The Town of Winthrop will honor one of its most outstanding athletes and coaches on Friday, Sept. 4 (4:30 p.m.) during a dedication ceremony at Miller Field.
At that time the town’s football stadium will be named Miller Field at the Coach Bob DeFelice Stadium.
A lifelong Winthrop resident and 1959 graduate of Winthrop High School, Mr. DeFelice was the Vikings’ head football coach for 17 seasons. His teams won four NEC championships, including three consecutive league titles (1981-83) and two Super Bowls (1981 and 1983) Most notable was the 33-game undefeated streak in that memorable era of Viking gridiron dominance.
“Coach DeFelice’s impact on Winthrop High School and its athletic programs is truly unforgettable,” said Town Council President Jim Letterie. “This well-earned honor is a great way to make sure his legacy lives on. Future generations of Vikings will get to learn about all that he did and the difference he made in our community.”
Interestingly, the ceremony honoring Coach DeFelice will occur two hours before Coach Jon Cadigan’s Vikings take the field for their 2025 season opener against Tewksbury High, the opponent that the 1981 Vikings defeated, 14-0, in the Division 2 Super Bowl at Boston College’s Alumni Stadium. DeFelice was a 1963 graduate of BC.
School Committeeman Gus Martucci, starting center for the 1981 Vikings, said a new sign on the front of the stadium will be unveiled, reading, Miller Field at the Coach Bob DeFelice Stadium.
Winthrop Veterans Officer Phil Ronan will be the master of ceremonies. Former Merrimack College AD Barney DeGregorio, a close friend of Mr. DeFelice, Winthrop High boys hockey head coach Dale Dunbar, and Coach DeFelice’s son, Michael DeFelice will speak during the program.
The dedication of the stadium in memory of Coach DeFelice was proposed by 1981 football teammates Gus Martucci, Chucky Sullivan, John Tiano, and Jay Petersen in coordination with Barney DeGregorio.
“We proposed it to the town’s Memorial Committee, and they gave a positive recommendation to the Town Council, and the Council approved it,” said Martucci, who played three varsity seasons in the program. “This is obviously a great action for the town and the sports community. Coach DeFelice did so many great things for us. The 33-game streak, his lifelong contributions to the town – Coach DeFelice orchestrated it, he’s the one who did it.”
Martucci recalled that the foundation for Winthrop’s run of three straight undefeated seasons was set in the inaugural season of Winthrop Pop Warner football.
“Our team was the first year of Pop Warner in the Town of Winthrop and Barney DeGregorio, Anthony Ferrara, and Hank Hayes were the three coaches,” said Martucci. “We were 1-9 that season, and our second year we were 9-1, losing only to the West Lynn team. We were 9-0 as the Winthrop High freshman team (coached by Huck Larsen and Barney DeGregorio) with John Tiano continuing as our starting quarterback.”
In 1981, Coach DeFelice took the nucleus of the Pop Warner team and brought it to the mountaintop of football in Massachusetts. Many observers believe that Winthrop was the best team in the state for that season and the two ensuing undefeated campaigns.
“In 1981, we won the Division 2 title, and in the Division 1 Super Bowl, there was Brockton versus Walpole (a 24-13 win for Walpole),” said Martucci. “We played the first game that day at BC and their game followed ours. We had beaten Walpole in a preseason scrimmage by 2-3 touchdowns.”
Gus Martucci remembered a luncheon get-together in 2024 that he and Chucky Sullivan had with Coach DeFelice.
“A few weeks before Coach DeFelice passed away, Chucky Sullivan and I went to lunch with the coach. Coach DeFelice told the story of how before the1981 season, he allowed the team to vote for captain. Before that, Coach DeFelice had always selected the captain. Johnny [Tiano] got every single vote except for one – his vote. Johnny wouldn’t vote for himself. Johnny voted for Sully. And Sully voted for Johnny. Coach DeFelice never told that story when we were playing. He told us that 40 years later when we were having lunch with him.”
There will be greatness everywhere at Miller Field for the ceremony. Former head coach Tony Fucillo, who carried on Coach DeFelice and Winthrop’s tradition of excellence as the smallest school in the Northeastern Conference, will be in attendance, as will superstars Tiano Sullivan, and other Viking athletes and coaches.