Former Nashua football standout Duane Briggs, shown on the Nashua South sidelines a few years ago, will be inducted into the Legends of Holman Stadium on July 4 along with family members Al and Mel Brigges. (Telegraph file photo by TOM KING)

They were all legends to those who watched them perform at Holman Stadium.

And this July 4, another group will receive its just due with induction into the Nashua Lions Club Holman Stadium Sports Legends of Fame. The ceremony returns to its holiday/pre-fireworks slot after being held in August last summer due to the pandemic.

Included in this year’s class are members of the famous Briggs family: the late Al Briggs, Duane Briggs and Mel Briggs, plus the late Eddie Dobrowolski.

Dobrowolski is remembered as one of the greatest running backs in Nashua High history, a 1947 NHS graduate but a captain of the famed 1946 team that went 12-0, including a post season win against Andrew Jackson High in Jacksonville, Fla.. Dobrowolski had two touchdowns in that game and scored a total of 229 points during his high school career. He had 22 touchdowns in 1946, and went on to become one of the nation’s top rushers at Syracuse University.

Mel Briggs was a 1970 Nashua grad, scored four TDs in a memorable win over Manchester Central his senior year, and was also a super track athlete. He was an All-State football player for three years, a team MVP and All-American honorable mention.

But in football he went on to play and then coach as an assistant at Boston College and was a scout for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the late 1970s.

He followed in the footsteps of uncles Duane, and also Al. The late Al Briggs was called “All American Al” for a good reason, he was an All-State player in 1957-58 and was named an All-American end in 1958. He was also a standout in baseball, track and basketball. He went on to a dedicated career in youth services.

Duane Briggs, who still lives in Nashua, was a standout running back from the early 1960s, as well as a two-time State Decathlon champion.

He was one of the so-called “Harveymen”, playing for legendary Nashua coach Buzz Harvey and with future NFL quarterback (think Detroit Lions) Greg Landry. His finals season in 1963 the Panthers were anointed state champions by their 7-2 record (no playoff). They beat Gardner, Mass.28-20 on Thanksgiving in his final game in which he went out with a touchdown. Briggs is definitely part of Nashua and Holman Stadium history.

His senior season, Briggs made a lot of plays. It was a year in which a game against Waltham (Mass.) was rescheduled due to rain and then canceled altogether when the country shut down due to the JFK assassination.

Plenty of history — the stuff the Legends of Holman Stadium are made of.

Newsletter