South Philadelphia in the late 1950s and early ’60s was different than it is now. It was "intimate," described Pat Lerro, originally of 26th and McKean.
Back then, your grandparents were immigrants and your parents were the first generation to have arrived in America. It seemed as if everyone knew and liked everyone else. Games such as stickball and Buck Buck would keep kids occupied and out of trouble for hours.
The big thing in those days were dances at St. Monica’s and Bishop Neumann High School. Local movie houses, like the one that used to be at 21st and Snyder, also were popular. "Folks," as Lerro called them, were out every night, slept with their doors unlocked and had one car per household.
Those memories of the "good ol’ days" spurred his quest to find the guys and gals he grew up with in the ’50s and ’60s.
Lerro served in the military for more than 25 years and for 10 years worked as a consultant to the Department of Defense. He’s been living in Alexandria, Va., for 24 years. One day while listening to the radio, he heard an announcement for a reunion for South Philadelphia High School, his alma mater.
This gave Lerro an idea. He searched the Internet and found the address and phone number of an old friend, Buddy Cifone. After contacting Cifone, they joined in the pursuit of finding other childhood pals.
In the ’50s, they called themselves the Beechwood Street Gang, which soon grew into the Little Eagles football team. As 10- and 12-year-olds, their sandlot football league became more organized. They began asking fathers in the neighborhood to coach them.
"In our search, we found John DiBartola, who was a football player and a former coach. We convinced him he should try coaching us," Cifone said. According to Lerro, DiBartola instilled in him and the other young men on his team a sense of direction.
As they grew older, their league developed into a social and sports club. They sold raffles, had uniforms and even rented a clubhouse.
The Little Eagles played in the 1958 Spaghetti Bowl, held on Southern’s football field at 12th and Bigler, against their rivals, the Optimists. Whoever won the game would earn neighborhood bragging rights.
On the day of the game, more than 1,000 people showed up, but it resulted in a devastating loss for the Little Eagles.
Thirty-eight years after moving out of South Philly, Lerro, now 63, feels as if something is missing.
"I have been all around the world and have a lot of acquaintances, but I don’t have the old friends I grew up with," he said.
As Lerro and Cifone tried to round up their former neighbors, they had a hard time finding everyone, but they didn’t get discouraged.
"It’s sad that people grow up and grow apart, but now we can get together and enjoy ourselves," Lerro said.
Lerro and Cifone, along with two buddies, Joe Caristo and Sal DiPaolo, invite anyone who remembers the Beechwood Street of the late ’50s and early ’60s, the Little Eagles or the ’58 Spaghetti Bowl to join them Saturday for a Halloween-themed reunion at The Hunt Club in Washington Township, N.J.
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For information on the reunion, call Buddy Cifone, 215-897-7145; Joe Caristo, 215-463-8668; Pat Lerro, 703-360-1127; or Sal DiPaolo, 610-544-4589.
