You can’t help but notice when you’re traveling on Richmond Street from Port Richmond into Bridesburg that you’ve entered into Cougar Country. The well kept, always crowded fields in the shadow of the Betsy Ross Bridge are a testament to the Bridesburg Fathers’ Club history and traditions.

And four decades worth of traditions were celebrated when the Bridesburg Cougars Sports Association celebrated their 40th Anniversary on Saturday, April 14th.

It was a phenomenal day to be a Bridesburg Cougar as hundreds of players, coaches, parents and fans met at the Bridesburg Recreation Center that morning for the annual “Cougar March” south on Richmond Street to their home field.  They marched with an escort by the Philadelphia Police Department’s 15th District and Philadelphia Fire Department’s Ladder 33 truck roaring its sirens and horn signals.

Leading the parade was the official mascot of the Bridesburg Cougars, #39, Casey the Cougar who was pumped up and ready to roar into his 40th season of playing ball in the ‘Burg.

With clear skies and the sun shining, State Representative John Taylor threw out the first pitch of the season and even the Phillie Phanatic visited from Citizens Bank Park to entertain and get the Cougars ready to play ball.

It was a picture out of Norman Rockwell’s snapshots of America-a ball field chock full of families. “The Cougars are so family oriented, and family-friendly,” said Frank Cichon Jr., President of the Cougars. “It’s probably one of the only organizations that even if you don’t know that much about a sport, you can find yourself being a head coach of your child’s team, and we wouldn’t have it any other way, learn as you go.”

“We all know each other and each other’s kids; all the older Cougar parents know all of the younger Cougar parents and their kids,” he said. “At the various sports games, it’s not uncommon to have a crowd full of grandparents rooting on the Cougar teams, both young and older players because it brings everybody back together.”

Four Decades of Sportsmanship

The beginning of the Bridesburg Cougars started when Jim Lovett, a local Cub Scout Master approached Frank Swanson at the Bridesburg Rec and asked if he could start a baseball league. Lovett already was playing baseball in the street with his cub scouts but he needed a field and more helping hands.

That first year, the Bridesburg Fathers’ Club organized their first season to be played on the field behind the Bridesburg Boys and Girls Club and the rest is Cougar history. Records show that on October 8, 1975 at 8 p.m., the by-laws of the Bridesburg Fathers’ Club were voted on and submitted at Corkery’s Tavern.

By year two, basketball was added to the league and so was a growing girls’ softball team that catered to girls ages 8-14. The first year of girls’ softball saw two teams playing in the Northeast Philadelphia Rec League and the Bridesburg Cougars girls took home the City championship that year. And from then on, it got bigger and better for the kids of Bridesburg.

In Memory of Carol Gallagher

This year’s 40th Anniversary also marked a dedication to Carol Gallagher, a Bridesburg mother of four daughters who grew up playing softball with the Cougars. Gallagher was a driving force of making sure girls had all the opportunities to play softball as she wore several hats as coach, organizer, carpooler, maintenance crew, fan, spectator and most of all, mother.

She passed away in 2004 but her memory still lives on with the Carol Gallagher Scholarship, overseen by her daughters, which awards scholarships to girls playing softball heading to a higher education.

In Carol’s memory, the Bridesburg Cougars dedicated the middle field, the softball field, in her honor and a banner adorned with her picture and familiar catchphrase, “Oh My Stars” now watches over the third base line.

“My mom would have loved to be here on Opening Day,” said her daughter, Sadie Gallagher, who with tears in her eyes thanked everyone for the dedication. “She loved coaching us and all the other girls in Bridesburg; so many girls were able to play sports because of her just loving the game and her family and neighborhood.”

The Gallagher Family then presented the Bridesburg Cougars a check for $1,000 in Carol Gallagher’s name.