Tom Mullineaux Coach Mullineaux's Daily News All-City Honorees: FIRST TEAM Damien Adams DB 1991 Derrick "Wiggles" Lanier DB 1993 Alex Peev K 1994 Lovato Bowman DB 1994 Eddie Gaskins RB 1995 Raymond Harris L 1995 Jeffrey Mims DL 1995 Eddie Gaskins RB 1996 Eddie Gaskins RB 1997 Danny Owens LB 1997 Terrance "Ted" Cook L 1998 David Kenner Rec. 1998 James Allen DB 1999 Theodore McNeil LB 1999 Tracy Williams L 2001 Adam Hartman DB 2002 Arnold Mullins DB 2003 Jeremy Benson DL 2003 Michael Washington Rec. 2003 Isaiah "Zeke" Thompson L 2003 SECOND TEAM Toney Snipes RB 1988 Brian Fricker P 1989 Robert Gallagher L 1989 Jerry Santa LB 1989 Montik Goodwin DB 1989 Wayne Rice LB 1991 Joe Smith Rec. 1994 Robert Woolford DL 1995 Steve Szydlik QB 1996 Saleem Debnam Rec. 1996 Ron James L 1996 Herbert "Pitter" Sample RB 1997 Terrance "Ted" Cook L  1997 Steve Domico L 2000 Shawn Williams LB 2000 Michael Robinson LB 2001 Darrell "D.J." Turner QB 2002 THIRD TEAM Paul Shipman L 1988 Damien Adams DB 1990 Paul Gebeline L 1991 William "Boo" Minor Rec. 1992 Tony Pace L 1994 Jay DiBello K 1995 Chris Covington LB 1996 Michael Rothmaller DB 1996 Rasheed Muhammed DB 1997 Tracy Williams DL 2000 Ricky Rolon L 2002 Joe Farina LB 2003 Ray Williams DL 2003 Ervin Hook LB 2003

Tom Mullineaux Tribute Page   Tom Mullineaux coached Frankford High's football team for 16 seasons (1988-2003), winning 145 games and four Public League championships. He won his first crown in wicked mud in 1996 Here is that story . . . By Ted Silary   A driving rainstorm can do more than turn a football field into a mud pit. It also can wash away the burden felt by coaches at Frankford High.   Al Angelo could have told you in 1978. Tom Mullineaux can tell you now.   Though Angelo went on to win 184 games in 21 seasons, he lost five times in the old City Title series, which matched the Public League and Catholic League champions, before producing a winner in 1978.   Though Mullineaux has won 78 games in nine seasons, he failed to claim a Public League title until Saturday.   For both men, the breakthrough triumph came in a deluge. It also came so easily, both men had to be muttering to themselves: "Geez, all this time. What was so hard about that?''    The score in 1978 at Kennedy Stadium was Frankford 27, Archbishop Wood 7. The score in '96 at Northeast High was Frankford 28, Murrell Dobbins Tech 0. Three cheers for aqua football. ``I must admit,'' Mullineaux said, "when I woke up this morning and saw all the rain, I was thinking about Al's team in '78, and how he got that monkey off his back. It was, `Maybe this is my good-luck sign, too.' ''   With a large boost from star halfback Eddie Gaskins, who rushed for 160 yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries, and a defense that limited Dobbins to 4 yards of total offense and one first down, Frankford frolicked.   The entertaining freeze frames were numerous as the final minutes melted away.   The players dousing Mullineaux with a bucket of water. Mullineaux picking up mud and slinging it at the players. Starters trotting to the sideline and then making headlong dives into the mud. Dirty players making sure that clean players did not remain so. Cheerleaders being playfully threatened with mud balls.   At the final whistle, everyone ran to the center of the field, where the mud covered ankles, to flop around some more.   After making the short bus ride back to Frankford, the seniors took part in a tradition that goes back decades - taking one final crack at the blocking sled - and then everyone ran from the south end to the north end. Some of the players increased their speed, extended their arms and dived face-first into the mud.   Everyone then marched straight into the shower room, still in uniform.   With his voice raised so he could be heard over the incessant hooting and hollering, Mullineaux stood in the equipment room and related his feelings.   His lowest moment, he said, came just last season, when Frankford - an overwhelming preseason favorite - lost in the championship game to George Washington, 21-0. Gaskins was unavailable because of a shoulder injury and Michael Rothmaller, his replacement, got hurt on Frankford's first series.     continued right below . . .

