Ray Zanutto was reunited with his old Block ‘R’ sweater – if only for the day.

He’s a 1949 graduate of Ripon High, where he played on the 1947 and 1948 championship football teams.

Zanutto, 95, was back in town on Friday with his son, Tom Zanutto, attending the Indians’ Trans-Valley League clash against neighboring Ripon Christian at Stouffer Field.

Prior to the game, they both stopped by the Clarence Smit Museum.

According to curator Connie Jorgensen, Ray Zanutto’s red block sweater was brought to the museum several years ago by RHS Athletic Director Rod Wright.

“We thought that the sweater was a cream color,” she said, remembering the old sweater with the two embroidered championship football logos on the right sleeve.

The problem was that Jorgensen couldn’t quite place the location of the sweater in the museum. “I was frantically looking for it – I was disappointed to say the least,” she recalled.

Jorgensen contacted Wright, who remembered that the old sweater had been placed on a museum mannequin.

By that time, Ray and Tom Zanutto had departed to RHS – they hadn’t reached the stadium entrance when they received the call back from Jorgensen.

She had located what turned out to be a red block sweater. “It was under the long queen velvet robe that is no longer used for homecoming queens,” said Jorgensen.

Tom Zanutto drove his father back to the museum, with Ray Zanutto immediately recognizing his old sweater.

“I asked Tom to please have Ray wear it into the stadium,” Jorgensen said.

Ray Zanutto, who was given a special place to sit during the game, proudly wore his block R sweater, receiving compliments about it to those in attendance at Stouffer Field.

The sweater is back at the museum, Jorgensen noted, with more memories attached to it.