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The Needham Merchants on Memorial Field in 1938. Coach Phil Claxton is in the back row, on the left.
The Needham Merchants
When we say “Football” and “Needham,” everyone naturally thinks of the Needham-Wellesley High School rivalry. But, since I have posted “The Secret History of the Needham-Wellesley Game” more than once over the years, I decided that it was time for another – less well-known – Needham football story.
The Needham-Wellesley Thanksgiving game has been going on, more or less continuously, since 1881 – making it the longest-running public high school football rivalry in the country. So just ignore the quibbles from the jealous folks at Boston Latin, or those places in Connecticut.
But while we can boast of one of the longest-running football team schedules, we also own one of the shortest. In the late 1930s, Needham was home to a semi-professional football team known as the Needham Merchants.
The Needham Merchants were mostly made up of players from Needham Heights, and many were recent or first-generation immigrants from Poland, Italy, Lithuania, and Ireland. Most were recent graduates of Needham High School, who had played on the football team and wanted to keep playing. The players approached Al Tocci, who had been a star at Needham High School (he scored two touchdowns to help Needham beat Wellesley on Thanksgiving Day in 1928) and had also played some semi-pro football.
Al Tocci and High School coach Phil Claxton agreed to coach the team. Coach Claxton was football and athletics coach at the High School from 1929 to 1969, and a valued mentor to many young men. Many of the Merchants players had been on his high school teams. In addition to football, Claxton coached track and field, wrestling, baseball, and basketball at the high school. He coached youth sports teams in Little League and PeeWee Rockets football, and also helped to create the town’s Park and Recreation Department. Claxton Field was named in his honor.
Since the football team had no money and no uniforms, they approached the local merchants for funds to purchase the uniforms and supplies. The response was generous, and in return the team called itself the Needham Merchants.
The team roster for the game on October 1, 1941. Several of the players, notably the Arra brothers, were standouts at Needham High in their day. Don Chiappisi would have the tragic distinction of becoming Needham’s first WW2 casualty less than a year later. Many of these family names are still well-known around Needham.
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