La Salle Academy - Maroon and White Yearbook (Providence, RI)

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wxuufffww Tl-lE ONLlxAN TE ll-dv candidates for these berths were: Ray Waldraff, Capt., and fullback, jaworsky, quarterf back, Mahoney, Maiani and Dolan, ends, Turbridy, Mangiante, johnson and Fitzgerald, guards, Perry and McMahon, centers, Shaw, Schnor, and Delaney, tackles, Durand, Cassidy, Mullen, Potera and Grady as utility men. Football was not new to these youths. All of them had acquired the Cronin system in the junior varsity squad or during the spring practice sessions. Some of them lacked experience it is true, but this deficiency was more than compensated for by a sportsmanf like aggressiveness that means a great deal in a football game. jack was not dismayed as this group approached. With his keen eye he saw many that were to become outstandf ing as the season wore on. In his own inimitable way, Jack, assisted by his brother Bill, soon had the club pepped up and ready for their schedule. And what a schedule had been prepared for them! In the history of La Salle and the scholastic circles of the state, the com' petition meted out to La Salle during the football season was the most difficult ever attempted. There were no setfups, no plums. From the initial whistle of the season to the one shrill blast that announced its end our plucky little team faced competitors that were always keyed up to challenge our supremacy. The schedule embraced teams in Rhode Island, Massa' chusetts and Connecticut. The record of the season reads as follows: Taunton, Mass. 6, La Salle IQ, Mount St. Charles o, La Salle 21, Central Browns o, La Salle 34, Bulkely, Conn., 6, La Salle 7, Hope o, La Salle IQ, Cranston o, La Salle 14, Pawtucket 2, La Salle 18, East Providence o, La Salle 13, Central Reds 6, La Salle 18. The season was particularly successful from more angles than one. Primarily, it was the first football season that gave La Salle a chance to show its supef riority over the public high schools of the state. In previous years, we were beyond the pale of Public High School competition. With their league well organized, Seventyfthree

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,- g mxxxllilfiflfwl, if 1 . ' I 7 - 4 5' THE NIAROON AND VVHITEV fn Gb i . N r gg Cilofba ll LINGERING summer with its genial warmth browsed about the Academy campus as Coach Cronin and his candidates made ready for the gridiron season of 1932. The warm caressing rays of the sun made prefseason training anything but ideal, but under the dynamic direction of jack, the campus awakened to new life as signals snapped, lines charged and footballs spiralled against the azure dome of a clear September sky. A new page in the sports' history of La Salle was ready to record achievement or failure. Again as in the yester years the grim ghost of speculation stalked across the campus. From the lips of many came dire predictions of a season fraught with pitfalls and disaster. And those familiar with the husky stalwarts of the ,BI campaign deplored the loss that was ours as a result of the june commencement. Moran, McCarthy, Reed and Cusick had hied themselves to collegiate quarters. Could Jack Cronin develop from the raw material before him, men to replace them? As usual a group of tried and true veterans reported, youths who had the experience of other seasons behind themg fellows who had weathered the battles of other campaigns. In the backfield were Gaffney and Ckolovitz, a duet that assured us of plenty of charging, kicking and passing strength. John C'Donnell was there too on the end, and together with Driscoll, Lavin and Gorman promf ised us a great deal in line tonnage and charging power. At the same time, we could depend upon the versatility of Joe Lefebvre, an allfaround man and just as useful as a can opener in the kitchen of a newlywed. There were many coveted berths open for candidates who had the stuff and who could measure up to the specif fications of Coach Cronin. Outstanding among the Seventy' t wo

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Xlllllflfw N. Q Tl-l ONLlkAN TE K GD 4 ' ss . - .. . ,I if . the public high schools did not feel the necessity of our competitive efforts. A change came, however, through the untiring efforts of Brother Raymund and the public high school principals. With the abandonment of the old Interscholastic League, La Salle was recognized and given an equal chance with the best of them. As a result a great deal of keen interest was aroused among the football fans. How would La Salle measure up with the public high schools? Would they hold their own? Well, as Al Smith says, Let's look at the record: As the game with Hope High approached, it was rumored widely that the Maroon Juggernaut was set for a ride and a fall. Hope had the best eleven in yearsg a fast, snappy outfit that made the grade. But what happened? Merely this. An unbeaten blue wave from the precincts of Hope beat vainly against the formidable wall of the Maroon Juggernaut. Getting an early start we piled up the score in the hrst half and then rested. It was no easy game by any means. Hope had a fighting eleven, and a real sporting eleven, but, apparently we were a little better. The next feature on the program was the battle with Cranston High. For years the Green Thunderbolt had held the supremacy in the realm of football. There were no lean years in the history of Cranston's football record. This, too, was a contest that excited deep interest throughout the city. lt was generally . , conceded by the sport writers, that the Cranston eleven was the real obstacle in the football path of the Maroon and White team, and the boys on the team realized that too. Whatever confidence the team did possess was diminished somewhat by the news that the fast charging Tigger Lavin would be out of the linefup because of injuries. Undaunted, the Maroon Juggernaut entered the fray. Playing headups football for the four quarters, La Salle emerged the victors by the score of I4'O. It was a hardffought game, replete with thrills and uncerf Seventyffour