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Anthony "Reds" Coletta might be 82, but he clearly recalls when he was the star halfback for South Philadelphia High’s football team.

The former resident of 12th and Dickinson streets has great memories of Thanksgiving Day, when his Rams defeated Southeast Catholic — now Neumann-Goretti — three-straight years starting in 1944. Coletta still recalls scoring four touchdowns against the neighborhood rival. Back then, he said it was the norm to have about 12,000 fans in the stands.

More than 60 years later, the Turkey Bowl is still bringing out the faithful every Thanksgiving morning, but the turnout is in the low hundreds. Coletta., who hasn’t been to a holiday game in about a decade, said it’s sad to see the numbers drop, but that the game "was always great."

During his playing days, Southern and Southeast Catholic were the only two high schools south of Broad Street. Today, Bok, Furness and Prep Charter each field their own squads.

"I think what happened is, when we got a couple other high schools in South Philly, the guys went to other places," Coletta, who was inducted into the Southern Athletic Hall of Fame in ’67, said.

Bill Esher, president of the South Philadelphia High Alumni Association, also misses the glory days of the neighborhood tradition, which he said, "was the place to be on Thanksgiving Day."

The annual event dates back to ’34 in a game Southern won 26-0. The squads have squared off 73 times since then, with Neumann-Goretti holding a decisive 52-19-3 advantage.

Over the last decade, besides the results being one-sided, with Southern winning just once, the contest was canceled twice. In 2007, the two schools didn’t have a field since the super site at 10th and Bigler streets was under construction.

Six years earlier, the team from Broad Street and Snyder Avenue was forced to forfeit due to not having enough players. Esher said he thinks the latter had a lasting impact.

"It left a bad taste in everybody’s mouth and [the Thanksgiving Day game] never really recuperated," Esher said.

Neumann-Goretti, who won last year’s meeting, 7-6, is looking to close out the season on a winning note after finishing 0-4 in league play and just 3-7 overall. Southern, who won the Public League’s Class AAAA Blue Division crown, is 6-4.

Pat DiPilla, who returned to 10th and Moore streets earlier this year to become the athletic director, said there are only about 40 players on the current teams compared to the 100 kids who were part of the program during the ’70s and ’80s when he served as assistant football coach. He noted the combination of open enrollment at Catholic schools and new charter schools as the big reasons behind the declining numbers on the field.

But, come Thanksgiving morning, alumni from both schools will reunite for a few hours at 10th and Bigler to catch up and see some football. DiPilla said his holiday isn’t complete without it.

"That’s our state championship," he said. "It’s two great schools with two great traditions."

DiPilla spent the last five years as an assistant football coach at Archbishop Carroll. Since the team played Thanksgiving Eve, he made sure the next morning every year the he was back on the Neumann-Goretti sidelines.

"I’ve always been part of the Neumann-Goretti family," he said. "On Thanksgiving Day, my heart and soul is with Neumann-Goretti."

Contact Managing Editor Bill Gelman at bgelman@southphillyreview.com or ext. 123. Comment at www.southphillyreview.com/sports.

The Game: Neumann-Goretti vs. Southern
Day and Time: Nov. 26 10:30 a.m.
Place: 10th and Bigler streets

Game history

Last fall, Neumann-Goretti edged Southern 7-6 in the annual Turkey Bowl. Neumann-Goretti leads the series, 52-19-3.

*Southeast Catholic changed its name to Bishop Neumann in 1955 and then to St. John Neumann in 1978. The school merged with St. Maria Goretti High School in 2004 and is now known as Neumann-Goretti High School. SPR