Reflection #14 (Only 1062 to go!): Loose Ends
Loose end #1
I'm sorry that I didn't make it to the 4th floor for the class of '86. Some of my favorites are in that class, but, as I was about to get on the elevator, I saw Frank Raispis and he looked pretty worn out. Us (or is it "we") old-timers don't have much of a 2nd wind to catch. I was Frank's driver, so I chose to "err on the side of the angels" and we left.
Loose end #2: Following "Reflection #13", about football ending and baseball beginning, someone encouraged me to write why I thought that Fr. Koch dropped football. My opinion is based on surmise and conjecture. There are others still around who have a far better handle on that, but I will (sort of) state my opinion.
We did not have a very successful football program for the first two years that I was at Ignatius. No blame game here; remember, if I point one finger at someone, three are pointed back at me...probably pretty well aimed. But what if Father had held out one more year? There was a new coach with a new system. The junior varsity had been somewhat more successful. Who knows?
What happened before that fateful decision? Around 1958, several of the Christian Brothers high schools had pulled out of the Catholic League and formed the Chicagoland Prep League. My understanding was that they left the Catholic League in order to ratchet down interscholastic sports (not to do away with them) and improve intramural sports. I heard that they had decided to spread the use of the facilities and the expenditures more equitably through the student body by up-grading the intramural program, but I don't really know that.
Perhaps the cost of having football at St. Ignatius, combined with the fact that we weren't doing very well, lead to the decision. I was not privy to that information.
Loose End #3
I couldn’t help but think of that when I was reminiscing about Fr. Koch deciding to drop football. In “string theory*”, which I don’t understand at all, there could be an infinite number of universes in which every possible event and out-come is played out. Maybe in one of them, Ignatius didn’t drop football, and there was a different result. Just a thought. Wait! I just gave myself a head-ache.
(*It has something to do with particle physics, black-holes and 11-dimensions. I saw it on the Science channel; I think I need to get a job.): After blog #11 which included the cliché "Raispis/Spalding Clichés to Live By", someone asked that I include some more of the tenets. Perhaps at a later time, but one rule that stuck in my memory was frequently posited by Dr. Mailliard, not by Frank or me. Those of you who ran for him may have heard him say, "When we quit, we quit one day too early." If it isn't obvious, his point was that if we hung in there one more day, we would succeed.: I was very happy to see the alumni who came to the reunion(s) on April 9th. While I have to admit that my memory isn't as good as it once was (and probably never was), I was excited to hear how those of you that I knew "back in the day" were doing. Whether you're successful in your career, dealing with set-backs in a career, still training for a career, or raising a beautiful family, it's always interesting. I was talking with one alumna who, after college, spent a year in Hawaii (as a waitress) and a year in Australia. Now she’s back working for an advanced degree in her profession. At 28, she's had way more adventures than I've had at 72.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Friday, April 1, 2011
# 13 :The Great Transition or How We Got Baseball
Reflection #13 (Only 1063 to go!) The Great Transition of '63 or How WE Got Baseball
In the spring of 1963, the football coaching staff was invited to dinner at school following an afternoon of spring practice. After that, we were to meet with Fr. Koch, the president of St. Ignatius. It was a good meal, but it didn't make up for what was to follow. At that meeting, Fr. Koch told us that St. Ignatius was leaving the Chicago Catholic League and would join the Chicagoland Prep League in every sport but football. The most obvious question was, "In what league would we be playing football, Father?" Surprise, Surprise!!! We weren't going to play football in any league. Father had decided to drop football.
Over the years, there has been much speculation about why Fr. Koch made the decision to drop football, but no "official" reason was ever given. (I have my own theory!) Father Arimond, in his book about Loyola Academy football, says that there was a tradition, in earlier years, of Ignatius being a true powerhouse in football, but, by the time I got here, that tradition was something of a distant memory. For the 40 years following that fateful meeting in the spring of '63, Ignatius had NO football team.
I loved teaching at Saint Ignatius, but I had decided to teach in high school because I wanted to coach football. What now? While not all of the coaches taught at Ignatius, we all shared a love of the sport, and our reactions were some combination of confusion, sadness and anger.
While I was still licking my emotional wounds, Carmen Pintozzi had adjusted by taking the job as the cross-country coach and assistant track coach. I still refer to that as one of the great examples of casting against type in all of coaching, comparable to Kristi Yamaguchi becoming a defensive line coach in football, but he was very good at it. (Who knows? Maybe Kristi would be good too.) I still claim that some of the boys ran "cross" because they thought that they might turn out to be like Mr. Pintozzi.
