The Boston Sweepers was a team in the Atlantic Coast Football League

Atlantic Coast Football League

The Atlantic Coast Football League was a minor football league that operated from 1962 to 1973. Until 1969, many of its franchises had working agreements with NFL and AFL teams to serve as farm clubs. The league paid a base salary of $100 per game and had 36 players on each active roster.For the...

. They played their home games at the Everett Memorial Stadium in Everett, Massachusetts

Everett, Massachusetts

Everett is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, near Boston. The population was 41,667 at the 2010 census.Everett is the last city in the United States with a bicameral legislature, which is composed of a seven-member Board of Aldermen and an 18-member Common Council...

. The team was owned by Ted Baron, who also owned a local trash disposal container company, hence the team name "sweepers".

History

The team played from 1962 to 1964 in Boston before moving to New Bedford, Massachusetts

New Bedford, Massachusetts

New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States, located south of Boston, southeast of Providence, Rhode Island, and about east of Fall River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 95,072, making it the sixth-largest city in Massachusetts...

 and becoming the New Bedford Sweepers. The New Bedford Sweepers folded after the 1966 season. The Sweepers won two championships in the ACFL, 1964 and 1965.

Coaches and players

The offensive coach was Ed "Butch" Songin, and the defensive coach Rommie Loudd

Rommie Loudd

Rommie Lee Loudd was a former American football player, coach, and executive. He was the first black assistant coach in the American Football League and the first black majority owner of a major league sports team.-Playing career:Loudd played tight end for coach Red Sanders at UCLA from 1953 to 1955...

, both of whom were the head coaches of the team. Both coaches had played professional football with several teams, including the Boston Patriots of the American Football League

American Football League

The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...

 which later changed its name to the New England Patriots

New England Patriots

The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...

. In 1966 Loudd became the first black assistant coach in the American Football League

American Football League

The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...

.

Some of the players for the Sweepers were Quarterback Don Allard

Don Allard

Donald J. Allard was an American college and Professional Football player originally selected by the Washington Redskins in the first round of the 1959 NFL Draft....

, Wide Receivers Rick Sapienza and Gary Farina and running back Dominic Gentile. The place kicker was Booth Lusteg

Booth Lusteg

Gerald Booth Lusteg is a former placekicker in the National Football League who played for the Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers. Lusteg played collegiate baseball for the University of Connecticut and played football professionally for 4 seasons...

 who later went on to an NFL

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 career with the Buffalo Bills

Buffalo Bills

The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

, Green Bay Packers

Green Bay Packers

The Green Bay Packers are an American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Packers are the current NFL champions...

 and Miami Dolphins

Miami Dolphins

The Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...

.

Matches

In 1964 the Sweepers defeated the Newark Bears

Newark Bears

The Newark Bears are an American professional baseball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are a member of the Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. Since the 1999 season, the Bears have played their home games at Bears &...

 14-10 for the ACFL Championship in a match that was played in raw and wet weather in Newark

Newark, New Jersey

Newark is the largest city in the American state of New Jersey, and the seat of Essex County. As of the 2010 United States Census, Newark had a population of 277,140, maintaining its status as the largest municipality in New Jersey. It is the 68th largest city in the U.S...

.