SEASON BY SEASON Public League 1988: 3-2 1989: 4-1 1990: 4-1 1991: 4-1 1992: 2-3 1993: 4-1 1994: 5-0 1995: 5-0 1996: 5-0 1997: 4-1 1998: 3-2 1999: 5-0 2000: 4-1 2001: 3-2 2002: 5-0 2003: 5-0 Total: -65-15 --- Overall 1988: 7-3 1989: 8-2 1990:6-4 1991: 10-2 1992: 6-5 1993: 9-1-1 1994: 10-1 1995: 11-1 1996: 11-1 1997: 11-1 1998: 8-3 1999: 9-1 2000: 10-2 2001: 7-3 2002: 11-1 2003: 11-0 Total: 145-31-1 -- PUBLIC LEAGUE TITLES 1996 1997 2002 2003 -- TOP 15 RUSHERS Yards Year Eddie Gaskins 2,061 '96 Eddie Gaskins 1,940 '97 Eddie Gaskins 1,466 '95 Herbert Sample 1,279 '97 Montik Goodwin 1,242 '89 Marcus Waddy 1,159 '00 Toney Snipes 1,095 '88 Damien Adams 1,044 '90 Damien Adams 969 '91 Rasheen Braddock 912 '92 Derrick Lanier 903 '93 Rasheen Braddock 882 '93 James Allen 858 '99 James Allen 837 '98 Jeremy Benson 834 '03 Theodore McNeil 817 '99 TOP 5 PASSERS Yards Year Lamont Brown 979 '03 Darrell Turner 909 '02 Jim Nagle 816 '98 Steve Szydlik 750 '96 Steve Szydlik 723 '94 TOP 5 RECEIVERS Yards Year Michael Washington 507 '03 Saleem Debnam 495 '94 Saleem Debnam 475 '94 William Minor 407 '92 Adam Hartman 388 '02

  That dark day, Mullineaux had flashed back to the '91 final, when his best rusher, Damien Adams, was injured and
unavailable and the Pioneers were spanked by Washington, 34-0. And to the '84 semifinals, when he was an assistant at West
Philadelphia. Franchise rusher Reggie Barnes sprinted for a 75-yard touchdown on the game's third play, then injured his thigh.
West lost to Frankford, 42-14.  
  "I felt real bad after last year's championship game,'' Mullineaux said. "You wonder, `Am I snakebit?' I wasn't sure we'd be
able to get it together again. Then I came around. 'We have some good skills kids back. We have to find some linemen. ' This
is a good lesson for the kids. If you hang in there, good things happen sometimes.''
  Mullineaux mentioned how he had read in a neighborhood paper about the fan abuse heaped on Archbishop Ryan coach Glen
Galeone during a Thanksgiving loss to Washington.
  All Galeone did from 1990 to '94 was coach the Raiders to four titles and a 45-0-2 mark against Catholic League opposition.
  "Crazy,'' Mullineaux said. "The guy wins four championships and now he's playing with young kids, and he's dumb? If people
are going to yell at a coach like that, they can say whatever they want about me. I'll take it as a compliment.
  "People don't know what goes on. Making the kids behave. Getting them into school. Making them go to class. The easiest
thing is getting on the field and calling plays. There are 6 million other things that most people don't have a clue about."
  In this one, somehow, Frankford churned out 306 yards of total offense. Gaskins provided a huge boost by trodding 57 yards
for a first-quarter touchdown. Dobbins, meanwhile, had nonstop difficulty with snaps and handoffs.
  "It was like we were on ice,'' coach Doug Macauley said.
  "For us,'' Mullineaux said, "it was almost like the field was dry. We pretty much ran our normal offense. It amazed me.''
  Said Gaskins: "I've played on mud quite a few times, from the Frankford Boys Club on up. Never been a problem. I was
looking forward to sloshing around.''
  He also was looking forward to easing the pain felt by Mullineaux and, to various degrees, all the players.
  "If you lose at Frankford, you hear about it,'' Gaskins said. "But we don't go out to impress the fans. We go out to win. We
did this for coach Mullineaux and for ourselves.
  "I knew coach Mullineaux wanted his one bad. I could tell by the look in his eyes.''

