The Man Who Helped Resurrect Hendricken and Create a Sports Dynasty Gets His Due

The Man Who Helped Resurrect Hendricken and Create a Sports Dynasty Gets His Due

It is hard to imagine that in the early 1970s Bishop Hendricken was poised to close due to dwindling enrollment. It looked to be another Catholic school on the chopping block, like a De La Salle in Newport or a St. Xavier's in Providence.

In 1971, the school’s football team finished a Class B season with only one victory.  And by 1972, Hendricken was competing in essentially the 4th division of Rhode Island high school football. In an era when large public high schools dominated the football landscape in the state’s top division, Hendricken was a small school petitioning the state to play in the lower football divisions to win a few games.   

In 1973, Ed Fracassa came to Hendricken as its varsity football coach — a decision that would change the fate of the school, hundreds of young men, and Fracassa himself.

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Building a Dynasty

Over the next decade, Fracassa fueled the Hendricken transformation. By the mid-1980s, Sports Illustrated called the school the most dominant sports program in any state — winning nearly every single state championship.

According to Hendricken, "In only ten years after Fracassa’s hiring, Hendricken accumulated a 73-14 record (80-14 including non-league games) in Class A play and notched: 5 Class A Championships; 3 runner-up squads; 4 Super Bowl births; 3 consecutive Super Bowl appearances; 3 consecutive, undefeated regular seasons with 25 consecutive wins; a 1981 season in which only 3 touchdowns were scored against the Hawks and in which there were ten shutout victories including non-league contests (state record). In the midst of this unprecedented success, Sports Illustrated featured Hendricken in 1981 stating that 'it would be hard to find another high school athletic program to match that of Bishop Hendricken High.'  Fracassa’s one condition to compete in the state’s top football division proved to bear fruit. The foundation was then set for continued growth, success, and broken records for decades to come."

Sports Illustrated wrote, “Bishop Hendricken, a parochial boys' school with an enrollment of about 1,100, won state championships in seven sports: football, basketball, baseball, soccer, swimming, wrestling and cross-country. The Hawks also finished second in hockey, tennis and indoor and outdoor track. The cross-country and swimming teams were New England champions as well.”

Fracassa, in an interview with GoLocal, said there were great student-athletes. He coached multiple players who went on to play in college and the NFL. "Steve Williams who went to Boston College and the NFL, is the best athlete ever to play sports in Rhode Island," said Fracassa.

In a 19-year head coaching career,  Fracassa amassed a 150–58 record, including out-of-state and non-league games. More important to Fracassa than the wins, however, was his experiences with those who meant most to him in this sport: his players and assistant coaches and their personal development on and off the field.

On Friday night, Hendricken will dedicate the football field and stadium in Fracassa’s honor. 

 

Fracassa’s Route Was Not direct

Fracassa was born and raised in Pawtucket. At the age of 15, his father died, and soon thereafter, he dropped out of high school. 

Fracassa later made a decision that would be a change agent in his life – he enlisted in the United States Marine Corps.

In the Marines, Fracassa (who rose to the rank of sergeant) began excelling in boxing, track and field, and football.  He accumulated football honors in the Marines and then began to represent the Marines on a national level, throwing the javelin at the nation’s top relays such as the North Carolina Relays and the Penn Relays.  Fracassa became named in both football and track to the All-Marine Corps teams.

After the Marines, Fracassa returned to Rhode Island – but he still did not have a high school degree. Fracassa returned to Pawtucket West High School (now Shea High School) to see his former Principal, Charles Shea.

Shea remembered Fracassa, took an interest in him (and Fracassa’s best friend Robert Rainville, who had also returned from the Marine Corps with Fracassa), and helped Fracassa complete his high school education. 

Fracassa went on to the University of Rhode Island with his friend Rainville who later became a vice president at URI.

For Fracassa, he went on to teach and coach at a range of schools and then, his arrival at Hendricken.

The school and Fracassa were a perfect match.