Members of 1993 football team at Springfield College

Item Information

Title:
Members of 1993 football team at Springfield College
Description:
Vic Innarelli poses for a photo with members of the 1993 Springfield College football team at Springfield College. Seven members of the team kneel in the front row. Innarelli stands in the back row in the middle. There are two members of the team standing on each side of him. A football light from the stadium can be seen in the far distance. On the back of the image reads Roach Patrol 1993. The photograph belonged to Vic Innarelli and was donated to Springfield College by his wife in 2019. Vic Innarelli was considered an honorary member of the football team at Springfield College. Innarelli operated the barber shop on campus at Springfield College for over 50 years. During this time, he was devoted to the football team at Springfield College, as he never missed a game. Innarelli may have also did volunteer work coaching and was an advisor to the Monus Sabias Club, which appears to have had a relationship with the YMCA. Innarelli passed away on March 9, 2012. He was 81 years old. The Roach Patrol refers to the offensive lineman at Springfield College. The name came about due to the fact that offensive lineman are a huge importance to the success of a football team, but they often receive no credit for a team's success. Assistant Coach Rich Mannello, SC’s offensive line coor­dinator, decided to embark on a journey in search of his line’s identity. “I’m a firm believer in making a great unit through hard work,” said the ultra-intense football professor. “I had to find a way to get them to believe in themselves. If they didn’t believe, then it would mean that I failed as a coach. I wanted to build an inner circle of strength for them.” In the season of 1985 Mannello applied his football wizardry to the philosophical aspect of the gridiron. He sought to find some method that would unite the line and enhance their performance considerably. He came up with the “Roach,” the ul­timate psychological stimulator. “The Roach is the essence of life and the reason of being an offensive lineman,” he said. The Roach Concept was devised to give the line an intra-team challenge to excel and play as one. He continued: “If you put a lineman on their back, then that was the idea. A roach is a top-heavy creature, and if we do it just right, then they’re arms and legs will go up (like a roach on its back).” The players loved the idea and it has stuck ever since.
Date:
1993
Format:
Photographs
Location:
Springfield College Archives and Special Collections
Collection (local):
College Archives Digital Collections
Series:
Vertical Files
Subjects:
Springfield College
Springfield College--Football
Springfield College--Sports
Springfield College--Sports--Men
Innarelli, Vic
Springfield (Mass.)
Football
Football players
Helmets
Places:
Massachusetts > Hampden (county) > Springfield
Link to Item:
http://cdm16122.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15370coll2/id/23003
Terms of Use:
Text and images are owned, held, or licensed by Springfield College and are available for personal, non-commercial, and educational use, provided that ownership is properly cited. A credit line is required and should read: Courtesy of Springfield College, Archives and Special Collections. Any commercial use without written permission from Springfield College is strictly prohibited. Other individuals or entities other than, and in addition to, Springfield College may also own copyrights and other propriety rights. The publishing, exhibiting, or broadcasting party assumes all responsibility for clearing reproduction rights and for any infringement of United States copyright law.
Contact host institution for more information.
Publisher:
Springfield College
Identifier:
innarelli-vic-roach-patrol-93