This article was originally published in the Lawrence Eagle Tribune on Nov. 13, 2016
Forty years later, Rick Cecil is still one of the great undersized football players ever to grace a local gridiron. The 1976 Eagle Tribune All-Star write-up on the Greater Lawrence Tech star listed him at 5′ 4″, 127 pounds. A story his junior year listed him as then 5′ 1″, 105 pounds. Reached last week at his residence in Clearwater, Florida, Cecil said, “Freshman year I was 4′ 9″ and 105 pounds at the most.” Greater Lawrence head coach Joe Golec said after Cecil’s senior year, “I’ll never call him ‘Little Ricky Cecil’ again.”
Cecil always came up big. He scored an area-leading 15 touchdowns and 94 points as a senior, a school record which stood 13 years until Rod Cruz broke them. Being dwarfed by most of his opponents never fazed Cecil.
“I was little. I didn’t care. I just wanted to play,” he said. “To be honest, nobody would get a hit on me. I wouldn’t allow that.”
He added, “I stayed behind Poochie Hester. He was about 300 pounds. They didn’t even know I was there! It was a fun time.”
Beat Lawrence
The Reggies were dominant in the Commonwealth Conference. His best memory, though, was when the Reggies stepped up and took on arch rival Lawrence of the rugged Merrimack Valley Conference.
“We beat Lawrence my senior year,” he recalled. “I remember getting by (Lancer) Dany Aleska. I could never get by him but that game I did. Beating Lawrence was bigger than anything.
That wasn’t the Reggies’ only big non-league win that fall. The Orange and Black also beat Acton-Boxboro with Cecil carrying 20 times for 149 yards and scoring all 20 of his team’s points.
Some old Eagle Tribune stories revealed some brilliant efforts like 20 carries for 138 yards and three TDs in a 28-8 win over Lynn Tech. His best game that senior season may have been a three TD effort in a romp over Shawsheen. He gained 171 yards on just six carries and 103 more yards on just two receptions.
3 Sport Star
Cecil also starred in basketball and in baseball. He said he started three years at point guard, averaging 8-10 points, and that he started all four years as a shortstop-second baseman in baseball.
The football career almost never materialized. He said he had some issues with the coaching staff and didn’t play as a sophomore, a year the Reggies went to the Eastern Mass. Division 3 Super Bowl. But he returned for his final two seasons.
“I just loved football. I just wanted to play,” he said.
Reggie Hall of Famer, Pedro Gleason (Class of ’85) was the son of the school’s former superintendent. He grew up watching Cecil and the Reggie greats of that era.
“Any time he touched the football both sides of the stadium held their breath,” said Gleason. “No other Reggie has ever had the skill set on the offensive side of the ball he had.”
The Reggies in that era had some terrific talent. Chuck Prescott is still considered the best quarterback in school history and some thought the best football player at the school may have been Dave Bradner. But the basketball star, who had a brilliant youth football career as a running back in Andover, never played football in high school.
“Dave Bradner was unbelievable (in football),” said Cecil.
Bounced Around
Cecil said he heard from some top schools for football but opted for baseball. He said a recruiting visit to Northeastern opened is eyes.
“Size had never been a factor until I walked into the Northeastern locker room and past them. They were huge! The coach said he wouldn’t put me in the backfield for my life expectancy!”
Cecil said he bounced around in his baseball career with stints at Division 2 power New Haven (he was cut) followed by Frostburg State in Maryland with Reggie teammate Ron Savastano then St. Petersburg Junior College then Florida International.
At FIU, his blazing speed was on display with 42 steals during the 1983 season. That’s still sixth all-time in the school’s 44 year history.
Computer Career
Cecil said he worked at Digital in Manchester and Nashua before returning to Florida, working for Digital in Tampa and the Hewlett Packard. He said he still does work in the computer industry.
He has a 26 year old daughter, a 25 year old daughter, a 13 year old son and a 9 month old grandson.
“And two ex-wives!”he said with a laugh.