Union Football Family Gathers
For First Football Alumni Day

UNION - In a bit of transition now under a new coaching regime, there was a time when the Union Farmers were among the best football teams in the state. At times they were among the best in the country.

Sparked by the efforts of former players Larry Kubin and Paul DeFazio, both Class of 1977, and present athletic director Ron Zieser, Class of 1997, some of the standouts from Union's best teams of all time gathered Saturday, Oct. 4 at UHS to reminisce about the "good, old days."

The first Union High School Football Alumni Day included over 50 former players who took pride in strapping on the shoulder pads and competing for Union Farmers football.

"The whole genesis of this was to get great athletes and football players who attended Union together," said Kubin, who went on to play at Penn State for Joe Paterno and after getting drafted in the sixth round of the 1981 NFL draft by the Washington Redskins for Joe Gibbs. Kubin also played briefly for the Buffalo Bills and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in what turned out to be a four-season NFL career.

"When I was growing up here in Union we looked up to players like Rich Hand and Dave Daniels," Kubin, 66, said. "I emulated those guys.

"We have such a rich tradition here. Sometimes we have a tendency to forget about the past, but these guys here built a foundation and then became fathers and uncles."

Kubin called classmate DeFazio and they went to Zieser with the idea of having the former players reunite at one of Union's games this year. They chose Saturday's game against Ridge, which is Union's only home game this season that was played on a Saturday afternoon.

"I'm very happy with the turnout," said Kubin, whose last year he played for Union was 1976 during Joe Bizarro's last season as head coach before Lou Rettino took over in the fall of 1977.

There were two tents sent up parallel to the football field where the alumni congregated, with refreshments served. 

"In the future we're going to try set up a fundraiser to gather funds to enhance the weight room and do things like that," Kubin said.

DeFazio, after living in Florida for nearly 40 years, just moved to Newport, Rhode Island where he now makes his home. Defazio, who will turn 67 on Nov. 25, attended the University of Florida.

"Larry and I have been best friends since sixth grade," DeFazio said. "It was really Larry's idea. I helped coordinate it with Ron.

"This is really a tour of high school nostalgia. We got the word out through social media. The best thing is that we have guys here of all ages, including one guy who played on the 1958 team."

Other noted Farmers football alumni in attendance included Fred Stengel, Class of 1967 and an assistant football coach at Union from 1972-1987 before continuing Bergen Catholic's success beginning in 1988 and Andrew Sanborn, the last quarterback to lead Union to a state championship in 2019.

"Union was a special place," DeFazio said. "Nobody was really rich. For the most part everyone was on the same plane. It was a wonderful place to grow up in."

Randy Poole, Class of 1978, played the last of the seven seasons Joe Bizzaro was the head coach in 1976 and the first of the 19 seasons Lou Rettino was the head coach in 1977. Bizzaro led Union to a 31-30-2 (.508) record from 1970-1976, including winning seasons in 1971 (9-0) and 1972 (8-1).

The 1971 squad was Union's first of only six teams that went undefeated and untied and was the only one pre-playoffs.

When a Union football reunion takes place it's also a tribute to Rettino's success, which by all accounts from past players was immediate. Rettino, the winningest football coach at Union and who the gymnasium is named after, guided the Farmers to one of the greatest football coaching records in the state of New Jersey, a 171-23-4 (.881) mark in 19 seasons that included a record 10 North 2, Group 4 sectional state championships and a sterling 22-5 playoff record when only four teams in each section qualified.

"Lou gave me my love of football," said Poole, who resides in Stillwater Township. "The second he spoke to you he got your respect. He was the fairest human being I ever met.

"Practices were better. I didn't have a father so he was also a great role model for me. There are not enough words to describe exactly what he meant to me."

As for Union's game against visiting Ridge, the football alumni looked on until they were introduced individually at the 50-yard line at halftime, the Farmers had their moments before falling 24-13. Union fell to 0-6, but hosts South Brunswick (2-4) this Friday, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m. at Cooke Memorial Field. South Brunswick was the first team Union defeated last year, winning 35-7 in South Brunswick.

Scoring both Farmer touchdowns was junior Hameed Brothers, the first on an 80-yard kickoff return which immediately followed Ridge's first touchdown. Brothers picked up the football on the second bounce from his 20, quickly found his way through a hole and then raced ahead of everyone down the left sideline for six.

Union hung tough in the first half, trailing only 14-7 at intermission. Ridge, which improved to 3-2, added a field goal and then a third touchdown in the fourth quarter to go up 24-7 before Brothers caught a 62-yard touchdown pass from sophomore quarterback Elijah Bryant for the game's final points.