Prior to last night’s game between Cherry Hill East and Cherry Hill West, members of Cherry Hill West’s 1960, 1964 and 1967 undefeated football teams were honored as part of a ceremony recognizing the 50th anniversary of Jonas C. Morris Stadium.
In 2016, Cherry Hill High School West had its best season in decades. The team roared out to an 7–0 start before losing its eighth game of the season against Camden Catholic High School.
The Lions’ fall win streak had many people in the community recalling the school’s past undefeated teams. Cherry Hill West had three teams finish undefeated in the 1960s. The Lions went undefeated in 1960, when the school was known as Delaware Township High School and again in 1964 and 1967.
On Wednesday night, players from those undefeated team gathered together at Jonas C. Morris Stadium prior to the annual rivalry game between Cherry Hill West and Cherry Hill High School East. The teams were honored as part of a celebration honoring the 50th anniversary of Cherry Hill West’s football stadium.
For some of the players, it had been years since they saw some of their old teammates. Many of them recounted old stories of when they took the field about 50 years ago.
Ken Jones, a member of the undefeated 1964 squad , recalled how different Cherry Hill West was when he was in school. At the time, the school was called Cherry Hill High School as it was prior to the opening of Cherry Hill East in 1967. The football team also played its Thanksgiving game at the time against Pennsauken.
Jones favorite memory, however, was Cherry Hill’s victory over what was a very strong Woodbury High School football program in 1964.
“We went into Woodbury and beat Woodbury, who was undefeated two years in a row,” Jones said.
Jones said one of the keys to success for the ’64 team was their chemistry.
“From junior high, we all played on the same team, even from midget league football,” Jones said. “You were playing with the same guys in your age bracket, so there was always that type of camaraderie”
Members of the 1967 undefeated team similarly said their team’s heart and perseverance helped them finish a perfect 9–0.
“We had a lot of guys with heart,” said Walt King, a running back and linebacker on the 1967 team. “That’s what you call a team.”
In 1967, long-time South Jersey football coach Vince McAneney was hired to lead the Lions. McAneney is known mostly for his success as the head coach of Pennsauken High School from 1970 to 1994. However, before he went to Pennsauken, he coached three seasons at Cherry Hill West.
“It was the first year of Vince McAneney coming over here,” King said. “We came up with a new system, basic plays. We were winning two or three games, next thing we knew, we were 9–0.”
Another member of the 1967 team, Brad Ritchie, said King deserves a lot of credit for the team’s success. King was one of South Jersey’s top running backs, competing at the same time as future NFL running backs Lydell Mitchell of Salem High School and Franco Harris of Rancocas Valley Regional High School.
“(King) outrushed both of them,” Ritchie said.
The 1967 undefeated team was also the last great unified Cherry Hill squad. Two years later, Cherry Hill East had its own varsity football team, beginning a rivalry between the two schools.
Many of the alumni were excited with what they saw from the 2016 Cherry Hill West football team. A lot of them attended games this season and cheered the current players on, especially during the Lions seven-game win streak to start the season.
“I thought they were going to go undefeated after they got seven and they went to play Camden Catholic,” King said.
Jones said he will always cheer on his alma mater and still feels pride for his school more than 50 years after graduating.
“I go to every game,” Jones said. “We’re the Lions. Everywhere we go, people want to know who we are.”
