AND THE TRADITION CONTINUES.

“A Sterling Role Model and Educator”

David McNair Johnson was born in Everett in 1931 and was proud to be raised in the close-know and neighborly Village section of Everett. In 1949, he earned his varsity football letter under the immoral mentor Dennis A. Gildea.

Following his high school graduation in 1950 Johnson enlisted in the United State Air Force, where he rose to rank of Staff Sergeant. During his six years of service, he spent a lengthy tour of duty in Japan, where he learned to speak Japanese fluently. He was honorably discharged on June 6, 1955.

Johnson earned his Bachelor of Science and Master of Science degrees from Suffolk University, where he met his future bride, Carolyn Scott. Shortly thereafter, they moved to Washington, D.C., where Johnson served as a teacher of science and football coach at Dunbar High School for six years.

His next teaching and coaching assignment came at Maryland’s Frederick Douglas High School, where he taught science, coached football, and later became the Assistant Principle. He took pride in the fact that he was successful in motivating many of his football players to further their education at the college level.

David retired after a brilliant and rewarding 25 year career at Frederick Douglas High School, and 31 total years in the field of education. He and his wife of 48 years retired to Sandwich, Massachusetts, where he died in 2004.

A true gentleman who embodied the relevant values in humanity, passion, loyalty, and lofty principles, Johnson was a gifted cabinet maker and won numerous awards in bodybuilding. In addition, he was an avid golfer, played the flute and enjoyed solving difficult math problems.

One of David’s closest and beloved buddies from the Village, former Everett High School quarterback and 1949 baseball captain John Barbati, said of him, “ David’s many friends respected and loved him dearly, long before Civil Rights Act. Like his Bombardier Sandlot football coach Sam Fantroy before him, Everett’s young people embraced him for who he was: an honest, clean-living, intelligent African-American, who was proud of his heritage and background”

“AND THE TRADITION CONTINUES”

“An Exceptional Role Model”

Alex Santilli was an outstanding right tackle for Coach Dennis Gildea’s 1936 and 1937 Everett High School Football Teams. Following his graduation in 1938, Santilli continued his academic and athletic achievements at Fordham University.

In his senior year for the Fordham Rams, Santilli blocked a Missouri punt in the Sugar Bowl Classic before 73,000 fans on January 1, 1942. His blocked punt was recovered by a teammate in the end zone for a safety and a 2-0 victory over a rugged Missouri eleven.

At the conclusion of his senior season, Santili was selected to play for College All-Stars against the NFL Champion Chicago Bears. In addition, he was drafted by the Philadelphia Eagles.

The call to arms, however, prevented him from doing either. Following his graduation from Fordham in 1942, Santilli enlisted in the United States Marine Corps and was commissioned a second lieutenant. On July 8, 1944, Lt. Santilli was struck down by a Japanese Sniper on the island of Saipan. He won the Silver Star for Heroism.

Santilli was inducted posthumously into the Fordham University Hall of Fame January 23,1982. A dormitory is also named for him there. He was also named to Everett’s All-Time Big 10 Football Team by the Boston Post’s illustrious sports cartoonist Bob Coyne in 1947. He was affectionately called “The Saint.”

“AND THE TRADITION CONTINUES”

Sam Fantroy was born and raised in the close-knit Village section of Everett. A graduate of Everett High School in 1936, Fantroy was a first-rate track star in an era when track was a major and popular sport at the high school. Among his notable teammates, who won most of their events, were Al Romboli, Charlie Springer, Tony Ventura, and Ray Yancey.

His passion for football and coaching was paramount in his life. From 1937 to 1942, he organized an array of sandlot football teams in West Everett. Two of his teams, the Hawks and Wolverines, epitomized a highly successful and winning tradition. During a four-year period, the Hawks won 24 games and lost only twice, while the Wolverines achieved 22 wins and only lost twice.

Following is work day as a machinist at the Eagle Shoe Factory in Everett, Fantroy coached his beloved “Village Boys” in the evenings. In addition, he was a active and effective union organizer and brought about the improvement of hiring practices in some of Boston’s oldest financial institutions.

During the mid-1940s, he organized two more successful sandlot teams, the Whippets and the Bombardiers, which eventually progressed into the famed Santilli football powerhouse. The Bombardiers were undefeated in two straight years.

Fantroy’s coaching style and manner would leave an enduring and memorable imprint on his players. Hard work, fair play, respect for others, integrity, and overcoming adversity were his unique coaching hallmarks. Without question, he personified what a role model should be in our society.

Fran Visconti, who became a devoted friend of Fantroy, exclaimed, “His untimely death in 1967 left a tremendous void in many hearts that can only be filled by the perpetuation of his memory.” And the perpetuation of his memory is still alive, for it resides in those he coached and nurtured, and whose daily lives reflect his enduring values for others to see.