Maroons memories shared

The following was reported in today's issue of the Pottsville Republican and Herald:

Continuing a tour of the region to promote his book on the Pottsville Maroons, David Fleming signed copies Friday morning for a generation of people who lived during the team's heyday.

They included Paul Dimmerling, 88, of Pottsville, who grew up on the 1800 block of Market Street, just a few doors down from Maroons' wingback and punter, Howard "Fungy" Lebengood.

"I knew him personally. I knew the whole family. Fungy was quite a guy, real big man. I saw Fungy play in Minersville ball park. Can't remember the years. But he was just a grand player and a wonderful fella," said Dimmerling, one of the people who came out to a breakfast/book-signing at Providence Place Retirement Community, 2200 First Ave., Pottsville.

So impressed by some of the people he met Friday, Fleming said, "I wish I would have been in touch with some of these guys a couple years earlier."

Fleming will continue his second promotional tour for "Breaker Boys: The NFL's Greatest Team and the Stolen 1925 Championship" today, with a book-signing at the Historical Society of Schuylkill County, 310 N. Centre St., Pottsville, from 9 to 11 a.m.; a signing at Borders in Harrisburg at 2 p.m.; a Pep Rally for the Pottsville Maroons at Schuylkill YMCA, 520 N. Centre St., Pottsville, sponsored by state Rep. Tim Seip, D-125; and a meet-and-greet at Maroons Sports Bar & Grill, 556 N. Centre St., Pottsville.

The book tells the story of the team which was stripped of the league championship after playing an exhibition game with a non-NFL team. Released Oct. 9, it's becoming more and more popular and has so far sold more than 10,000 copies, according to the book's editor, Michael Solomon, New York.

Since Wednesday, Lasting Legacy sold about half of the supply of 500 copies of "Breaker Boys" it purchased for Fleming's second promotional tour of the area, said city Administrator Thomas A. Palamar.

Palamar said five boxes of "Breaker Boys" books sold during Fleming's two-hour signing at Weis Markets, Pottsville Park Plaza, on Thursday.

Fleming said there was a decent crowd when he signed books for an hour and 20 minutes at Moravian Book Shop, Bethlehem, Thursday night. "It was probably the best non-Pottsville signing yet. It gave me the feeling it's starting to spread out," Fleming said.

"It shows me what potential there is out there for this to evolve into something bigger than just the book. It's hitting a chord with people," Palamar said.

And Lasting Legacy of Pottsville sold over 70 copies at Providence Place on Friday morning, according to Providence Place of Pottsville Administrator Cindy Petchulis.

Meanwhile, Fleming is collecting signatures on an online petition in an effort to restore the Maroons' place in history. And he's tentatively planning to deliver it to the NFL owners Feb. 3 at Super Bowl XLII at Cardinals Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. Chicago was the original home of the Cardinals, the team that received the 1925 National Football League championship that was stripped from the Maroons.

So far the petition at www.petitiononline.com/Maroons has accumulated 9,978 signatures as of 11 p.m. Friday.

Stanley Mick, 87, a Saint Clair native who's now a resident of Providence Place, said he's not sure how well Fleming's online petition will fare.

"I think it's good, but I don't know what the chances are. The owners now, they don't care too much about what's going on here. I'm supporting the cause, but I'm not altogether optimistic," Mick said.

A line of about 20 people gathered in the lobby of Providence Place to meet Fleming just after 9 a.m. Friday. Among them was Dimmerling.

"I believe his brother was mascot for the team," Fleming said.

Indeed, Dimmerling's brother, William G. Jr., a 1932 graduate of Pottsville High School, was the "mascot," Paul Dimmerling said.

William Dimmerling traveled around with the team, stood on the sidelines, "and if the football went astray, he'd go get the football," Paul Dimmerling said.

William Dimmerling died in March 2004 at age 91.

In the 1990s, Paul Dimmerling was part of a local effort to petition the NFL on behalf of the Maroons, and wears a "Maroons 1925" ring crafted a decade ago to honor that effort.

Paul Dimmerling hadn't read "Breaker Boys" yet, but is looking forward to it.

"I paged through it a little bit, but it certainly looks wonderful," he said.

Some Providence Place residents have had brushes with members of the famous team, including Eleanor McDermott, 98, of Pottsville.

After she graduated from Pottsville High School in 1925, she said she went to work for a Pottsville architect who was friends with the team's owner, Dr. J.G. Streigel, Pottsville, who invested in the Maroons.

She couldn't clearly remember the name of the man she worked for, but said she'll never forget how the Pottsville Maroons came by his office on the sixth floor of 101 N. Centre St.

"They came in for their checks during the day. I only remember one time they came in for them. I didn't know them, but they were nice guys," McDermott said.

Another resident, Mary Spehrley, 91, said she read "Breaker Boys" and had her copy personalized when Fleming attended his first official book signing in Pottsville at the Historical Society of Schuylkill County on Oct. 10.

"I don't really remember the Maroons team. I remember my husband talking about them. I read the book, read it that weekend right after (Fleming) was here. I read the whole thing through real quick. It was very good, and I hope they get this movie going," Spehrley said.

Sentinel Entertainment, Los Angeles, is co-producing the "Breaker Boys" film project with Fortress Features, Los Angeles, and Solaris Entertainment, Venice, Calif., but the writer's strike has prevented them from shopping the script around to film companies, Patrick Rizzotti, a partner of Fortress Features, said recently.

"If that movie is made," Spehrley said, "it will be a big, big plus."