A season to remember: Undefeated 1969 football team relives the glory

If the season the Morton West High School football team had in 1969 happened today, filmmakers would be lining up around the block for the rights to make a movie about it.

Shortly after the Chicago Cubs squandered away their chances at a playoff berth and championship, Berwyn residents were treated to a championship by the Morton West varsity football team. It was their second straight Des Plaines Valley League championship, but first season without a loss.

The season almost never happened.

A district-wide teachers’ strike canceled the school’s opening game against Riverside Brookfield High School, and the first conference game against Addison Trail was on the verge of being canceled.

With teachers on strike, players were not allowed to practice at the school or have contact with their coaches. That did not stop the 30-plus man team from coming together at Proksa Park to run sprints, work out and practice with a playbook used the previous season.

Teachers came to an agreement and the Morton West Falcons began the season with a 26-6 victory over Addison Trail  Sept. 20, 1969. The team went on to win the remaining six games on the schedule. With no playoffs, the Falcons were left with an undefeated season, high ranking, and second straight league title.

Forty years later, many of the players from the championship team come together annually to remember the time of their lives, and look back on life-defining moments.

QB takes to the air

The starting quarterback of the undefeated season went on to lead a faster and more explosive aerial attack after his Morton career.

Kenny Klimes led the option-style offense in his senior year behind center. The Falcons were 5-0 facing their toughest opponent, East Leyden High School, led by quarterback Mike Shanahan.

“Every year against East Leyden was the hardest hitting game,” Klimes said. “We knew we’d be hurting after that game.”

The Falcons won 29-26. Klimes went on to the Air Force Academy, and Shanahan went on to play quarterback at Eastern Illinois University. He later won two Super Bowls as head coach of the Denver Broncos.

Klimes spent 20 years in the Air Force flying fighter jets. He retired in 1994 and became a captain for Southwest Airlines, flying to more different destinations around the world each week, visiting Berwyn frequently.

While they have not put on pads in quite a while, Klimes said the kid come out when the teammates get together.

“We go back in time and talk about things that happened and tease each other the same way we did back then,” Klimes said.

Chuck Soumar, The Ides of March band member and former teammate of Klimes, brought him on stage for what Klimes thought to be a salute to veterans at the band’s concert in Westchester earlier this month.

But Soumar would not let Klimes leave the stage, and the former leader of the offense was handed a guitar to play with the band for a song. Klimes did his best performance of air guitar to “Eye of the Tiger,” written by Ides band member Jim Peterik.

“It was fun. I got to be a rock star for a song and that was pretty cool,” Klimes said. “He got me, so I have to get him back.”

Fullback leads parishioners

Craig Baldacci has gone from being coached on the Morton football field to working under the ultimate head coach.

It was 40 years ago when Baldacci, the son of a former Berwyn police officer, ran for 112 yards and scored four touchdowns in a 38-13 victory over Downers Grove South High School. The headline of the Oct. 1, 1969, edition of the Berwyn Life read ‘Craig Baldacci Runs Wild For Falcons’ following his performance.

“My mother could have gotten as many yards with those guys blocking in front of me,” the fullback said four decades later about his offensive line.

Following the season, Baldacci went on to play football at Eastern Illinois University. Instead of looking to hit his former rival, Baldacci became a fraternity brother of quarterback Mike Shanahan.

“There are two quarterbacks I have respect for: Kenny Klimes and Mike Shanahan,” Baldacci said. “They’re both as tough of they come.”

After college, the former fullback spent a year teaching before entering the ministry. In 1979, he became Pastor Baldacci at Long Grove Community Church in north suburban Long Grove, and will celebrate his 30th anniversary at the church at the end of the year.

But no matter what has happened in the past 40 years, the four years of Morton football were as important as anything for Baldacci.

“Being with those guys and coaches was a very life defining experience for me,” Baldacci said. “It was more than just that year, it was something that transpired in the four years and culminated and showed itself in the championship.”

Backup turned rock star

Chuck Soumar saw his time on the playing field diminish during his senior year, but his time as one of the most popular students in school increased after football season.

Soumar, the Morton Band’s first string trumpet player and second string quarterback to Kenny Klimes, was used as holder for extra point attempts and was put in at quarterback during the latter portion of games that were already decided.

Following the team’s game against East Leyden, The Ides of March leader Jim Peterik called Soumar in need of a trumpet player for two weekend concerts in Michigan, the same weekend as their final game against Hinsdale South High School.

Soumar was faced with a tough decision: Finish out his football career with an undefeated season on the line or play with the Ides.

“I wasn’t that good of a football player, but I was a hell of a trumpet player,” Soumar said.
Soumar chose to join the band for what he thought was a one-time gig. The band liked his performance so much they added a second trumpet player, and six months later their song “Vehicle” was the fastest selling single in Warner Bros. history.

Soumar continues to play with The Ides of March, performing more than 40 concerts around the country annually. Earlier this month, the band opened for The Buckinghams in Westchester and with Foghat in southern Illinois. Next year, Home Avenue outside the school home to the 1969 undefeated Falcons will be dedicated “The Ides of March Way.”

“There’s no regrets, and I’m really glad I have those memories,” Soumar said. “I’m still living the dream in the rock ‘n’ roll world.”