When Mari Dengler Jamison was a little kid, her dad routinely drove Mari and her brother, Mark, to an amusement park. He loved to sing “Happy Days are Here Again,” and he took a spontaneous joy in sunny mornings.
Sure, Mari was aware Dick Dengler wore a brace to shore up a weakened leg, but it wasn’t until long after his death that she learned exactly what her father endured.
It was searing enough that when Damar Hamlin collapsed on the field last January for the Buffalo Bills, Mari immediately thought back to her dad.
Seventy-five years ago this autumn, Dengler suffered a devastating head injury during a Kensington-Bennett football game at the old Civic Stadium, later renamed War Memorial Stadium – a frightening moment that transcended an already unforgettable night.
The game, on Oct. 21, 1948, drew a crowd of almost 51,000. John Boutet, chairman of the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame, said it was the largest crowd ever at the structure, home to two professional versions of the Buffalo Bills – including the American Football League champions of 1964 and 1965.
Kensington won, 26-8, in a Harvard Cup showdown of unbeatens. Running back Chris Frauenhofer, now a 92-year-old retired Eden school principal, gained 119 yards and scored two touchdowns through what the old Courier-Express described as “devastating off-tackle slants.”
That night rose into civic legend. For 65 years, the turnout of 50,988 remained the largest high school single-game attendance in American history. In 2013, it was surpassed by a crowd of 54,347 for a Texas state championship, based…
Read the full article here