Woog's World: Catching up with the '65 guys

Tom Allen is one of my most faithful correspondents. A 1966 graduate of Staples High School, his photographic memory of people and places -- and his uncanny ability to weave them all together with the eye of an artist and the soul of a novelist -- makes opening every e-mail a joy.

The other day, he forwarded me a posting from Facebook. This was not a Farmville update, a photo that will one day cost someone a job, or a reminder to reconnect with a "friend" whose name means nothing to me.

Tom sent along information that classmate Mark Goodman had posted. It described the life journeys of some of his and Tom's football teammates. Those journeys are fascinating in both depth and breadth. They give life to the stereotypes that all Westport kids are the same, and that life after Staples is always smooth and straight.

"Any team from any year probably contains stories of similar drama and value," Tom said. "The difference is the war in Vietnam -- its importance to all of us, most especially those who served in combat roles."

As usual, Tom nailed it.

Here is Mark's report:

Win Headley was the most famous football player on that very strong squad. An All-American in both high school and at Wake Forest University -- where he won the first annual Brian Piccolo Award -- he was drafted by the Green Bay Packers. He also played with the Montreal Alouettes and Hartford Knights. Win served as Princeton University's defensive coordinator, before embarking on a 20-year career in finance. He now coaches football at the Lawrenceville School and golf at Princeton Day School, and works as a personal trainer.

Mark Skinner earned All-FCIAC honors in football; he threw the hammer for the track and field team and -- at 230 pounds -- was also a sprinter. He worked at the Arrow Restaurant during high school. Mark starred at tackle for the University of Richmond, was drafted by the Houston Oilers, and now builds custom homes in North Carolina. He and his wife travel often, and ski as much as they can.

Frank Bowes -- the son of a Westport police detective -- was an All-FCIAC fullback. He dropped out of the University of Maryland to join the Army. He did two-and-a-half tours of duty in Vietnam and spent three years in Special Forces, jumping out of planes around the world. Frank earned two master's degrees -- in social work and judicial administration -- and worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Colorado.

Steve Doig was the captain. A three-year starter as a powerful runner and defender, he turned down numerous scholarship offers to attend Dartmouth College. He went from the infantry in Vietnam to a career in journalism. In his 19 years at the Miami Herald, Steve won a Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. His analysis of the damage patterns from Hurricane Andrew showed how weakened building codes and poor construction practices contributed to the extent of the disaster. He is now the Knight Chair in Journalism at Arizona State University, specializing in computer-assisted reporting. Last month he was selected as a Fulbright Scholar; next fall he heads to Portugal.

Quarterback Steve Emmett -- also the state high jump champion -- played football at Colgate University. He joined the Peace Corps, then became a Unitarian minister on Cape Cod -- and a psychologist specializing in bulimia.

A Southerner who came north for high school, Charlie Joyner went to Iowa State University on a football scholarship. He transferred to predominantly black North Carolina A&T, where he felt more comfortable. He earned a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro, and has served for many years as a tenured professor in the North Carolina State University department of art and design. Charlie is an accomplished artist and designer in his own right, and an outstanding jazz drummer.

Dennis Parise had a career as a Marine drill instructor. He sustained multiple wounds in Vietnam -- and earned both a college degree and MBA while in the service. When he was picking up a transcript at Staples -- prior to one of his university applications -- a school official asked, "What's your secret to success?" Dennis replied, "Getting shot at."

After playing football at Villanova, then law school, Brian Rossi joined the FBI. He served around the country, rising to bureau chief in Philadelphia.

Tommy Kay played football at Villanova. He spent 32 years in the insurance industry, and is now a marine patrol officer, shellfish warden and animal control officer in Freeport, Maine.

Lenny Shay was described as "brilliant." One of several National Merit scholars on the 1965 football team, he went on to Dartmouth College and the London School of Economics. A career New York City cabbie and poet, he died in 2003.

Dale Hopkins died a year and a half ago in Marin County, Calif. He was a terrific pure athlete: All-County in football and basketball. He joined the Marines, was wounded in battle, had a modeling career in New York, then became a contractor in California.

Also gone is Keith McNeill. He did a post-graduate year at Cheshire Academy, then worked his way through Northeastern University as a longshoreman. He spent his adult life as a Hertz executive, in New York and Stamford.

As for Mark Goodman, who compiled such fascinating information on Facebook: Tom Allen reports that his father ran the Stork Club. Though hurt early in the 1965 season, Mark played at Wesleyan University. He has led "an eclectic life " as a farmer, software inventor and choral singer in black churches. He lives in Buenos Aires -- and still holds the Staples shot put record, of more than 58 feet.

And what about Tom Allen, who started all this by contacting me? He attended Texas Christian University, where he played football briefly "before being mangled as a tackling dummy." He failed Marine Corps and Army physicals due to lifelong blindness in his left eye. After graduating from Eisenhower College in 1973 Allen was a journalist/sportswriter in upstate New York, New Jersey and New York City (Advertising Age and House & Home Magazine) for 10 years. He spent more than 20 years as an executive speech-writer for CEOs. Since 2002 he has been a freelance writer/speechwriter/ghostwriter.

Researching this information, I checked out the class of 1967 reunion page (some of the '65 players were juniors). Referring to his classmates, Brian Rossi wrote: "I have really enjoyed catching up with all of your stories. I am amazed at the myriad of endeavors all of our classmates have experienced." It's a sentiment I shared reading Mark Goodman's report, forwarded along by Tom Allen.

"These were all my guys," Tom said at the end of his e-mail to me. "I'm proud of them all."

Dan Woog is a Westport writer. His blog is www.danwoog06880.com; his e-mail is dwoog@optonline.net.