Mark Bavaro on street hockey, meeting Russ Francis, Eck, and winning Danvers' 'Onion Bowl'

The latest edition of our “New England Roots” series features former NFL tight end Mark Bavaro. A Danvers native, he would go to become one of the great tight ends of the 1980s and 1990s, winning a pair of Super Bowls with the Giants and catching 351 passes for 4,733 yards and 39 touchdowns in his nine-year career. Along the way, he earned the respect of Bill Belichick, who has talked him up on many occasions as someone who deserves to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “I don't think Mark has ever got the recognition that any of us who coached him or played against him know that he deserves,” Belichick said in a 2015 interview. Bavaro currently lives in Boxford.

BSJ: What was your youth sports experience like in New England when you were growing up?

Mark Bavaro: It was great. I grew up in Danvers, and the town had a very active youth football program. We had enough kids to have eight teams in town. It was great — kids in town got to play against each other, and there was a nice little rivalry. It was a lot of fun. My coach Mickey Ouimette, he was the best. He was a great guy to bounce things off of, even in high school and college, as well as the pros. He’s been with me throughout my career — he was essentially the reason for my career. Mickey made me a tight end from the get-go. I started playing when I was 10 — that was my first year in football.

What’s your most vivid youth sports memory?

There weren’t many bad things, other than the fact that I got my ass kicked a lot. The good thing was my last year in youth football, my team — the Packers — won the town title. Back then, Danvers was a farm town. It used to be called “Onion Town.” Our town Super Bowl was the Onion Bowl. We won it my last year with the Packers. We got to go to the Y to swim and get McDonald’s hamburgers. I was probably 12 or 13, in the seventh or either grade.

Favorite Boston sports team growing up?

I liked all the Boston sports teams, but I wasn’t a huge fan of any one (team). I didn’t know sports that well enough to get too excited about it. My one vivid memory of being a kid and getting to meet a pro athlete was when I met Russ Francis. He had a friend who was playing semi-pro ball, and one of my Dad’s buddies was coaching a semi-pro team that we went to see out in East Boston. Russ had buddy on one of the teams, and someone recognized him — we went up to get his autograph. He was very cool. What was even cooler? I was able to meet him later when I got to the NFL and he was playing for the Niners and I was with the Giants.

But I loved the Celtics and Patriots. I loved watching Steve Grogan — he was tough. I loved Bobby Orr. Johnny McKenzie was one of my favorites. I really loved the 1970s Bruins — I remember watching them with my father. Don’t forget the Red Sox — Rico Petrocelli was my favorite. He was Italian so we had to root for him. We’d watch the Celtics, and he’d turn the volume down on the TV and he we’d turn the radio on and listen to Johnny Most. My Dad would love sports — he would take us out to play pepper in the backyard. He was an athlete himself — he was drafted by the Niners out of Holy Cross. He was a great football player, but was only there for a year or two before he came home and was a teacher. He was always big into sports — he was a track coach at Chelsea High for 40 years, and he also coached football.

Favorite Boston sports athlete growing up?

When I was growing up, it might have been Gerry Cheevers. I was always a goalie on our street hockey teams because I could take a beating. They’d stick me in the net and pepper me. But my favorite athlete lately — because of some of what’s gone on off the field — is Dennis Eckersley. I was a huge fan of his as a kid growing up — he was always tough and nasty and had a lot of grit. But I’ve gotten to know him over the last 10 or 15 years, and he’s a great guy. I love him — he’s a good friend. It’s just great when someone you admire as a kid turns out to be so cool. He’s turned his life around. I really admire him.

Favorite memory of a Boston sports event?

It’s funny, because I remember 1975 and the Red Sox vaguely, but it was such a disappointment as a kid. The memory that really sticks out the most has to be when I was really younger was when the Bruins won the Stanley Cup in 1972. I was so young, but I was over at my grandparents’ house in East Boston and all of a sudden, the streets started going crazy, people were running out of their apartments and people were honking their horns. I was probably only 8, 9 or 10, but people were so happy. I was like, ‘Wow.’ I remember looking out the window and seeing the city go crazy. That’s what sports does to people. When we won with the Giants, I thought back to that, and was wondering if people were in the street, honking their horns.

What is your favorite Boston sports venue?

I would say Fenway, because I didn’t really go to the Garden that much. I’d go to see the Sox and it was fun. I mean, I can’t say Gillette or Schaefer. Schaefer place was a dump — I mean, I never got to a game there, but you could see. I don’t really go to the Bruins or Celtics. And there’s just something about baseball — I mean, everyone sits in the bleachers at some point in their life.

Boston sports team you keep the most track of?

Believe it or not, I don’t follow really any of them these days. Someone at my office just said this was a big (stretch) for the Celtics. I mean, when their two big guys went down, I kind of wrote them off. If I follow anybody, it’s probably the Patriots, only because I sort of have to know what’s going on with them a bit. I probably don’t know enough, but just enough to have a conversation.

As a sports fan, what’s the best thing about being in New England?

You want to say the people, and it’s probably true. We lived in Florida for a couple of years and moved back for a host of reasons, but I really didn’t like seeing my kids not growing up as Boston kids and Boston fans. There’s something about the fans here — they can be a pain in the ass, but they’re full of life. They have great character and great passion, and they have this love for Boston and the Boston sports scene that you just don’t see in other parts of the country. I moved back to make sure they have some idea. I like their tenaciousness. They’re good fans. I mean. It’ll be interesting to see what Patriots fans will be like when Bill Belichick and Tom Brady leave, but they’re good. I mean, for the last 20 years, how can you not be a huge Boston sports guy? They’ve owned the sports world. They’re good people — I always loved the long-suffering Sox fans before the 2004 World Series. I always loved when they would talk about the curse, and the fact that there was so much joy when they finally won it.

What’s your relationship like with Bill Belichick?

I love Bill. In my opinion — I mean, you look at the record, and it’s not even a matter of opinion anymore. It’s an accepted fact that he’s the best coach in NFL history. It’s hard to argue against that, just from a production standpoint. I just like the way he coaches, and what he expects from his players. A lot of poor coaches don’t have that — they don’t know what they want. Bill gets guys who can fulfill those expectations. He’s just not throwing darts at a board and hoping things work out.

You know he references you to his team and in press conferences?

I think the reasons he likes to reference me was that I was a guy who kept his mouth shut and didn’t cause too many problems and did what the team asked me to do. I never put my personal wants and desires above the team. I remember seeing Keyshawn Johnson’s book (Just Give Me The Damn Ball), and I never understood why people were like that. I mean, throw me the football, don’t throw me the football... If not, I’m fine blocking.

Was it tough playing for Bill Parcells and Belichick?

It wasn’t always fun playing — I knew some guys who played for Parcells who ended up in therapy after their careers were over. But it was fun winning as much as we did. When you’re talking about how short an NFL career is, you can put up with some misery for a few years. I mean, winning Super Bowls is what every player wants to do. There are players out there who don’t give a (expletive). But at the heart of it, you want to be the best and win a Super Bowl. You don’t always get to do it on your terms. It’s hard, and not fun. And it was even worse back then. I know Bill can be tough on guys today, especially if you’re not used to being treated like crap. We went into it expecting to be treated like crap. I think when it comes to some guys these days, when Bill is mean, to then, they don’t know how to handle it. You have to be the right kind of player and right kind of person to play for Parcells and Belichick.