This story was written in November 1997 after Frankford roared past North Catholic
for one of Tom's 11 wins (16 chances) in the wonderful Thanksgiving series . . .

By Ted Silary
  Think of the football positions that would be a good fit for a guy nicknamed ``Pitter'' - as in the pitter-patter of little feet.
  Wideout should quickly come to mind. And then maybe slotback and defensive back and . . . now you're stuck.
  We give you Herbert "Pitter'' Sample, of Frankford High, who is listed at 5-8, 155 pounds in the program.
  Take off 2 inches, he says. Take off 10 pounds, he says. Now digest the fact that at 5-6, 145 pounds, the position he plays
is fullback.
  "My size? No problem,'' Sample said. "I'm so quick to the hole, those big linemen never have a chance to mess with me."'
  If it's true, it ain't boasting.
  Sample yesterday rushed 15 times for 131 yards and one touchdown as Frankford pounded archrival North Catholic,
4-14, before a roaring, standing-room-only crowd of 5,000-plus at windswept Frankford Memorial Stadium.
  North leads the series, 39-27-4.
  Sample helped to author Pioneer history on his 61-yard, third-quarter touchdown, which raised his season's total to
1,029 yards. He and franchise halfback Eddie Gaskins (1,734 yards) are the first teammates in Frankford history to reach
1,000 yards in the same season, and the first in the Public League to do so since Central's Jarrod Washington and
Sundiata Rush in 1988.
  "One-thousand yards? I can't even tell you how I feel about that,'' an overwhelmed Sample said.
Gaskins could.
  "Herbie, that's my man,'' bubbled Gaskins, who finished with 202 yards and three TDs on 18 carries. ``He's the people's
man. Everybody likes him. Teachers, fans, girls. He has a great personality. He's a funny guy to be around. And the
players know how hard he works.''
  But he's only 145 pounds.
  "Doesn't matter,'' Gaskins said. "He has the heart of a lion.''
  Early in the fourth quarter, meanwhile, Gaskins finally displayed the heart of a hot dog and that wound up producing
some ugliness.
  With Frankford leading, 47-8, Frankford coach Tom Mullineaux put his first offense back on the field merely hoping,
he said, to melt the clock. Instead, Gaskins exploded for a 53-yard touchdown and made a headlong dive into the end
zone even though the closest defender, Fred Weidenmiller, had no legitimate shot at making a tackle.
  "My brother and a couple old Frankford teammates were telling me, `You never do anything [to show emotion] when
you score,' '' Gaskins said. "I figured I had to do something for them. It was a one-time thing.''
  On North's next play, Jim Miller caught a swing pass from Brian Kulb (14-for-33, 123 yards) and headed for
Frankford's sideline. Miller roared across the sideline, banged into Mullineaux, tossed the ball at him and muttered
something about Gaskins still being in the game.
  "I couldn't believe it,'' Mullineaux said. "I thought, `This kid's aiming right for me. ' What was his problem?''
  Miller was not ejected, but coach Rich Betts did not play him thereafter.
  "Evidently, Miller felt Frankford was running up the score, and he didn't appreciate that,'' Betts said. ``We saw what
he did. We told him, `We don't do that here,' then we put him on the bench and left him there.''
  Of Gaskins's late-game presence on offense, Betts said, "Frankford has [rolled up scores] all year, so it was nothing
I didn't expect.''
  Incorrect. Mullineaux was guilty of leaving the first team offense on the field too long in a 63-29 win over Murrell
Dobbins Tech last Saturday in a PL semifinal, but before that, he was quick to pull Gaskins and his playmates
whenever a game became even remotely one-sided.
  "I wouldn't try to run up the score,'' he said. ``I don't like those kind of people."
  The Falcons were so generous in the first half, they must have thought the holiday was Christmas.
Frankford needed to drive only 20 yards for its first score, Jim Nagle's 6-yard pass to David Kenner, after Miller
fumbled a snap on a punt and was tackled by Doyya Johnson.
  Danny Owens accidentally sent his kickoff only 13 yards downfield and Michael Dolbow recovered for Frankford.
Gaskins scored from the 7 eight plays later. Frankford's third and fourth scores capped drives of only 28 and 5 yards,
respectively, after a shanked punt and fumble (forced by Owens, recovered by Carlton Calhoun).
  "Our guys didn't come to play,'' Betts said. ``Turnovers hurt us early, and special teams.''
  Sample was a fan of Frankford football long before he became a player. His brother, Clifford Waddy, was a fullback
in 1995 and his first cousin, Eugene Waddy, was a defensive end in '92.
  Sample and Gaskins grew up around the corner from each other, but they played for rival youth organizations -
Sample for Frankford Chargers, Gaskins for Frankford Boys Club. Though Sample is a three-year varsity player, this
is his first season starting.
  "I didn't have doubts about getting the spot,'' he said. "I'm not big, but I can run. Give me a little opening, and I'm
gone. A team always needs speed. To me, this doesn't seem any different than weight ball. Guys hit hard, sure, but
I've never had to come off the field because of an injury.''
  He did have to yield, though, to the temptation to race against Gaskins.
  "Early this season, we did a 50-yard dash,'' Sample said. "Who won? It was a tie. A flat-out tie.'' 
  Imagine that - Eddie Gaskins being tied in a race by a fullback.

