Coached in Wakefield from 1949-63
Published in the April 16, 2020 edition.
By DAN PAWLOWSKI
STONEHAM — Legendary high school football coach Bill Tighe passed away yesterday of coronavirus complications. He was 95 years old.
Tighe wore many hats throughout his life: a beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, veteran, teacher, professional athlete and dear friend, yet he was perhaps best known as “coach.”
Tighe coached high school football from 1949 to 2010 when he retired from Lexington High as the country’s oldest active high school football coach.
He started as an assistant at Wakefield High before becoming head coach from 1957 to 1963. He went on to coach at Malden High from 1964 to 1974 before taking over at Lexington High in 1975 until his retirement.
Tighe continued to be involved in the game over the last 10 years, attending many Lexington High games while also being an advisor to Stoneham High’s football coaches where he resided.
That never-ending passion affected three generations of student athletes. Whether it’s a Wakefield High graduate in their 80’s like the president of the class of 1951 Patsy Zagaria, or a Lexington High graduate in their 20’s, Tighe leaves behind a celebrated legacy of leadership.
Bill Tighe grew up in Ashland playing football, basketball and baseball in high school. After graduating in 1942, he served in the Army Air Force for three years as a P-38 crew chief during World War II. He continued his education at Boston University where he was a two-sport standout in baseball and football. Tighe was the starting quarterback his junior and senior year passing for 480 yards. He received honorable mention on BU’s Post-War All-Star grid team in 1964 and was inducted into the BU Hall of Fame in 1994. Tighe is also in the Hall of Fame at Wakefield High, Malden High, Lexington High and the Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Association of which he is a former president.
After graduation from BU in 1949, Tighe married Mary T. Folger, his wife of 57 years until Mary passed away in 2006. He spent some time in Vermont in ‘49 with the St. Johnsbury professional baseball team of the Northern League. Tighe got offers to play football for the New York Yankees of the All-America Football Conference and baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies but decided to follow his true passion of coaching.
That brought him to Wakefield. Tighe dubbed his first team as head coach ‘the fighting 57’s’ which gave him his first of 269 career wins (12th on the all-time list for Massachusetts). He coached the ‘57 team to a Middlesex League championship, his first of four league titles while in Wakefield.
Tighe coached many Wakefield Hall of Famers like Richard North, Dick Defeo, Fred Hupprich, Richard Nardone, John Shevlin and Tom Stuetzer.
Tighe is survived by four children: Kevin of Georgetown, Sharon Adamo of North Reading, Maureen Martens of Hopkinton and Steven of Salem, N.H. He is also survived by his brother Mickey, nine grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.
Bill Tighe’s passion for coaching was driven by his family, including two sons Billy and Michael, who both passed away of cystic fibrosis. Tighe dedicated every football season to Billy and Michael.
Coach Tighe will be missed by an incredible network of former players, colleagues and friends. A follow-up story with reactions from some in that network will appear in the Wakefield Daily Item at a later date.
If you would like to contribute a story, quote or memory of Bill Tighe please email sports editor Dan Pawlowski at sports@wakefielditem.com.