At 90, Bruins' Biggest Super Fan Wants One More Stanley Cup
REVERE (CBS) - You can call yourself a Bruins fan, but just know that you cannot compare to Roger Naples.
The Revere man is one of the founders of the legendary Gallery Gods, the most die-hard of die-hard Bs fans.
"If there's anything I want to see again, I want to see another Stanley Cup," the 90-year-old said as he sat his living room surrounded by memorabilia. "I drank champagne out of the Stanley Cup. Yup, I drank champagne out of the Stanley Cup, back in 1938."
Back then, Naples was just a teenager, hanging outside the Garden. Player Ray Getliffe spotted him, and asked if he was going to a game.
"He took me into the dressing room and introduced me to all the players," Naples explains. "I thought they were just great guys, giving me sticks and pucks and oh, geez it was just fantastic."
"I hooked an awful lot of school to go over to practice sessions. I used to sneak into practice sessions," he mused.
Tickets back then were $0.40. And though the price tag has risen just a bit since then, Naples has always signed up. He is, as best as anyone can tell, the team's oldest continual season ticket holder.
More than just a fan, Naples became part of the Bruins' inner circle. You name the team legend, he'll tell you about the times they came to dinner at his home, or the time they came through when he needed a favor.
He still wears a cross on a chain around his neck -- a Christmas gift from Ray Bourque when he was a rookie.
Bobby Orr, though, is perhaps Naples' closest friend from the team. Naples teared up when he showed a reporter a framed photo in his collection from the night Orr's jersey went into the Garden's rafters.
"They're all close friends, every single one of them," Naples said.
"There isn't one. There isn't one you could say isn't a friend of mine."
Naples pauses, smiling.
"Yeah, maybe there is one. But I won't mention his name." He laughs. "Yeah, I won't mention his name."