This story was written after Tom won his fourth Public League championship in
what turned out to be his final season . . .

By Ted Silary
  THEY PAIRED UP, got a good running start and took headlong diiiiiiiives right into the worse-than-soupy mud.
  Almost en masse, they scrambled onto a 5-foot-high snowbank behind their bench and joyously posed for
photographers.
  All around, guys playfully pelted each other with mud and/or snowballs and tossed one another to the ground.
They smeared mud all over their uniforms, as if that were necessary, at least for the starters, and tried their best,
mostly unsuccessfully, to keep small chunks out of their mouths and eyes.
  It's never not fun to win a championship and then go crazy in the moments immediately after, as the reality sinks
in little by little. But it's hard to imagine any football team in city history experienced more postgame ecstasy, in
more manners, than did the 2003 Frankford Pioneers last night at Northeast High's Charlie Martin Memorial Stadium.
  Frankford 12, George Washington 0.
  That was the final score in the once-delayed Public League title game (it had been postponed by snow last
Saturday) and it enabled the Pioneers to set a school record for shutouts (eight).
  The win gave coach Tom Mullineaux, who almost certainly will retire, his fourth PL title in 16 seasons and an
overall record of 145-31-1.
  The conditions were rather horrendous. The field was a mess even before the action began, and it grew worse
as areas of hard slush also turned to mud, thanks to a rain that was annoying throughout, and sometimes drenching.
  Luckily, it wasn't too cold or windy.
  (No one worked on the field until Monday, according to school district personnel, because snow and ice first had
to be cleared from schools across the city. Eventually, 25 people, assorted field caretakers and interns, worked at
Northeast to clear the field - well, mostly - and shovel out the stands. There was a late problem with one full bank
of lights, but it was remedied shortly before game time.)
  For Ervin Hook, the conditions seemed downright perfect.
  Moonlit skies. Maybe 70 degrees. Not a hint of moisture on the playing surface.
  "I loved this. Didn't mind it at all," he said. "They always say that Frankford plays its best football in the rain and
slop. Who's they? Our coaches. Our fans. All of us players, too. It's like we know, when it's like this, we own the
game."
  He smiled. "This was beautiful. I'll never forget how 'nice' it was tonight."
  Hook, a 6-2, 205-pound senior, spent this season playing end and outside linebacker. In this finale, which left
Frankford with an 11-0 record, two consecutive championships and a 20-game winning streak, Hook made two
huge plays. A weird one set up a touchdown. The other prevented one.
  In the first quarter, with Frankford on offense, Hook picked up a blocked punt just behind the line of scrimmage,
the GW 45, and motored to the 31, 9 more than necessary for a first down.
  "Our coaches always tell us to play to the whistle," Hook said. "I didn't see the block, but I heard the thump. I
turned around and saw the ball and decided to pick it up.
  "I didn't know the rule. I thought, 'Can I do this? Well, I'll run downfield and see what happens. When this is
over, it could be our ball, could be their ball. But at least I'll do what I can.' "
  Seven plays later, on the first play of the second quarter, right after Michael Washington made a spectacular
 diving catch of a pass from junior Lamont Brown to produce a 21-yard gain, Arnold Mullins (13 carries, 67
yards) ran 5 yards for a score.
  Hook's interception came late in the third quarter, with the score still 6-0, and ended Washington's best chance.
The whole series was vintage, actually.
  It began when Mullins lost a fumble and Rich McFillin recovered at the Frankford 12. In order, Andre Mungin
dropped halfback Marcus Banks for a 3-yard loss, Isaiah "Zeke" Thompson registered a 5-yard sack on McFillin,
McFillin threw incomplete and Hook made the fourth-down pick at the 10, adding a 29-yard return for good measure.
  "That was all the pressure by my front four," Hook said. "Once they applied such great pressure, catching the
ball was easy. I had to come down with it."
  The Pioneers made it 12-0 two series later. Sophomore Brandon Norris (8-80) zoomed 44 yards to the 27 and
Jeremy Benson (16-84) rumbled home from there.
  Frankford's defense, coordinated by Bill Clausen, featured ends Thompson and Benson, tackles Ray Williams
and Henry Smith, inside linebackers Joe Farina and Zaire Small, outside linebackers Hook and Washington,
cornerbacks Mullins and Brandon Norris and the safety, Mungin.
  The Pioneers yielded 66 points this season: 14 to Washington on Oct. 17, then 52 total in back-to-back games
- a semi vs. Central (24) and Thanksgiving vs. North Catholic (28).
  If their confidence was rocked, they won't admit it now.
  "We knew we still had a good defense," said Hook, who is being eyed by Division II schools and wants to work
in recreation. "We knew we were shutting down Washington."
  It happened, too. The Eagles (10-2), who were averaging 29.5 points entering the game, had to settle for 73
yards total offense and franchise rusher Jerry Butler, a junior who lives in Frankford, was held to 37 yards on 15
carries. He did, however, emerge as the school's season rushing leader, with 1,247 yards. Reuben White had 1,228
in 1997.
  "Jerry Butler's my boy," Thompson, who had two sacks, said, smiling. "But I see him all the time around the way.
Couldn't let him get a title on us.
  "Yeah, we gave up some points [to Central/North]. But we came in here knowing what it was like to win a
championship. We also knew we were going home with another one. We shut them down all night."
 
