Belichick Would Have Loved Them

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1927-28 Peterborough High School squad began a string that may never be duplicated…Front from left: Joseph Emery, Assistant Coach Philander Mann, Harold “Jim” Clinton, Lawrence Carll, Coach Gordon L. Fox, Warren Smith. Back row from left: Lester Smith, Merrill Dole, Paul Myhaver, Robert Paquet, Wallace Flood, Arthur Smith, Harry Brenner.


We’ve run this photo before, but its message is more timely than ever. Because the destiny of this Conval hoop heritage team had Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots written all over it—a legend that began 95 seasons ago, and not on an NFL football field but on small town basketball courts…


On February 19, 1928, the Peterborough High boys scored what the local paper described as:


“Probably the greatest victory in the history of basketball

at the local school” 


when it went on the road and won 18-15 over Keene High. “It was undoubtedly the best game of basketball that has been seen on the Keene floor this year, and was attended by the largest crowd to witness a game there during the present season.”


About 150 fans from Peterborough were in attendance “to give their aid to the cause, and from the opening whistle till the end, every moment was filled with tense excitement.”


But it was a second pulsating 23-21 over Keene the following Friday in Peterborough, played before more than 500 fans, that caught the eye of the selection committee for the state tournament in Durham. Peterborough was vying with Keene and Walpole for best team in the Monadnock Region, with the local five’s two wins against Keene—an enrollment five times the size of Peterborough High!—proving to be the difference.


At the tournament, small town Peterborough was a huge underdog against big city Portsmouth, which many figured to advance the finals. But before a packed house, the locals shocked all pundits with a 24-22 victory.


“In the closing minutes, Peterborough resisted all attacks on the basket and the Peterborough fans put on a demonstration of the snake dance on the large basketball court after the game was over.”


Twenty-four hours later, exhausted from their effort over Portsmouth, Peterborough fell to eventual state champion Franklin, finishing with an outstanding 18-2 record.


But its first tournament appearance ever was just the beginning. Like Belichick and the Patriots, which came out of nowhere to win an incredible six Super Bowl championships in 19 seasons, Peterborough High came out of nowhere and went on to win five state championships in 11 seasons—1930, 1931, 1932, 1936 and 1941.


Both are records which may never be broken.

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