It's Been A Long Football Season For Martucci and His Broken Arm

It's been a sad Fall for Fred Martucci. A senior, he had been expected to start for Harvard at defensive end, but then broke his arm in September. Now he watches from the sidelines.

"September 4. Friday. 10 a. m.," Martucci recalls. It had been the first day of practice with pads, and he had been "really trying hard" in the one-on-one drills because he felt he had to earn his position. The two years before he had played safety.

During the drills, he threw a forearm which hit halfback Crawford's helmet, causing the break. Martucci didn't realize that his arm was broken and continued practicing until deciding that he was seriously hurt.

Once in the locker room, Martucci sat in great pain while his arm rested in ice. Then Joe Murphy, one of the medical staff in Dillon, told him it was broken. "I was so sad," Martucci remembers.

He figured he'd miss the first three games, and then Frank McCauley, another medical person there, told him he'd have a cast for six months. This statement upset Martucci, but he didn't completely believe it.

"When I came out of the shower I asked where my equipment was, and they said they'd turned it in. They hadn't put it in my locker." Martucci began to be more doubtful about his return.

And a few days later in Peter Bent Brigham Hospital, when Dr. Thomas Quigley showed him the x-rays and began talking about putting a rod in his arm, Martucci realized that he definitely wouldn't play again for Harvard.

During the last two months, there had been a great "void" in his life. "From three o'clock to 8:30 none of my buddies are around," Martucci said Tuesday. "I have nothing to do." He has become the coach for Quincy House's tackle football team, but the team has no practices and plays only twice a week. So Martucci still has lots of afternoon time he's not used to having.

Sometimes he goes down to watch the varsity practice and "kid around" with members of the team. He never misses a Friday practice since they're more spirited, and every Saturday, Martucci is on the sidelines watching and encouraging his teammates.

"The worst part is before and after the games," he says. That's when he best remembers the feelings he had the last two years. "I really start feeling sorry for myself afterwards. You feel good because you know you played hard, and I miss that," Martucci explained.

It's difficult for him to decide which game he most wanted to play this Fall. He started with Yale and Dartmouth. "But I really wanted to play against Brown since we lost to them last year. And I was eager to play Columbia and Cornell since I missed both games as a junior." He injured his knee early in the season. "I really wanted to play against [Ed] Marinaro, too." Martucci added.

Ever since the end of the 1969 season he had been thinking ahead to his senior year with the team. "I was going to have a good time," he said. His new position-weak side end-would include both pass rushing and pass coverage in the 4-4-3. "I would think of going in and smacking a guy and maybe causing a fumble. Or of dropping back and getting an interception. I was so psyched."