The Lawrence (MA) Tower Hill Rinky Dinks was the name of a neighborhood athletic club organized by neighborhood teenagers during the Depression of the early 1930s. The Rinky Dinks competed against teams from local neighborhoods in a variety of sports.
In contrast to today’s over-structured and adult-supervised youth athletic programs, it is refreshing to note that the Rinky Dinks, as well as other neighborhood clubs, were initiated and organized by the members of the team. The Rinky Rinks were the epitome of what Tocqueville called ‘voluntary associations’.
The 1933 Rinky Dinks’ football schedule and record not only demonstrated a powerhouse team but also a schedule that lists a number of teams representing Lawrence neighborhoods, including another Tower Hill team (the Bodwell All-Stars) and a team from Andover (the Shawsheen Buffaloes).
The 1933 Rinky Dinks Football Schedule and Record
| Rinky Dinks: 26 | Clippers: 0 |
| Rinky Dinks: 25 | Bodwell All-Stars: 0 |
| Rinky Dinks: 19 | Austins: 0 |
| Rinky Dinks: 30 | Shamrocks: 0 |
| Rinky Dinks: 25 | Shawsheen Buffaloes: 13 |
| TOTAL: 125 | TOTAL: 13 |
1933 Tower Hill Rinky Dinks Athletic Club
Middle Row (left to right): Ken Reader, Kal Lynch, Jacob Berger, Tom Marjerison, Bill McDonald, Bill Boardman
Seated (left to right): Charles Saalfrank, Harold Tolson