  Below are the players who earned Coaches' All-Public honors during Tom Mullineaux's 16 seasons
as the coach at Frankford.

Toney Snipes	B	1988	Eddie Gaskins	RB	1997
Paul Shipman	L	1988	Herbert "Pitter" Sample	RB	1997
Steve Irving	L	1988	Danny Owens	L-LB	1997
Robert Gallagher	L	1989	Michael Statham	DL	1997
John Zazulak	L	1989	Rasheed Muhammed	DB	1997
Nicky DeNofa	QB	1989	Terrance "Ted" Cook	L-DL	1998
Jerry Santa	LB	1989	David Kenner	Rec.-DL	1998
Montik Goodwin	DB	1989	Jim Nagle	QB	1998
Bill Thompson	L	1990	James Allen	DB	1999
Jim McCreesh	L	1990	Theodore McNeil	RB	1999
Rich Pyott	L	1990	Jesse Gregg	L	1999
Damien Adams	RB	1991	Victor Murray	DE	1999
Paul Gebeline	LB	1991	Doug Stanley	DE	1999
O.J. Thomas	RB	1991	Michael Dolbow	L	2000
Wayne Rice	Rec.	1991	Steve Domico	L	2000
Anthony D'Aloia	DL	1991	Lacey Lancaster	QB	2000
Chris Stathakopoulos	LB	1992	Jeff Nagle	TE	2000
William "Boo" Minor	Rec.	1992	Shawn Williams	LB	2000
Derrick "Wiggles" Lanier	RB-DB	1993	Tracy Williams	L	2001
Rasheen Braddock	RB	1993	Michael Robinson	LB	2001
Joe Stout	L-DL	1993	Marcus "Dink" Waddy	RB	2001
Robert Boyle	QB	1993	Adam Hartman	Rec.-DB	2002
Joe Smith	Rec.-DB	1994	Darrell "D.J." Turner	QB	2002
Robert Gebeline	LB	1994	Joselito Cruz	RB-LB	2002
C.J. Szydlik	DL	1994	Ricky Rolon	L	2002
Dennis Johnson	DL	1994	Joel Rodriguez	L	2002
Lovato Bowman	DB	1994	Phil Wood	L	2002
Tony Pace	L	1994	Arnold Mullins	RB	2003
Raymond Harris	L-LB	1995	Jeremy Benson	RB	2003
Jeffrey Mims	L-DL	1995	Michael Washington	Rec.	2003
Jim Bell	L	1995	Joe Farina	LB	2003
Robert Woolford	Rec.	1995	Isaiah "Zeke" Thompson	L	2003
Earl Murray	DB	1995	Ray Williams	DL	2003
Gene Waddy	RB	1995
Eddie Gaskins	RB	1996
Steve Szydlik	QB	1996
Saleem Debnam	Rec.	1996
Ron James	L-LB	1996
Chris Covington	RB-LB	1996
Michael Rothmaller	Rec.-DB	1996

