In Touch With…Bill Irvine and Dave Whalan

It was an absolute pleasure having Bill Irvine and Dave Whalan on The Wolverine Report with Evan Cardimino and me to discuss the first Westwood vs Holliston Thanksgiving game, how special it was to grow up and play sports in Westwood, and how dominant Westwood was during the 70s. Special bonds were formed during these times, which also helped mold them into the men they are today.
 
Morgan – What was it like growing up in Westwood in the 70s? Obviously, you guys are still good friends and the bonds have carried over for a generation.
 
Bill – Westwood has changed a lot since we grew up. It was a much quieter town – less houses, bigger families – but it was the same type of town. Dave and I have known each other since we went to school, played Little League together, played high school sports together, went to the same college. It’s been a lifelong relationship. The greatest thing about sports, from my vantage point, is you just make so many great relationships with people. You don’t remember the scores, or the plays, as much as the feelings you had, like being in the locker room and being with these guys, friends you have for life.
 
Evan – Morgan and I have had a chance to talk with Kathy Delaney-Smith, and we had Jim and Joey Fabiano on with us. What we’ve learned is that the 70s were one of the most dominant eras in Westwood High School sports history. Can you give us a little snapshot of what Westwood High School Sports looked like in the 70s for you guys as athletes?
 
Dave – It was just a terrific place to play. We had great coaches, and as Bill said, great teammates. Everybody worked hard, good competitors. We were meant to go out and play hard, play fair and learn. All our coaches stressed fundamentals and it worked out.
 
Morgan – Could you see how special that sports culture was in the 70s? A lot of athletes and a lot of fierce competitors that just hated losing. Was that something that was apparent during the times you guys played?
 
Dave – Absolutely. One thing that was important was the history and the tradition. The teams and players in the 60s, you looked up to them. You wanted to meet or exceed what they did. That’s why you worked so hard. Those games meant something. Every game meant something,
 
Bill – The leadership in in the athletic department was amazing. You had George Bader, who was the AD when we got there. Then you had Russ Downes and you had Joe Gearon. So, you had three guys who really cared about individuals and about doing the right thing. The values they taught us were amazing. Then with Joe at the helm, particularly, with the onset of Title IX with women’s sports, he was so fortunate to get someone like Kathy Delaney, soon be Kathy Delaney-Smith. She changed the whole culture of women’s athletics at Westwood. Guys on the football team respected her immensely.
 
Morgan – I’m glad you mentioned George Bader. My generation doesn’t know him, but that’s who the gym is named after, Bader Gymnasium. How special of a person was he?
 
Dave – He was omnipresent. He was around every practice, every game. I think he was the guy who ultimately handed out everybody’s uniforms and wished you a good season, so you knew it really mattered to him and because it mattered to him and it mattered to the coaches, it mattered to you, as well. He was always there for a piece of advice.
 
Morgan – You were there for the first-ever Thanksgiving game with Holliston. It was out of your control and you were just told – this is it, you’re playing Holliston. Talk us through what you remember from that first Thanksgiving game against Holliston?
 
Dave – I think every Thanksgiving Day that we played, we had beautiful weather. It was clear, cold, crisp. Their record was very good, and it really got serious. From the very first play, it seemed the hitting and the physicality of that game were up a notch from what it had been in some of the previous games. It was hard to move the ball. We ran about 70% of the time, and they were good. Our defense was great, so I think a lot of the game was played between the 30-yard-lines. It was stressful because you knew you were one mistake away from the game being tied or gone, so you had to be precise.
 
Bill – I agree with Dave. I think of all the high school games I played in, it was clearly the most physical game I ever played in. You had players that were just a head above almost anyone else you ever played against. I never played against a better tight end in high school or college. The quarterback, Gary Petercuskie, was one of the best athletes I’ve ever played against in any sport. It was incredibly physical. Mike Woicik was the MVP that day for us, and he had something like 18 tackles. I mean, he was a dominant high school player. We won it 6-0. That was something else.
 
I also remember the bus ride home. That was fun. And the turkey!
 
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