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THE SENIOR MEN'S CLUB OF NEW CANAAN

Minutes of the Regular meeting of May 25, 2001

President Lee Hindenach opened the meeting with 156 members present. Current membership is 500 with 19 on the waiting list.

Announcements: Ken Degroot introduced new members Les DeVilliers, Ed Jerge, and Peter O'Shea. Don Freud said that all was well on the health front. Jim D'Acosta announced that fellow member Chet Hansen would be Grand Marshal for the Memorial Day Parade. Jim Schlumpf told us that South Avenue was a state road, and New Canaan had nothing to do with the no parking signs put up. The town is currently discussing the problem with the state. Lee Hindenach announced that there would be a Board of Directors meeting at 8:45 AM on Friday June 15.

Activities: Paddle is finished for the season. Bridge, bowling, tennis, continue. So does racquetball, which had six today. It's getting almost as popular as tennis. 4-Fs luncheon today if 10 sign up. Trailblazers next hike 6/13 at Devils Den. Easy does it.

Couth: 6/20 Goodspeed Opera is full, 7/28 Connecticut Jazz Festival is $35. Bus leaves St. Marks at 9:30. August, Bridgeport Bluefish game date to be decided; 9/12, Belmont; and October Washington D.C. trip has four openings.

Jester: First Selectman Dick Bond became assistant Jester for a moment and told some wonderful short sayings by not-so-brilliant athletes and very honest coaches. After Dick finished, John Berg, very thankful still to have a job, told a story about an old couple who did their lovemaking to the rhythm of church bells, but got faked out by the "Good Humor" truck.

Speaker: Vice President Bert Liebelt introduced former Yale football coach Carmen Cozza. Mr. Cozza started his Yale career in 1963 as an assistant coach, and then in 1965 he became head coach, a position he held for the next thirty-one years. He started his talk by reminiscing about some of the events that took place during his reign. One of the funnier stories concerned a very smart and hungry dog named Fred. He also told about many of his players who went on to TV fame and can be seen on such shows as Dateline, etc. Under his tutelage, Yale won 10 Ivy League titles, and in 1960 won the Lambert Trophy as the top team in the east. His biggest "down" moment happened in 1968 when his undefeated team was tied 29-29 by Harvard in the last seconds. Mr. Cozza also showed a film which gave a full history of Yale football and showed off some players such as Albie Booth, who was virtually a one man team, and in modern times, Calvin Hill, who went on to professional fame with the Dallas Cowboys. The Yale history is extremely rich with 3 Heisman Trophy winners, 101 All Americans, and 18 members in the Football Hall of Fame. Since his retirement he has remained active in football, writing one book, "True Blue", and does the color commentary on the radio for the Yale games.

Eric Musa, Secretary

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