La Salle University - Explorer Yearbook (Philadelphia, PA)

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1978 MVP AWARD Years ago. a guy by the name of Bucky earned himself a reputation in Philadelphia Catholic sports circles as a pretty fair ball handler and a real team asset. Later, when he exchanged his Shanahan Catholic Club uniform and nickname for a Christian Brother ' s cassock and the moniker, Brother Anthony Wallace, F.S.C., there was one thing he didn ' t forget: how to play on a team. For many years between 1938, when he came to La Salle College, and last year, when he retired, Bucky ' s team was La Salle, and in particular, the Education Department. If you were lucky enough to see the team in action, you know Brother Anthony gave it his all. There wasn ' t anything he wouldn ' t do for one of his own — and that included just about everybody on campus. Bucky would not only give you the help you requested, he ' d usually drop whatever it was he was doing, and go to work for you right away. That doesn ' t mean he wasn ' t critical, or that practices were easy, but when the game began — and you were out teaching — you could be sure Bucky was right there cheering for you. Over time, you see, Bucky developed a special kind of myopia that proved invaluable to the team. If any one of his teammates — student, colleague or friend — was on the line, Bucky could only see the good in them. That strategy had the effect of making all those people believe in themselves and focus on their good points. It was pretty smart thinking, too. Any coach will tell you that the team plays better when it ' s psyched. Brother Anthony had the same effect on the educators in the high schools where his education majors were teaching. He could make them see the strong points he saw in his students, and La Salle continued to place its education graduates while jobs for other new teachers dwindled. How can we talk about Brother Anthony without mentioning his incred- ible memory for names and faces? Look, there he is, strolling around the campus, hands stuck in his pocket, cigar stuck in his mouth. He ' s smiling to a group of students eating dinner in the cafeteria. They wave back. A little later, he spots two people he knows coming out of Olney Hall, and he greets them by name as he asks them how they are. They get the rare feeling this questioner really wants to know. As an educator, Brother Anthony has been recognized by his peers many times, but we, the 1978 staff of the Explorer, would like to offer our own tribute. Bucky, we dedicate the book to you: please accept it as our Most Valuable Player Award.