An "Un"told Football Story

Thayer Academy is a little-known high school located in Braintree, Mass. In 1964, the school’s varsity football team did something nearly impossible; they went undefeated, untied and unscored upon. It is an accomplishment that has yet to be duplicated by any football team in the state of Massachusetts.

The team outscored their opponents 272-0 to win all eight of their regular-season games.

Bill Wagner, a former offensive lineman for the ‘64 team, explained that it wasn’t easy and they were in a competitive league playing talented teams.

“Since we were unscored upon it sounds like we were playing flag football,” said Wagner. “In reality, these games were tough.”

Last year, 22 players and coaches from Thayer Academy reunited for their 50th Anniversary and were honored during a special ceremony held at the New England Patriots Hall of Fame at Patriot Place. They received a trophy presented by the executive director of the Patriots Hall of Fame Bryan Morry. The museum also placed artifacts from the team’s magical season on permanent display including a trophy, jacket and a team photo (pictured below).

The state of Massachusetts recognized the team’s accomplishments as well. An official citation from the state senate was sent to Wagner congratulating them on their 50-year record.

A certificate of Special Congressional Recognition was also presented to the ’64 Tigers football team.

“What made this team special was cohesiveness. Everybody liked everybody else. Nobody lauded it over anyone. We had stars and players who were just incredible athletes, but they didn’t say ‘oh I’m better than you or I won’t have anything to do with you.’ It was a very close group of team members.”