PALMER—Long before I started watching Stranger Things on Netflix, I knew another “Eleven” that seemingly had magic powers during the 1980s.
But this “Eleven” was a lot closer than Hawkins, Indiana–he was a local high school football player in the small, western Massachusetts town where I grew up. Mark Gallagher, a dynamic overall athlete and quarterback, wore number 11 for my hometown Palmer Panthers.
In numerology, the number 11 is known as a “master number,” often symbolizing intuition, enlightenment and even a connection to the divine. So it was a fitting number for Gallagher, who’s game was lightning quick, intelligent, and featured dazzling plays that often left onlookers at Palmer’s Legion Field in disbelief.
Next to the impressive football skills, his trademark blonde mullet hairstyle and winning smile made him hard to forget. Although small in stature, his confidence, ego and natural athletic ability made him a unique blend of Hulk Hogan and Marty McFly–a kind of mythic hero that easily captivated a community and was easy to root for.
Gallagher led our Panthers to back-to-back undefeated seasons and consecutive Division 2 Western Massachusetts Super Bowl Championships as a junior in 1985 and a senior in 1986. A 41-0 shutout of Hoosac Valley and a 28-0 blanking of Drury in those title games further strengthened Gallagher’s football legacy.
Palmer was great on both sides of the football, both offensively and defensively. As former Panthers head coach and Mark’s father, Bill Gallagher, noted in a MassLive article from March 2016, Palmer racked up seven shutouts in 1985 and scored more than 300 points for the season.
“The town was excited, the school was excited and it was an unbelievable experience,” said coach Gallagher in the article, describing the championship run.
I remember that excitement vividly, especially the joyous victory parades through the center of town after the Super Bowl wins. For at least a portion of one of those parades, I rode on the shoulders of Dan Wasiuk, a memorable Palmer player and neighbor who lived five houses down from me. It was quite a view from the top of the world for me as just a seven-year-old kid.
But that lofty perspective doesn’t last forever. Recently, I was saddened to learn that Gallagher, 57, passed away unexpectedly in February.
After graduating from Palmer High School in 1987, Gallagher moved on to Worcester to play football at the College of the Holy Cross where he earned All-Patriot League, All-ECAC and All-
New England honors. He graduated in 1991 and was inducted into the Holy Cross Hall of Fame in 2009.
Converted from quarterback to wide receiver and wearing number one instead of 11, Gallagher helped lead the Crusaders to a 39-4-1 record during his four years. He ranks fourth all-time in career receiving yards (2,239) and career receiving touchdowns (18) and stands sixth in career receptions (158) and ninth in career all-purpose yards (3,476). Gallagher is also the program’s career leader in both punt returns (96) and punt return yards (806).
A memorial post to Gallagher was recently shared on the Holy Cross football Facebook page.
“Mark was an outstanding player and teammate for our program. Mr. Excitement was truly that! He was a touchdown waiting to happen! A great leader and captain–one of the best to proudly wear the purple!” wrote former Holy Cross football coach Mark Duffner in the comments.
Wearing purple for Holy Cross and blue for Palmer, Gallagher represented the best of both colors, which just happen to be next to each other on the color wheel. Purple is created by combining blue and red; you can’t have purple without blue. In a similar fashion, Gallagher’s success with the Panthers was also a key ingredient of his accomplishments with the Crusaders.
Growing up in Palmer, I idolized Mark as most grade school boys in town did back then. My friends and I would argue over who got to be “Mark Gallagher” in our Nerf football games played on the grass behind one of the end zones at Panther home games.
But my fondest memory of Mark was a personal “letter” I received from him during his days as a high school football sensation. I can’t remember if it arrived at my house through the regular mail or by another means, but I’ll always remember how it made me feel.
When I opened that envelope addressed to me, I found a single sheet of folded white paper with a brief message written in pen. It said something like this: “Dear Mike: Keep up the good work and all your dreams will come true!” It was signed “#11 Mark Gallagher.”
I couldn’t believe it. My idol, Mark Gallagher, had written me a letter! I also now had his autograph! In my mind, that signature was sure to be very valuable some day. In reality, that handwritten note was priceless–it was my prized possession for many years and I bragged about it proudly to all my friends.
All these years later, I’m still not sure who asked Mark to write that letter, although I suspect my parents or a Palmer High School teacher who lived in our neighborhood might have had something to do with it. Over time, the physical copy of his letter got lost in the shuffle of things but I’ll always remember the personal impact it had on me.
My condolences on Mark’s passing go out to all his family and friends in both Worcester and western Massachusetts. It’s not often that an iconic figure like Mark can have such a profound impact on two different places in one lifetime. Number 11 will always be number one in our collective hearts.
Mike Vigneux is a freelance writer in Worcester with more than 20 years of experience in the fields of municipal government, communications, and public relations. An avid fan of all sports, Mike enjoys telling the stories of local athletes and their teams. He holds two degrees from Clark University, a bachelor of arts in Communication and a master of science in Professional Communication. He can be reached at Mikevigs@gmail.com
