Beyond the Byline: Memories of St. Vincent’s and the ‘M Squad’

WILKES-BARRE — Last week, I really did take a trip in the Way Back Machine, wandering through many years of St. Vincent’s High School classes and memories.

I crashed the St. Vincent School Alumni Association All Class Reunion at R&D Memories on Fellows Avenue in Breslau, and am I glad I did.

When I was growing up, St. Vincent’s High School in Plymouth was known as the little school that could win basketball games. From 1948 through 1969, the Vinnies had a record of 291 wins and 62 losses. And the baseball team was outstanding as well.

So I sat down at a table where one of my longtime dear friends Tom Mullery was sitting with his wife, Mary Catherine, who was a cheerleader for the Vinnies back in those glory days.

Also at the table was Alice McDaniels Hodle, who along with Norberta Kosin, Al Sheridan other put these gatherings together. It was a great time, since the pandemic forced cancellation of the 2020 event.

But at every table, stories of yesteryear were flowing — I’m sure some were duplicated and repeated, but there was a lot of laughter to go with the awesome food.

And in many cases, the talk centered on basketball and “the Vinnies” and championships and legendary players and coaches. At one table, several members of “the M Squad” were gathered and they were quick to tell stories of their teams.

Lenny Medura, George Mizzer and Tommy “Mussi” Mullery graduated in 1961, and Tony Maslowski and Al Sheridan graduated in 1960. Ed O’Boyle (no relation to me) was the coach. There were a few others on the team whose last names began with “M” so the team got the nickname “M-Squad.”

It’s always good to recall those halcyon days of old. The M-Squad guys were a part of the Vinnies basketball legend and later on Joseph “Red” Jones took over and continued winning conference championships .

Every year of my youth, the Plymouth Shawnee Indians and the St. Vincent’s Vinnies were always the talk of the town in Old Shawnee. And not without debate. You would often stumble upon a good-spirited, yet lively debate about who was better. The question could never be settled on the court or diamond because the two schools competed in different conferences — Plymouth in the Wyoming Valley League and St. Vincent’s in the Catholic League.

I’m sure either school could defeat the other. The players often did compete on the courts of Plymouth’s playgrounds or in Doc Savage’s backyard. And the games were always competitive and both sides would often claim victory.

There are stories that still circulate that the two schools did meet in scrimmages and each side will tell you they won, and I’m sure they did. The Vinnies’ guys will be sure to tell me that they beat Plymouth, probably more than once. I’ll claim they are way off.

We will forever try to convince each other who is right. There will be compelling arguments and lots of “facts” presented.

I really don’t expect an agreement.

Memories of the Red & Black of Plymouth and the Blue & White of St. Vincent’s and of those days when our hometown would come alive and fill our home courts with fans will never die.

I can let you in on a secret. In our kitchen at 210 Reynolds St. in Plymouth, the basket was a Quaker Oats box — if you remember, they were round. I would cut it in half and tape it to the wall above the doorway to our spare room.

This was my arena, my Pauley Pavilion, my Madison Square Garden. But it served the purpose. I would take my red rubber ball and the game would begin.

And yes, Plymouth did often plays St. Vincent’s in my make believe basketball world where the court was between our coal stove and our refrigerator. And, as you can probably guess, the Shawnee Indians never lost to the Vinnies. The games were close, but PHS would win every fake game.

Glory days consist of many memories — most very real because the games and events and stars actually existed.

At last week’s All Class Reunion, Bill Oldfield from the Class of 1946 was the oldest in attendance. I’m sure he could have related many great stories of almost every St. Vincent’s class.

And there are the memories made only in my kitchen or spare room, or the memories we create in our minds that are always worth hearing and repeating.

Like the games in my kitchen with results only I have a record of — but very special nonetheless.

Here’s to those basketball glory days of Plymouth, both the Shawnee Indians and the Vinnies.

May those memories last forever.