It was the fall of 1976. My senior year at Boston College. I was living in what BC students called the “Big Red House” on the corner of Commonwealth Avenue and Center Street in Newton with 9 other BC seniors. The house was a legendary haunt for partygoers, for Vietnam War veterans who could sleep on the living room couches whenever they were down on their luck and for college and pro sports gamblers.
One of the most extravagant yearly parties that the Big Red House was famous for was the 10 keg affairs that would take place on the Monday of the Boston Marathon.