--

Recaps of Wins in Public League Championship Games 1996 At Northeast Frankford 28, Dobbins 0     Running through a driving rain on a bare field that was reduced to mud-pit status, Eddie Gaskins produced 160 yards and two TDs on 17 carries to give nine-year Frankford coach Tom Mullineaux his first title. Gaskins became the second 2,000-yard, one-season rusher in city history (2,061) and tied the one-season city mark for TDs (29, 28 on rushes). Also, he raised his career rushing yardage total to 4,182, best in city-leagues history. Steve Szydlik ran for one TD and passed to James Clay for another. Frankford finished 11-1 (20-19 Thanksgiving loss to North Catholic) and scored 417 points (34.8 average). Linebackers Chris Covington and Danny Owens and lineman Ronald James helped to hold Dobbins to one first down, 4 yards total offense and 27 plays. 1997 At Northeast Frankford 31, Northeast 21     Capping the most productive career, by far, for a running back in city-leagues history, 5-10, 205-pound halfback Eddie Gaskins rushed 26 times for 206 yards and a game-record three touchdowns. Gaskins finished the season with 200 carries for 1,940 yards and a record-tying 29 TDs. He tied the record for overall TDs (31) and broke the record for points (195). In his career, Gaskins rushed 675 times for city-leagues marks in yards (6,122) and TDs (84) while also claiming marks for total TDs (87) and points (536). Nevertheless, Frankford's rushing leader was 145-pound fullback Herbert "Pitter" Sample, who produced a game-record 250 yards and two TDs on 24 carries. When Sample ran 19 yards for a late TD, the Pioneers broke their own city-leagues record for points in a season. They scored 457, averaging 38.1. They'd scored 454 in '87. Also setting a game record was Northeast's Dante Poole, who ran 93 yards from scrimmage -- longest run in PL postseason history -- for an early score. Poole finished with 16 carries for 178 yards. In Gaskins' four seasons, Frankford roared to a 43-4 overall record. 2002 At Northeast Frankford 14, Washington 6     The game was postponed twice and was finally played Dec. 14 in mud and off-and-on drizzle. On the game's second series, Frankford jumped to a 6-0 lead as freshman Brandon Norris (21-119) zoomed 48 yards. The Pioneers punted to end their next series and when the ball bounced off the return man, Michael Washington recovered at the 25. Darrell "D.J." Turner's TD toss to Adam Hartman followed. Washington answered three plays later on Larry Turner's 26-yard TD. In the fourth quarter, Washington saw drives end at Frankford's 28, 15 and 32. On the game's final play, Sharif Nash and Hartman were present to make sure the pass would fall incomplete. 2003 At Northeast Frankford 12, Washington 0     The Pioneers (11-0) sent coach Tom Mullineaux into expected retirement by giving him a second consecutive title (four total) and extending their winning streak to 20 games. Also, they set a school record with their eighth shutout. Jeremy Benson (16-84) and Arnold Mullins (13-67) ran for one TD apiece while soph Brandon Norris added 80 yards on eight carries. Ervin Hook picked up a blocked punt and ran for first-down yardage, setting up Mullins' score. He also had an interception at the 10 to preserve the shutout. Andre Mungin also had a pick. Isaiah "Zeke" Thompson posted two sacks and Ray Williams recovered a fumble. For Washington, junior Jerry Butler (15-37) lifted his season rushing total to a school record 1,247. This game was postponed by snow, from a Saturday to the following Wednesday night, and was played in the rain on a surface that was muddy even beforehand.

--
 

--