Joe Manson has never met and, until recently, knew very little about one of the greatest athletes ever to play for Danvers High School: former National Football League star Mark Bavaro.
A junior at Danvers High, Manson will now be forever linked to Bavaro for their exploits on the track.
The 16-year-old Manson broke the 31-year-old school shot put record that Bavaro previously held by throwing 51 feet 3 inches in a meet against Beverly earlier this month.
Bavaro held the Danvers indoor track shot put record with a throw of 51-0, which he set in 1981 during his senior year as a Falcon.
"I was definitely excited because it was Mark Bavaro, who played in the Super Bowl and the Pro Bowl (with the New York Giants), and I beat his record," the 6-foot-2, 245-pound Manson said. "I was shocked."
In truth, Manson was only shocked because of the elite company he was joining. He had been showing boatloads of promise since the day he first began throwing as a high schooler.
"He has been one of the best throwers in the league since he was a freshman," Danvers head coach John Norris said. "He threw 45-46 feet then and last year he threw 47 or 48. He was definitely looking at breaking 50 feet this winter and getting the school record."
The only problem with chasing the school record was that no one was sure what the mark was. Everyone seemed pretty certain that Bavaro was the record holder, but there were some conflicting opinions on what the top distance was.
Norris spent countless hours at the Danvers Library looking through old newspaper articles on microfiche just to get a ballpark figure. The longest distance Norris could find was 51 feet, but it wasn't confirmed until Danvers High athletic director John Sullivan contacted the Bavaro family.
"We were unsure (of the record) because the coach at the time didn't keep records and there was some inconsistency from people we talked to," Norris said. "Some people thought it was 52 feet, but John Sullivan got the actual information. It was pretty good to get a 31-year old school record."
Crash course on Bavaro
Of course, Manson had to wait a little extra time to find out.
When he threw 51-3 against Beverly, he had an inkling that he was the new record holder, but he had to wait for confirmation.
"It felt perfect. A good throw comes easy and as soon as it came off my hand, I knew it was going to be a good throw," he said. "I was psyched. When I threw that, I knew it was a record."
Two weeks ago — around the same time that Norris and Sullivan were searching for accurate DHS shot put records — the New England Patriots were in the process of throttling the Denver Broncos in the AFC Divisional Playoff round when superstar tight end Rob Gronkowski was being compared to Bavaro by football analyst Phil Simms.
Then last Sunday night, there was Bavaro, one of the Giants' all-time great players and best tight ends in NFL history, handing over the George Halas Trophy to Giants' owners John Mara and Steve Tisch in the locker room after his former team defeated the host San Fransisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.
Not bad company for Manson.
"I watched some (football) videos of him on YouTube and I was like, 'Wow, that's crazy,'" said Manson, who is also a defensive tackle/offensive guard on the Danvers football team. "I've known that he was big in football, but I didn't know much about him. I Googled him and looked at all his stats when I was trying to find his (school) record on the Internet. I couldn't find that, but I looked at all his (football) accomplishments."
Bavaro made his name in football, playing his college ball at the University of Notre Dame before embarking on a nine-year NFL career that included stops with the Giants, Cleveland Browns and Philadelphia Eagles. But he was an excellent high school track athlete as well.
55 feet is the goal
Norris is friends with Gary Smith, Bavaro's track coach during his time at Danvers High, so he has heard the stories about Bavaro's dominance in track and field.
"Gary told me Mark was the best track athlete he ever saw," Norris said. "Not only did he have the shot put record, but he still has the high jump record at 6-foot-6. That's such an unusual combination. You can see why he was an All-Pro when he could high jump 6-6 and throw 50 feet."
Manson is certainly on pace to become one of those all-time great Danvers track athletes as well.
The championship portion of the indoor track schedule is still to come, as is his outdoor season and Manson's entire senior year.
"The No. 1 throw in the state is 54-8, and my goal is 55. That's my magic number," Manson said about his shot put goal. "I can definitely do it; it's just a little part of the technique that I need to perfect. It wouldn't take much effort.
"The key to improving is once you have the technique, it really doesn't go away. Then it's all about getting stronger and bigger."
