42nd Hall of Fame Induction - Graber Associates

BERNIE TELISZEWSKI ‘57Baseball and Football2010 INDUCTEE“Football will never die at BostonCollege,” wrote Boston Herald columnistRalph Wheeler, “As long as the Eaglesturn out such outstanding gentlemen asBernie Teliszewski, winner of the TomScanlon Award at the 18th AnnualVarsity Club Dinner last night at theHotel Statler.”The story lauded Teliszewski, the quietgentleman from Saint Margaret’s Parishin Dorchester, for his gracious acceptancespeech. He thanked footballcoach, Herman McGrath, who encouragedhim to keep playing sports despitepoor eyesight. He thanked Englishteacher Nat Hasenfus, who steered himto Boston College and a scholarship; hepaid tribute to his mentor Bernie Kilroy,who taught him that football was just ameans to an education; and to his parents,who came from war-ravaged Polandto build a better life in America.That Varsity Club dinner in 1957 marked theend of Teliszewski’s football days, and anotherseason of baseball was yet to come. Butfor three autumns, he was the workhorse ofthe Eagle backfield.Teammate Dick Gagliardi, an end and fullback,recalled, “He was a guy who came toplay. A real competitor and nice guy. It wasn’tsurprising that he turned out as he did,because he had such a work ethic. He waswell built, very strong, but not what you’dcall big.”The 6-1, 190 pound Teliszewski stepped intoa huge pair of cleats as a sophomore in 1954.Joe Johnson, leading rusher for three straightyears, had graduated. But the team finisheda sparkling 8-1, giving coach Mike Holovakhis best single-season record ever.Teliszewski was a major reason for theEagles’ surprising performance. In the thirdgame, he donned contact lenses for the firsttime and scored two touchdowns in a 44-0romp over VMI. The contacts improved hisperipheral vision and allowed him to pickout holes in the line as they opened up.Power, not raw speed, was Bernie’s forte. Henever led the team in rushing yardage, buthis six touchdowns in 1956 gave him thescoring title to go along with a 4.2 yards percarry mark. Other highlights included athree-touchdown performance againstMarquette and the only TD in a 7-6 upset ofVillanova.Frank Gallagher, who roomed with Bernie insophomore year, remembers him as a quietThe Teliszewski Family: Front: Juliana Symes, JenniferKussmann, Mary (Teliszewski) Fallon and JanetTeliszewski. Rear: Bernie Teliszewski Jr., StephenTeliszewski, Joanne Teliszewski, Joseph Fallon.and studious sort. “He studied a lot, kept tohimself. He’d get up, go to classes, go topractice, come back to the room and study,and then he’d go to sleep. He got greatgrades, and he had a stick-to-it attitude. He’dgo home every chance he got. I know he hada girlfriend, and she was the one he eventuallymarried.“Academics were no easy ride for the lad fromBoston Tech. He struggled at first, posting anaverage in the mid-seventies. By the time hewas a senior, he’d moved up to an average of87, the Dean’s List, and the Alpha Sigma NuHonor Society.Football may have earned Teliszewski hisBoston College education, but baseball washis sport. Bernie’s neighbor and lifelongfriend Fran Toland played Little League andCYO ball with Bernie on the sandlots at thelower end of Columbia Road, even before theSoutheast Expressway was built.“He was a man among boys when we wereplaying,” said Toland. “A big, rugged kid. Hecould play any position. And he could crusha ball.”“One time, in high school, when he was tryingout for the Hearst All-Stars, they askedBernie to pitch so they could see what hecould do. Paul Daly, who was at BostonCommerce High and went on to be Bernie’sclassmate at BC, was catching. Bernie threwso hard that he broke Paul’s fingers.”Even before enrolling at Boston College,Teliszewski was a local phenom, earning allscholastichonors in both football and baseball.As a high school senior and again as anEagle freshman, he made the prestigiousHearst Sandlot New England team thatplayed its all-star games in Fenway Park.While at Boston College, he also starredfor the Halifax, Nova Scotia Citadels duringthe summer.For his baseball career at the Heights,Teliszewski compiled a .315 battingaverage. As a junior, he hit .390, and insenior year he was team captain and batted.444. He led the Greater Bostonleague in home runs and RBI’s that seasonand was named the league MVP. Hisfavorite opponent was most likely BostonUniversity. In one game against theTerriers, Bernie homered twice anddrove in all Eagle runs in a 4-3 victoryover the Terriers.After graduation, Teliszewski gave hisdream of playing professional baseball awhirl and signed on with the BrooklynDodgers organization. He played forDodgers’ affiliates in Georgia, Oklahoma,and West Virginia in 1957.Baseball as a profession didn’t turn out to bethe same game that Teliszewski had playedin his youthful days. He was released by theDodgers’ Orlando, Florida team in 1960,and returned home to wed Mary Dunn, hishigh school sweetheart. Bernie entered thebusiness world, first with a carpet manufacturingfirm and later on with companies thatmade artificial turf for football stadia. Hewas involved with the first installations ofplaying surfaces at Boston College and inFoxboro. He also coached son Bernie Jr. andhis generation of Dorchester kids in LittleLeague.Bernie passed away in 1974. He had two sisters:Eugenia, who is deceased; andStephanie (Zweigart). He and Mary had sixchildren: Juliana (Symes), who passed awayin 2011; Bernie, Jennifer, Janet, Stephen,and Joanne. Mary eventually remarried JoeFallon, another gentleman from Dorchester.Bernie Teliszewski’s induction to the BostonCollege Hall of Fame is more than a muchdeservedrecognition of a superb two-sportathlete. It is also a timely reminder to allmembers of the Boston College community.Bernie, son of working–class immigrant parents,is the epitome of the student for whomBoston College was established nearly a centuryand a half ago. He was a kid who got hischance, and he did it the hard way.37