One of the other coaches, Don Lucas was a most interesting guy. I would say, with admiration, he was a character, probably worthy of an article all his own. He told me that he had asked for, and received, permission from Fr. Koch to start a school baseball team. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that's when baseball started at Ignatius, and "Luke", as he was affectionately nick-named, started it all. Now, I can't be sure that Ignatius didn't have a baseball team earlier. If that's the case, for the sake of accuracy, then that's when baseball returned. I had played a fair amount of baseball in my earlier life (by that time I was nearly 24), and I told Luke that if he wanted, I'd be happy to help. Truth be told, I had played very little "baseball", but I had played a tremendous amount of softball.
Don was the varsity baseball coach for 3 years. He was the type of person who saw few, if any, limitations to what he might try. I've always admired people like that. He was not arrogant, but he also never concerned himself with the possibility of looking foolish if he failed.
He bought the teams' uniforms on Maxwell Street, and when he coached, he would wear his Ignatius uniform except for the wing-tip brown shoes that he continued to sport on the field, even while he was hitting fungoes. In bad weather, he would hold practice in the "4th floor gym" (which is now the school library), and the players would practice batting, using wiffle balls. But despite his "unusual" style, Don's teams did quite well.
Following the 1965 school year, Don left Ignatius to take a job with the city. His roll was
filled for the next 4 years by Bob Gabric, followed by me for one year, then Greg Klatecki. I'll leave the research on the succession of baseball coaches after that to others.
PLAY BALL!!!
In the spring of 1963, the football coaching staff was invited to dinner at school following an afternoon of spring practice. After that, we were to meet with Fr. Koch, the president of St. Ignatius. It was a good meal, but it didn't make up for what was to follow. At that meeting, Fr. Koch told us that St. Ignatius was leaving the Chicago Catholic League and would join the Chicagoland Prep League in every sport but football. The most obvious question was, "In what league would we be playing football, Father?" Surprise, Surprise!!! We weren't going to play football in any league. Father had decided to drop football.
Over the years, there has been much speculation about why Fr. Koch made the decision to drop football, but no "official" reason was ever given. (I have my own theory!) Father Arimond, in his book about Loyola Academy football, says that there was a tradition, in earlier years, of Ignatius being a true powerhouse in football, but, by the time I got here, that tradition was something of a distant memory. For the 40 years following that fateful meeting in the spring of '63, Ignatius had NO football team.
I loved teaching at Saint Ignatius, but I had decided to teach in high school because I wanted to coach football. What now? While not all of the coaches taught at Ignatius, we all shared a love of the sport, and our reactions were some combination of confusion, sadness and anger.
While I was still licking my emotional wounds, Carmen Pintozzi had adjusted by taking the job as the cross-country coach and assistant track coach. I still refer to that as one of the great examples of casting against type in all of coaching, comparable to Kristi Yamaguchi becoming a defensive line coach in football, but he was very good at it. (Who knows? Maybe Kristi would be good too.) I still claim that some of the boys ran "cross" because they thought that they might turn out to be like Mr. Pintozzi.
One of the other coaches, Don Lucas was a most interesting guy. I would say, with admiration, he was a character, probably worthy of an article all his own. He told me that he had asked for, and received, permission from Fr. Koch to start a school baseball team. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, that's when baseball started at Ignatius, and "Luke", as he was affectionately nick-named, started it all. Now, I can't be sure that Ignatius didn't have a baseball team earlier. If that's the case, for the sake of accuracy, then that's when baseball returned. I had played a fair amount of baseball in my earlier life (by that time I was nearly 24), and I told Luke that if he wanted, I'd be happy to help. Truth be told, I had played very little "baseball", but I had played a tremendous amount of softball.
Don was the varsity baseball coach for 3 years. He was the type of person who saw few, if any, limitations to what he might try. I've always admired people like that. He was not arrogant, but he also never concerned himself with the possibility of looking foolish if he failed.
He bought the teams' uniforms on Maxwell Street, and when he coached, he would wear his Ignatius uniform except for the wing-tip brown shoes that he continued to sport on the field, even while he was hitting fungoes. In bad weather, he would hold practice in the "4th floor gym" (which is now the school library), and the players would practice batting, using wiffle balls. But despite his "unusual" style, Don's teams did quite well.
Following the 1965 school year, Don left Ignatius to take a job with the city. His roll was
filled for the next 4 years by Bob Gabric, followed by me for one year, then Greg Klatecki. I'll leave the research on the succession of baseball coaches after that to others.
PLAY BALL!!!
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