"The 1973 A.L.Brown Wonders"
Blue Collar Wonders
There is no decade in Wonder football history that exemplifies the blue collar working class mentality of the town of Kannapolis better than the decade of the seventies. The tough, and gritty puritan work ethic of this class of people was evident in the sullen, stone faces of some of it's offspring who attended A.L. Brown High School, and from which many of it's football players were found. No case study is better than the group from 1973 who were as mill town tough, and naturally strong as many of the men you would find working in the pipe shop, or in the packing distribution center of Cannon Mills Company.
These were kids raised in strict, hard working households who were taught at a young age you had to sweat, bleed, and pay the price for anything you got in this world. Football for many of these kids was a natural release of aggression growing up in such turbulent times. Watergate, Vietnam, and protests were the headlines of the day, and the only place these small mill town warriors could get that release of aggression was on the football field. The 1973 Wonders were comprised of a collection of self determined, red blooded american kids who for a better word enjoyed physical combat, the sort of combat that for them was a possible ticket out of a dead end life in the cotton mill.
Guys like Tim Davis, Lacy Brumley, Rick Grier, Tim and Joey Roseman, Fletcher Moon, Terry Cunningham, Rick Basinger, Andy Trott, Chip Sigmon, Brian Holbrook, Bobby Query, John Sloan, Vernon Grier, and Chuck Rodgers all know the language I'm speaking. They suited up for four weeks in August, and then another ten weeks from September to November waging war on battlefields from Kannapolis up I-85 to Thomasville then back to Concord. For these guys, strength and conditioning amounted to carrying shingles up a ladder or helping pull the engine out of their father's Ford F-150 on a Saturday morning. They got up early and stayed late to achieve their goals, and carried the banner for those of us who looked to them for validation on Friday nights. This is the story of their season, and their quest to be set aside from the pack. The Blue Collar warriors of the 1973 A.L. Brown Little Wonders.
These were kids raised in strict, hard working households who were taught at a young age you had to sweat, bleed, and pay the price for anything you got in this world. Football for many of these kids was a natural release of aggression growing up in such turbulent times. Watergate, Vietnam, and protests were the headlines of the day, and the only place these small mill town warriors could get that release of aggression was on the football field. The 1973 Wonders were comprised of a collection of self determined, red blooded american kids who for a better word enjoyed physical combat, the sort of combat that for them was a possible ticket out of a dead end life in the cotton mill.
Guys like Tim Davis, Lacy Brumley, Rick Grier, Tim and Joey Roseman, Fletcher Moon, Terry Cunningham, Rick Basinger, Andy Trott, Chip Sigmon, Brian Holbrook, Bobby Query, John Sloan, Vernon Grier, and Chuck Rodgers all know the language I'm speaking. They suited up for four weeks in August, and then another ten weeks from September to November waging war on battlefields from Kannapolis up I-85 to Thomasville then back to Concord. For these guys, strength and conditioning amounted to carrying shingles up a ladder or helping pull the engine out of their father's Ford F-150 on a Saturday morning. They got up early and stayed late to achieve their goals, and carried the banner for those of us who looked to them for validation on Friday nights. This is the story of their season, and their quest to be set aside from the pack. The Blue Collar warriors of the 1973 A.L. Brown Little Wonders.
The 1973 Little Wonders
17th Annual Football Preview 1973
Kannapolis-42 Northwest Cabarrus-13
Kannapolis-33 South Rowan-0
Kannapolis-28 Statesville-0
Kannapolis-47 Lexington-0
Kannapolis-14 Albemarle-14
Kannapolis-49 Asheboro-0
Kannapolis-7 Salisbury-14
Kannapolis-6 Thomasville-33
Kannapolis-53 Trinity-0
Wonder Seniors
Spider Seniors
Kannapolis-7 Concord-3
Top of the Heap for 1973
"The 1973 A.L. Brown Little Wonders"
The 1973 Wonders would ultimately miss the playoffs in 73, but were anything but a rag tag bunch of upstarts winging it in the South Piedmont Conference. The 1973 Wonders were smart and very athletic using speed to compensate for lack of size. The offense put up 286 points on their opponents while defensively only allowing 77 points. By todays standards the 73 Wonders were every bit a playoff contender, but in the decade of the seventies you had to at least be the champion of your conference to assure a spot. 7-2-1 is respectable by any standard, and to say this group was not playoff worthy would be selling them way too short.
Barring one less loss to Salisbury or Thomasville or beating Albemarle whom they tied, this team would have been right there in the thick of things in the playoffs. When you think about the current playoff scenario you would have to wonder just how far this team could have made it had they been participants, but as they say if "ifs and buts were candy and nuts" we can only dream. In short this was a good football team that came up just a bit short of exceeding their expectations, and for all you can say about them they represented the green and white proud, and will go down in Wonder football history as one of the better clubs
Barring one less loss to Salisbury or Thomasville or beating Albemarle whom they tied, this team would have been right there in the thick of things in the playoffs. When you think about the current playoff scenario you would have to wonder just how far this team could have made it had they been participants, but as they say if "ifs and buts were candy and nuts" we can only dream. In short this was a good football team that came up just a bit short of exceeding their expectations, and for all you can say about them they represented the green and white proud, and will go down in Wonder football history as one of the better clubs
Kannapolis 42 Northwest Cab 13
Kannapolis 33 South Rowan 0
Kannapolis 28 Statesville 0
Kannapolis 47 Lexington 0
Kannapolis 14 Albemarle 14
Kannapolis 49 Asheboro 0
Kannapolis 7 Salisbury 14
Kannapolis 6 Thomasville 33
Kannapolis 53 Trinity 0
Kannapolis 7 Concord 3
Kannapolis 33 South Rowan 0
Kannapolis 28 Statesville 0
Kannapolis 47 Lexington 0
Kannapolis 14 Albemarle 14
Kannapolis 49 Asheboro 0
Kannapolis 7 Salisbury 14
Kannapolis 6 Thomasville 33
Kannapolis 53 Trinity 0
Kannapolis 7 Concord 3