Schools
New Banner at Foley Field Honors Former Football Player
Frank Tripucka, class of '45 was a football player at Bloomfield High School who later went on to play for the Denver Broncos.
When visitors come to see football games on Bloomfield’s Foley Field, they will be reminded of former Denver Broncos quarterback Frank Tripucka.
Tripucka grew up in Bloomfield during the Great Depression and went on to play football for Bloomfield High School, before attending the University of Notre Dame.
Tripucka, who is now 84, will have his name permanently on the press box at Foley Field, said Board of Education members this week.
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Money donated by his family for the naming rights, will be used to pay for the sound system for the field.
Although family say Frank Tripucka’s memory may be failing him these days, he vividly remembers his days on Foley Field. “He can tell you what happened on the third-down of the Nutley game in his sophomore year in high school – he remembers every single minute of it,” said his daughter, Heather Carr. “And while he cannot remember where he put his keys and even sometimes whether to turn right or left to get into the kitchen – he has an unbelievable memory of these wonderful golden years.”
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Carr, who is principal of Berkeley Elementary School, attended this week’s board of education meeting, where members looked over the sign bearing Tripucka’s name.
Carr said her family has many memories of growing up on Spring Street in Bloomfield and watched the first Foley Field get demolished and rebuilt.
“As an eight year old he had seen the very first Foley Field demolished,” said Carr. Tripucka would put left over pieces of the demolished field in his small wagon to then take back to his home to use for fuel. Tripucka was also a witness to the reconstruction of Foley Field. As a child in the midst of the Great Depression, his daughter said, “He was watching this amazing structure go up.”
She said her father always wanted to play football for Bloomfield High School, “He was not even 10 years old when he was determined that he would play at Foley Field.”
The school board plans a formal dedication later this year.
“You hear [Tripucka] talk about his career and he talks about what it meant to be a Bloomfield Bengal,” said Carr, “And while [Tripucka’s] health is failing I will manage to get him over there so that he can see this - because nothing will please him more I can assure you.”
