Moose Matthews knew when it was time for him to retire as head coach of hockey at Westfield High School. He knew, because his players told him so.
“I was on the ice with them, and they were flying by me. I said to myself, ‘Hey, maybe it’s time for some young blood to be coaching these young men’.”
So it is, at the age of 74, that Clarence Matthews Jr. has stepped into retirement, replaced by Dave Pelletier, one of his former assistants.
By the way, Moose’s boyhood pals pinned the nickname on him, and it fits just right, going along with his booming voice.
“One of my buddies said, ‘You’re not Clarence. Nobody will call you that. You’re Moose.’”
“They don’t make ‘em any better than Moose,” said Bob Pouliot, who served as Westfield’s assistant coach for 10 years.
Matthews’ decision to retire comes after an illustrious 30-year career of coaching high school players from his hometown. Opponents knew what they were in for when they faced a Moose Matthews team. His players always hustled, never quit and often won.
“We won three state championships and lost two other times in the state final. I had a lot of good players over the years, and the young men who played for me always listened, always paid attention,” he said.
Retirement comes at a proper time for Matthews. Coach Pelletier’s team will be playing a limited schedule, maybe no more than 10 games, because of restrictions caused by the pandemic. Moose Matthews will be their biggest fan.
As a schoolboy, he attended Westfield Vocational, which didn’t have hockey. So he played a lot of independent games, skating for Enfield Dry Wall teams, based in Windsor, Connecticut.
He became hooked on coaching when he entered several Westfield Moose Club (no relation to his nickname) teams in the Greater Springfield Junior Hockey League, a sprawling endeavor operated by Springfield Indians owner Eddie Shore at the Eastern States Coliseum.
“We had teams in all three age groups. We’d practice outdoors, then spend Saturdays at the Coliseum. Those were great times,” he recalled.
FAME TIME: The Western Massachusetts Baseball Hall of Fame committee met Wednesday night to discuss plans for honoring its Class of 2021.
Because of the pandemic, it’s not feasible to have a banquet, as been the Hall of Fame’s policy since its inception in 2014. Instead, a virtual presentation of the new inductees will take place March 25.
Fred Ciaglo, owner of the Valley Blue Sox franchise in the New England Collegiate Baseball League, will work with his general manager, Kate Avard, to pull together details of how the presentation will be handled.
The Hall of Fame’s committee likely will honor six individuals and two teams. Announcement of the Class of 2021 selections will be forthcoming.
As for Ciaglo’s Valley Blue Sox, the NECBL did not play in 2020 because of the COVID outbreak, but he looks forward to a full season in 2021, will play likely to start in late June.
REMEMBERING LOU: As a talented Tech Tiger, Lou Massoia played on some very good high school baseball teams in 1948 and ’49.
In later life, he turned to slo-pitch softball, playing for the Western Mass. Relics, a Ludlow-based organization for golden agers. He stayed with it until he was 85 years old.
Lou’s love for his old high school led him to membership on the Springfield Public Schools Athletic Hall of Fame committee when it was formed in 2007. His thorough research of newspapers and yearbooks led to the election of countless Tech athletes, many of whom might have been overlooked if not for his diligence.
He also served his country well as an Army infantry combat veteran of the Korean War.
Lou’s love of sports also led him to being an integral part of the Feeding Hills Sacred Heart Athletic Association as an umpire and manager of the concession stand with Viola, his wife for 59 years.
He also served on the Agawam School Committee, had membership in Agawam’s American Legion Post 158, and volunteered at the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Agawam.
Louis E. Massoia Jr. passed away Jan. 5. He was 89 years old.
Memorial contributions may be made to Sacred Heart Church, 1061 Springfield Street, Feeding Hills, MA 01030.
HOCKEY BIRTHDAY: Brothers Steve and Lou Bordeaux, founders of the Springfield Hockey Heritage Society, often post “Happy Birthday” greetings to former players for the Springfield Indians, Kings and Falcons.
The latest showed up on Facebook as the Heritage Society saluted Bruce Boudreau on Jan. 9, his 66th birthday.
“Not only is Bruce a coaching legend with 2,029 games behind the bench, but he was also one heck of a hockey player,” the Bordeaux brothers wrote.
“While suiting up for 130 games with our Springfield Indians in the 1987-88 and 1988-89 seasons, Bruce put up Gretzky-like numbers with 180 points (70 goals, 110 assists) in 130 games. Always fond of the finer things in life, while coaching for Manchester in the AHL, Bruce brought the Monarchs team bus to the White Hut on Memorial Avenue so his players could partake of the hot dogs and hamburgers he lovingly remembered from his Springfield days.”
Boudreau holds the Springfield scoring record - 116 points for the 1987-88 Indians. After a 20-year playing career, he coached 742 games in the minor leagues - including AHL stops in Manchester, Lowell and Hershey. In the NHL, he coached in Washington, Anaheim and Minnesota, for a total of 1,287 games.
SIGN ‘EM UP: The Western Mass. Relics organization has opened registration for the 2021 season of senior slo-pitch softball. The Silver Division (50-64 year olds) has filled 36 of its 112 spots, and the Gold Division (65 and up) has filled 32 of 96 spots.
The Relics play during the summer and early fall on the grounds of the Ludlow Fish & Game Club. By careful attention to COVID restrictions, they were able to play a 2020 season.
For further information, or to register, visit www.westernmassrelics.org.
TODAY’S TRIVIA: The Cleveland Browns visit the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday in the NFL playoffs. When was the last time the Browns won an NFL championship? Answer: It happened on Dec. 27, 1964, as the Browns beat the favored Baltimore Colts 27-0 in the NFL title game before a crowd of 79,544 in Cleveland Stadium. (This was two seasons before the start of the Super Bowl).The Browns featured quarterback Fran Ryan, running back Jim Brown, rookie receiver Paul Warfield and place-kicker Lou Groza. CBS-TV’s broadcasting team consisted of Ken Coleman, later to gain fame as a Red Sox broadcaster; Chuck Thompson, a Palmer native who went on to an illustrious career as a Baltimore Orioles broadcaster; and Frank Gifford, a former New York Giants star who later excelled broadcasting Monday Night Football.
BEST BET for the weekend: Santa Cruiser, in the Lecomte Stakes at Fair Grounds.
Garry Brown can be reached at geebrown1918@gmail.com