to beat us. We didn’t beat ourselves. Our pitchers didn’t walk anybody. We didn’t make errors. You really had to earn a victory over us.”
Lynn was also well-coached.
“We had one of the greatest coaches, if not the greatest coach in the history of Lynn,” Dill said. “Nipper coached legion for many years. He coached Tony Conigliaro, Billy Conigliaro. On one of his Post 6 teams, he had six guys sign professional contracts. There’s a lot of history and we took pride in being part of it.”
Tgettis agreed.
“We were well-drilled, well-schooled and highly motivated,” Tgettis said. “I personally wasn’t that great a player. But the people around me, and Nipper, my coaches, made me better. It was my dream to play Post 6. I was all into it.”
Bobby Remson, who signed a professional contract with the Red Sox, led the pitching staff.
“The anchor of our team was pitching,” Dill said. “We had Remson, a left-hander, Stan Dubis, a right-hander. Then we had Bobby Cronin, who was our third pitcher. He was better than a lot of teams’ first pitchers.”
Among the big bats were Tgettis, Bill Surrette, Jimmy Clancy and Jim Silvonic.
“We got into the playoffs and our pitching, defense and timely hitting carried us,” Dill said. “It was like old-fashioned baseball. This was in the wood bat era too.”
Lynn’s opponents were top-notch. Post 6 defeated multiple powerhouse teams, including East Lynn, Lawrence and Pittsfield, en route to the state championship and New England Regional. The postseason run ended in a rain-delayed loss to Naugatuck, Conn. Lynn finished the season 29-9.
“The North Shore was tough,” Dill said. “East Lynn was loaded with talent. We had talent. Salem and Beverly made it a competitive league. Our biggest rival outside of Lynn was Lawrence. They were stacked.”
The players admit they’ve lost some speed over the years. But the overall camaraderie, love for one another and pride in what they accomplished remains strong.
“We have a great bond,” Dill said. “This was before cable TV and internet. On a typical day, we’d meet at Barry Park, we’d play screen ball in the morning, we’d grab lunch and then we’d play home run derby. We focused on baseball. We kept busy doing it and it paid dividends.”
Members of the team were Cronin, Dill, the late Dubis, Remson, Silvonic, Surrette, Tgettis, Valeri, Jimmy Clancy, the late Bill Jarmusik, Pumpsie Welch, the late Frank Meroski, Don LeBlanc, Walter Kelter, Bob Cotter, Larry Curtis and the late Howie Grob. Nipper Clancy coached alongside manager Thomas Morrison and assistants Lou Falkoff and Chipper Clancy.
“Our bond has kept us together,” Dill said. “We had a get-together for our 25th anniversary. We’ve lost some of our players since then and other people associated with the team. As you get older, these get-togethers are more and more precious.”
