Richard “Dick” Benoit’s father, Charles Benoit (far left, back row), was part of the 1931 AHS football team coached by Harmon Smith that was undefeated, untied and unscored-upon. This photo is from the collection of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Roberts and used with permission from “Agawam and Feeding Hills” by David Cecchi for the Agawam Historical Association and Arcadia Publishing.
Reminder Publishing submitted photo
AGAWAM — As the Brownies prepare to celebrate 100 years of Agawam High School’s rich football history, they can learn about two eras by listening to one family.
Charles Benoit, a 1932 graduate, and his son, Richard “Dick” Benoit, a 1963 graduate, were both among the program’s standout players. The older Benoit, an Agawam native, was on the 1931 team Harmon Smith led to an undefeated, untied and unscored-upon season. As the team’s fullback, Benoit was a critical part of helping his team achieve this rare feat that led to its induction into the Agawam Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017.
Reminder Publishing photo by Mike Lydick
Dick Benoit followed his father onto the Agawam field 30 years later, playing the same position. Football was part of his DNA and — like his father — he proved to be an outstanding player who helped his team rack up many wins during his two seasons playing for the Brownies.
“My dad rarely talked about what it was like to play football in Agawam,” said the younger Benoit. “My dad never had an ego about what he did for the team and never boasted about his accomplishments on the field.’
His father also never pressured him to play football.
“I’m sure he was proud of me following in his footsteps at Agawam, but we never really talked about it,” said Benoit. Similar to his father, Benoit didn’t let success on the football field change his humble personality off the field — he came close to being named “class gentleman” in his senior year.
Benoit transferred to AHS in 1961 in the middle of his sophomore year when his family moved to Agawam from Woronoco because of his father’s work. He had attended Williston Academy and earned a varsity letter in wrestling, lacrosse and football during his freshman year. But the private school wasn’t a good fit.
“Academics was important to my folks, but not to me. Plus, I didn’t want them spending the money,” Benoit said. “It’s an excellent school, but I didn’t plan on going to Harvard like my younger brother or to Yale like my older brother. I just wanted to go do something.”
That something was play football in Agawam. Benoit said the difference between playing football at Williston and Agawam was legendary AHS coach Harry Leonardi.
“When I got there, my reputation proceeded me. Harry knew what he was getting — or at least he thought he knew,” said Benoit, 79, who now lives in Southwick.
Shortly after Benoit arrived, Leonardi started a wrestling club to build up his football players in the offseason.
“Harry was like no other no other coach. He was very dedicated — he ate, slept and breathed football,” said Benoit. “The old saying, ‘Winning isn’t everything,’ didn’t apply. For Harry, winning was everything.”
Benoit described Leonardi as “a conditioning freak” who made players work hard.
“A big part was not only learning plays, but also conditioning. We never left the practice field without physical exercises We worked harder than any other team at the school, because of Harry. That’s how we won,” he said.
And win Leonardi did, with Benoit as a fullback. In many ways, he was Leonardi’s secret weapon in the 1961 and 1962 seasons. His first season, Benoit was described by one sports reporter as “a 215-pound package of power” who scored four touchdowns in a 31-14 win over Greenfield. Later, after the Brownies’ 26-6 win over Westfield, a newspaper report said Benoit “set the tempo” and “thundered 40 yards” to score a touchdown on the third play of the game.
The win over Westfield put the Brownies at the enviable top of the AA Conference in 1961 — a dramatic turnaround from the previous season when the team won only two games. While the entire town was excited about the wins and his key role in the victories, Benoit doesn’t consider himself a legendary player.
“There are a number of guys — Sammy Provo, Roger LeClair and Turk Bruno among them — who are legends. I wasn’t up there. I was bigger and stronger than a lot of the players. Harry would make me run through people, because I was bigger than most fullbacks. I was 215 pounds and I had a 17-inch neck,” he said.
Benoit said if he received the ball, especially on a kickoff, and if it wasn’t just a short distance, he could run at “a pretty good clip” before he was hit.
“A lot of guys would go around players, but I would run over or through them. There was no finesse — that’s probably what caused my many concussions. You can’t do that forever. It catches up to you.”
Benoit said Leonardi was like a second father to him and other players.
“Sometimes, you needed somebody to put their arm around you. Harry would go the extra mile to just meet your needs. I was not unlike anybody else — I had some issues that he helped me with,” said Benoit.
He also remembers that Leonardi would have the team over to his house every Friday night to watch films of previous games.
“I think he did it so he knew where we were on Friday nights before the game. If he knew we were there, we wouldn’t be goofing around and would go to bed early,” said Benoit.
Benoit’s talent earned him a full four-year scholarship to play football at the University of Massachusetts. However, his football career ended in the middle of his senior season because of concussions sustained in high school and college games.
To mark the centennial of Brownies football, a special celebration is planned for Oct. 18 from 6 to 10 p.m. at Oak Ridge Golf Club in Feeding Hills. The gathering will be an opportunity for former players and coaches to reminisce and share stories of their times with the team.
Tickets are $25 per person and can be purchased online (search Facebook.com for “Agawam Football 100th Anniversary”). People are encouraged to contribute photos or articles about the Brownies via the Facebook page. Photos should include details, such as the names of individuals and the approximate year.
