From Shurtleff to CHS, Richie Zaluski is regarded as one of the city’s best athletes
By Cary Shuman
If the Chelsea High School Hall of Fame makes a comeback, Richard Zaluski deserves a spot. He was a talented three-sport athlete (basketball, baseball, and football) who had much success as a Red Devil in the mid-1970s.
Now 66 years old and a 33-year employee of the U.S. Postal Service who retired five years ago, Zaluski lives in East Boston with his wife, Mary. They have a son, Ryan Zaluski, 32.
“I married an East Boston girl,” said Richie. “We’ve been married 38 years.”
Prior to his career in the U.S. Postal Service, Zaluski served as a U.S. Army sergeant on an air combat unit, working on an attack helicopter squadron for three years. “I was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas,” said Zaluski. “I was an aircraft structure repairman.”
Following his military service, Zaluski was a sheet metal worker and employed in HVAC before taking a position in the United States Postal service as a letter carrier.
Richie is the son of the late Henry and Mary Zaluski. He has a younger brother, Steven “Pie” Zaluski, who resides in Revere.
His life in sports began at Shurtleff
Richie Zaluski attended Shurtleff School where he thrived in intramural basketball and softball and was a member of the Shurtleff Sports Club.
“Mr. [Arnold] Goodman ran both leagues and the Sports Club, and it was so much fun and the competition was really good,” recalled Zaluski. “Mr. Goodman was a great teacher and organizer.”
Interestingly, Zaluski was a teammate of another excellent multi-sport athlete that also went by “Richie Z.” – and that would be Richie Zullo. Together, Zaluski and Zullo led their team to the Shurtleff Intramural Softball League championship. They would later team up for the 1975-76 Chelsea High School varsity basketball team alongside center Mike Wozniak, also a Shurtleff product, David Nalchajian, Mike Perry, Michael Breau, and Jay Seigal, among others.
Zaluski also remembered Mr. Goodman overseeing the Shurtleff and City of Chelsea Lodge of Elks’ free throw contests.
Zaluski was also a Chelsea Little League All-Star for the Mets and a No. 1 draft pick and champion baseball player for Larry Notkin’s Cubs in the Pony League.
“I played catcher, first base, everywhere, and I was a lefthander,” said Zaluski, who later played softball for the Chelsea Tap and Saunders Asbestos Service teams.
Big-time success at CHS
A 1977 CHS graduate, Zaluski was a starting guard for head coach Jack Niven’s Red Devils. Kevin Shea was the junior varsity head coach at the time.
Zaluski had a soft shooting touch as a high-scoring 6-foot-1-inch forward for Chelsea, who qualified for the state tournament in Richie’s senior year.
“I was the second-leading scorer in the GBL,” recalled Zaluski. “I averaged 19.8. [CHS teammate] Dave Molloy edged me by one-tenth of a point. He was at 19.9.”
Zaluski said that Bobby Walker was in the backcourt with Molloy. “And Harvey Raley and George Hurst were in the frontcourt with me,” he remembered. “We won a state tournament game. That was a really good team.”
Councilor-at-Large Leo Robinson, a former CHS backcourtman, said that Zaluski “had game.”
“Richie was a great shooter and very athletic,” said Robinson. “That was actually a terrific team with Richie Z., Dave Molloy, and Bobby Walker. I don’t think two Chelsea players had ever finished 1-2 in scoring in the GBL like Richie and Dave did that season.”
Zaluski also had the distinction of playing for head coach Joe Bevere’s 1975 Eastern Mass. championship baseball team.
“I got some at-bats that season as a sophomore,” said Zaluski, who threw left-handed and batted right-handed, a somewhat rare combination. “What a great team that was – Bobby Spinney, Bob Ham, Kevin Veator, Mike Lush, Jerry Dion – we went all the way in the tournament.”
Zaluski played varsity football for one season under head coach Todd Flaherty. “I was the back-up tight end to Al Jaynes, who was a great athlete who had played in Chelsea Pop Warner football for years. I had never played football but Coach Flaherty was looking for some athletes, so I decided to try out for the team.”
Looking back at his CHS playing days, Zaluski said, “I still have amazing memories. I wish I could turn back the clock, but I’m very happy with what I accomplished as an athlete. I root for Chelsea High teams.”
A Shurtleff School kid who helped pack the State Armory for CHS home games, Richard Zaluski awaits a much-deserved call from Chelsea High School Athletic Director Amanda Alpert and the possibly re-launched Hall of Fame Committee.
Yes, Richard Zaluski was that good – Hall of Fame-caliber, to be sure.