After seeing today's Where have you been . . . . ? story profiling Joe McOsker, a reader wrote in asking what the other members of the 1944 All-State football team have been up to. My colleague John Gillooly caught up with many of them in 1994 on the 50th anniversary of the team's selection.
Click here to see a reprint of John's story.
1944 Journal-Bulletin All-State football team
THE PROVIDENCE SUNDAY JOURNAL
Sunday, 12/11/1994
FIRST TEAM......................POS.........SECOND TEAM
Joseph McOsker, Mt..Pleasant....End.........George Menard, Burrillville
Ted Topakian, Cranston..........Tackle......William Bishop, Aldrich
Tom Pearlman, Classical.........Guard.......Joe Ventetuolo, Cranston
Al Rotatori, Woonsocket.........Center......Ray Axelson, Aldrich
Art Sheridan, La Salle..........Guard.......Norman Iacuele, La Salle
George Kasparian, La Salle......Tackle......Ken Farley, St..Raphael
Franklin Powers, Cranston.......End.........Walt Percevecz, St..Raphael
Lou Rankowitz, Pawt..West.......Back........Herb Rowey, Woonsocket
Don Panciera, La Salle..........Back
John Gentile, Westerly..........Back
Wilton Gervais, Burrillville....Back
* * *
1944 All-Staters biographies
* * *
DON PANCIERA
La Salle
His 1944 selection was the first of two first-team All-State quarterback honors for Panciera. Considered one of the R.I. Interscholastic League's all-time great players, he quarterbacked La Salle teams to some of the school's greatest seasons. As a senior in 1945 he led the Maroon to an undefeated season and a trip to New Orleans for a special high school bowl game at the Sugar Bowl. He went on to play quarterback at both Boston College and the University of San Francisco. In 1949 he joined the New York Yankees of the old All-American Football Conference. The conference folded after the 1949 season, however, so in 1950 Panciera played in the Canadian Football League. In 1951 he joined the Chicago Cardinals of the National Football League. After his playing days ended in the mid-'50s, he served as an assistant coach at the University of Dayton for three years and Boston College for a year. In 1960 he began working for General Motors in the New England area and in 1970 was awarded a GM dealership in Wakefield.
* * *
TOM PEARLMAN
Classical
A 5-9, 170-pound guard in 1944, Pearlman went on to play football at both the Coast Guard Academy and Amherst College. After graduating from Amherst he attended Harvard University Law School and was admitted to the Rhode Island Bar Association in 1953. He was a member and minority leader of the state House of Representatives 1952-60. He was a member of the Providence City Council 1962-82. He lives in Providence.
* * *
ARTHUR SHERIDAN
La Salle
A 5-11, 205-pound guard when he was named to the first-team All-State squad in 1944, Sheridan graduated from La Salle in 1945 and entered the Army the same year. While in the service he played football for the Air Force team in Europe for most of his Army career. In 1947 he received a scholarship to Georgetown University. Played four years for Georgetown, highlighted by a 195 1appearance in the Sun Bowl in El Paso, Texas. Married and the father of three children, he spent 35 years in sales and mangement for three companies in the southern New England area. He retired in 1986 and spends the winter months in Clearwater, Florida and the summer and fall in Narragansett.
* * *
TED TOPAKIAN
Cranston
One month after he was selected as a first-team tackle on the 1944 All-State team, Topakian entered the Air Force. After being discharged in 1946, he attended Brown University where he played football for two years. He left Brown to enter the family business, General Plating, when his father suffered a heart attack in 1949. With his brother as a partner, he ran the business for 44 years until retiring last year. The father of three children and grandfather of three lives in Warwick where he and his wife are active in church and community affairs.
* * *
JOHN GENTILE
Westerly
Gentile, one of the four first-team running backs in 1944, died in 1988. At the time of his death he was the high sheriff for Washington County. An All-Stater in football and basketball at Westerly, he served in the Navy during the final months of World War II, then went on to play football at the University of Georgia for a year. He returned to Rhode Island in 1947 and played for the Providence Steamrollers. In addition to serving as the high shefiff his public service career include a tenure as the Westerly director of public welfare, clerk of the 2nd District Court and secretary of the Westerly Democratic town committee.
* * *
FRANKLIN POWERS
Cranston
Powers, one of the two first-team ends on the 1944 team, died in 1988 in Newburyport, Mass. After graduating from Cranston he served in the Navy, then attended Brown University where he played football for four years. He retired in 1982 as a district manager for the New England Telephone Co. In addition to his business career he was active in Newburyport community affairs, including three terms as a city councilor.
* * *
LOU RANKOWITZ
Pawtucket West
Rankowitz was a 6-foot, 170-pound senior running back when he earned his second consecutive first-team All-State selection in 1944. The next year he entered Brown but left for a tour of duty with the Coast Guard in 1946. In 1947 he returned to Brown and in 1951 began a 30-year career with the Internal Revenue Service. Now retired, he lives in Pawtucket with his wife.
* * *
GEORGE KASPARIAN
La Salle
Kasparian was a sophomore when he was named one of the first-team tackles in 1944. A month later, however, he enlisted in the Coast Guard. He spent the final few months of World War II on an attack personel ship stationed in San Francisco. He returned to La Salle after being discharged in the spring of 1946 and in the fall of 1946 he earned his second first-team All-State honor. He went on to play for Marianiapolis Prep, Boston College, the Providence Steamrollers and the New Jersey Giants. He moved to New Jersey in 1949 and began a 42-year career with Blickman Health Industries. Now retired, he spends the summer in Toms River, N.J. and the winter in Singer Island, Florida.
* * *
AL ROTATORI
Woonsocket
Rotatori died last year at 65. After graduating from Woonsocket he attended Notre Dame and Brown University. After his playing days ended he coached the Mount St. Charles football teams from 1954 to 1957 and the Woonsocket High team for one year in 1958. He was a 5-10, 175-pound center when he earned his All-State honor in 1944. In 1959 he was elected to the Woonsocket City Council where he served for seven years, the last three as president. In 1966 he was appointed executive director of the Woonsocket Housing Authority and in 1972 he was appointed to a similar position in East Providence, retiring in 1990.
* * *
JOE McOSKER
Mt. Pleasant
McOsker was a rangy, 6-2, 170-pound end in 1944. After graduating from Mount Pleasant he served in the Navy, then attended Brown University. A member of the Class of 1952, he didn't play football, but did play baseball at Brown. He is in sales and lives in Providence and on Cape Cod.
* * *
WILTON "Bill" GERVAIS
Burrillville
A 5-7, 170-pound running back, Gervais was the state's leading scorer in 1944. The performance earned him a first-team selection after having earned second-team honors as a junior in 1943. In addition to his football talents he also was a standout hockey player for coach Tom Eccleston's Broncos. After graduating from Burrillville he served in the armed services then attended college and law school. He practices law in Minnesota.
