Photo: URI Athletics/Connor Caldon
In November 1973, the Rams traveled to Germany to face the U.S. Air Force All-Stars in a Thanksgiving Day matchup. They were the first American college football team to play a game in Europe, and their win was decisive. The team reunited at Homecoming this year to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the historic game, share memories, and honor friendships.
By Bob Herzog
David Zyons ’75 was waiting to get a COVID shot at the CVS pharmacy near his Charlestown, R.I., home when he spied a thin, paperback book on the history of the University of Rhode Island on a nearby rack. He was idly thumbing through it when he received an unexpected shot—of nostalgia. He was stunned to see a black-and-white photo of himself, returning an interception in a football game played 50 years earlier on a muddy field in Frankfurt, Germany. He bought the book. Several days later, Zyons was celebrating that event with many of his old teammates, in living color.
The Turkey Bowl of Thanksgiving Day—Nov. 22, 1973—between URI and the U.S. Air Force in Europe was the first time an American college football team played a game in Europe. It was the result of several years of brainstorming among URI football coach Jack Gregory, athletic director Maurice “Mo” Zarchen ’49, U.S. Air Force officials, Rhode Island Gov. Philip Noel, Hon. ’75, and U.S. Sen. Claiborne Pell. The event might’ve been lost to history—and drugstore paperbacks—if not for a serendipitous turn of events that produced a celebratory 2023 reunion and perhaps a legacy. Tears and cheers after all those years.
Vin Sinagra ’75, M.S. ’84, a defensive tackle on the 1973 team, was chief organizer for the memorable Homecoming Weekend of Oct. 21–23, 2023. He says the inspiration came after his wife received a phone call from a friend who works at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta. The museum was planning to have an exhibit with a signed football and artifacts from the game to commemorate the 50th anniversary.
“It’s something they do every year and rotate to different schools,” Sinagra says. “My wife’s friend asked, ‘Was Vinny on this team?’ We never had an anniversary, so I decided to put this thing together with the help of my wife and three or four other guys. We were hoping to get 20 guys. We got 35. It was incredible. We got our trainer, Jack Cook, who is in his 80s and was very popular, to come back. They all reconnected and it reenergized the guys for Rhody football. Some of them haven’t been to a game in 50 years but said they’ll come to more homecomings. It was pretty exciting.”
Sinagra, who is chief of staff for Coach Jim Fleming’s current URI football team, says the event turned out even better than he had hoped. “There were wives. Some guys brought their adult children. URI president Marc Parlange hosted us in his suite in the press box during the game. The guys loved it. They thought they were the cat’s meow. Are you kidding me?”
Zyons, a linebacker on the team that went 6-2-2—including a resounding 34-6 victory over the Air Force All-Star team—says, “The reunion was amazing. There were guys I hadn’t seen in 50 years. Fifty years! I told my wife, ‘It was like a lovefest!’ We were hugging each other and telling stories.”
“There were people I hadn’t seen in 50 years, and just that was wonderfully emotional. Some of the upperclassmen had taken me under their wing and took care of me like big brothers. To see those guys again was so special.”Bob Mitchell ’77
Bob Mitchell ’77, a starting defensive back as a 17-year-old freshman in 1973, brought his wife to the reunion and calls the experience, “Incredibly moving.” He says, “There were people I hadn’t seen in 50 years, and just that was wonderfully emotional. Some of the upperclassmen had taken me under their wing and took care of me like big brothers. I told them that at the reunion. To see those guys again was so special.”
So was the trip to Europe, the first time visiting a foreign country for nearly all the players—and their first long plane ride, as well. (The team had flown once during the season, to Philadelphia for a game against Temple.) “We flew for eight hours. I remember that flight as clear as if it happened yesterday,” recalls Dean Julian, a linebacker.
Julian, who finished his undergraduate degree—and doctoral degree—years later at the University of Pittsburgh, choked up with emotion several times during a lengthy phone interview. He has one particularly vivid memory of the flight to Frankfurt. “On the way over, I was helping the stewardess, serving drinks and food. I told her it would be cool to be in the cockpit,” Julian says. “A few minutes later, the captain walks out and says, ‘I heard you wanted to be in the cockpit.’ So, he took me up there and I sat in the navigator’s seat from 40,000 feet up. I watched them land the plane. It was the thrill of my life. I can replay it in my mind right now.”
Sinagra remembers the landing quite vividly. “We get off the Pan Am flight in Frankfurt and they’ve got a traditional German beer wagon waiting for us,” he says. “There were kegs. Holy mackerel!”
Zyons calls the trip, “The highlight of our college careers.” But it also had special meaning for him. “I got to take my parents. They’d never been on a real vacation before,” he says. “They had the best time. They talked about the trip forever.”
The game itself wasn’t the most memorable part of the trip. The Rams dominated the Air Force All-Stars. According to the next day’s detailed account in the military newspaper Stars and Stripes, a copy of which Julian saved, URI was led offensively by fullback Dan Whitaker ’74 (13 carries, 117 yards, 1 touchdown), quarterback Paul Ryan ’74 (9-for-20 passing, 103 yards, 3 touchdowns) and wide receiver Kim Conlee ’73 (4 catches, 58 yards, 2 touchdowns). The defense thoroughly contained the Air Force squad, with Zyons making one of four interceptions. Attendance at the stadium on Rhine-Main Air Base was more than 16,000, a mix of American military personnel and their friends and families and German fans who didn’t really understand American football, which had not become popular in Europe yet. All enjoyed an Oktoberfest atmosphere, complete with tents and entertainment.
Marshall Englebrook ’74, a defensive end, remembers the field being “rough, muddy, and hard in spots. It was a bit cold, but we were so excited about playing in Germany and were all very pumped up. We had traditional high school Thanksgiving Day games in Rhode Island back then, so it seemed like that kind of atmosphere.”
After the game, the Rams were told they had five days to enjoy Europe before their flight home. Some players were more adventurous than others. Zyons and defensive end Jay Weibel ’75 took a train to Switzerland and skied for five days. “I saw Jay at the reunion, and we were still talking about the whole experience of taking the train, seeing the countryside, and going to Switzerland,” Zyons says. “There were no cars in the town we visited. The train stopped and you got taken to your hotel on a sled.”
The reunion turned back the clock for the players who attended, giving them a chance to share poignant memories of their European adventure. From a Friday night dinner at George’s of Galilee, to being introduced to a cheering crowd at halftime of the URI-Richmond game, to spending time together in the presidential suite at Meade Stadium, it truly was a solid-gold celebration.
Team captain and offensive lineman Henry Hill ’73 gave a speech at halftime in the president’s box. “He’s kind of like our spiritual leader,” Zyons says. “He said our group changed the culture of URI football at the time, gave it a little shot forward. He gave tribute to the guys who are not with us anymore—you lose one or two every year. That’s just what happens.”
Englebrook says, “Just being on the field and in the stadium again was moving for all of us. We had real grass from the sod farms back then, but the new artificial turf was impressive. It was great to catch up and see guys I hadn’t seen in 50 years. It felt like yesterday.”
“We all felt special at the reunion. We have a heritage that we have given to URI that will last forever.”Dean Julian
Mitchell agrees. “The guys that used to hang out together reconnected. You could see the bond was still there, 50 years later. It will never be broken. It’s wonderful. I hugged an old teammate an hour before the game, and he cried. It was a very moving thing.”
Julian says he was caught up in the emotion of the reunion and wants the 1973 team, its accomplishments, and its spirit to be everlasting. “We all felt special at the reunion. We have a heritage that we have given to URI that will last forever.”
I was a freshman tight end on the football team in 1974 and more than once had to line up in practice against DT Vin Sinagra. I remember he was very strong and quick and almost impossible to block. I did not play after my Freshman year as I was consumed by my engineering studies and unlikely to be a starting player. I enjoyed reading about the ’73 game and team reunion.
Seeing everyone was so overwhelming and trying to catch up with everyone was near impossible! The love on the field was beyond amazing! VIN and his Elise did an incredible job and I can’t thank them enough ! Missed so many players because it was so fast ! Tremendous memories!
I was newly married that year and my company had moved me to a new job in Holland. We actually lived just over the border in Belgium and when I learned URI would be playing a game against U.S. Air Forces All Star team, my wife an I drove to Germany where we several members of my Class of 1958. We had a great time at reception after the game and URI winning made it even more memorable.
The reunion was a high light that was as great as the game in Germany.Having come out victorious in Frankfort was the culmination of a solid season with the best teammates possible.
great article and memories and stories from the players I am Vin’s wife friend from HS that we connected thru FB and in the special exhibit in the CFHOF where they mention the 1st overseas FB game ..the rest is history..glad to share this special moment with you all
The Germany Trip was a big part of me coming to URI. My Father Osa F. Meekins Sr. told me that it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity. I guess he was right because we are still celebrating the Turkey Bowl 50 years later.