Leo High School - Leo Lion Yearbook (Chicago, IL)

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-sl ' X .. 9 .. 25 ecard 0 3 spilt? 0 , QQ, 6Aam,ai0n:i ip N ' oacALn9 J 1 l 1 Mr. A. L. Cronin 4235! Mr. V. I. Dowd THE MEN WHO BU The Leo Lions have built up one of the most impressive football records of any high school team in the city. The coaching staff has been ex- cellent down through the years, but the name that invariably cornes up when Leo football is discussed is Whitey Cronin. Whitey replaced Leo's first football mentor, Ike Mahoney, in 1931. Although the new coach's first three years brought no outstanding teams, it was apparent to all that the caliber of football at the school was definitely on the upgrade. By 1934 'tWhitey had a team trained in his own style of play, and the new school reared its head high and won its first Catholic League football championship, Catholic Championships followed in rapid suc- cession, and in 1941 Whitey harvested his greatest trophy, an All City title, and he repeated with the same the following year. ln 1944 Mr. Cronin relinquished his coaching duties at Leo. He left behind a record of achieve- ments which will always stand out in the annals of Leo High School. V. I. Vince Dowd coached heavyweight bas- ketball and track at Leo from 1938 to 1941. He also taught English. He brought Leo its greatest years in Basketball, winning six major championships during his four years here. ln his first year, Vince won the Catholic League Heavyweight Basketball Championship and followed with two more heavy- weight championships in the next three years. Prob- ably his greatest championship was the National Catholic Heavyweight Basketball Championship which Leo won by defeating St. Francis Mission from South Dakota 49 to 41 at Loyola. He also led the Lions to one Catholic League Lightweight Champion- ship and one Fenwick Lightweight Tournament Championship.

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.rx .K at nw KR f- ' K ' Ygfgx k - jgee , if 4 f X ' .-3:.,- , fp irc' - 1- i .,. 3' I-IE GREAT LEO TEAMS F. 1. flkej Mahoney was Leo's first coach. A very versatile mentor, Ike handled baseball, football and basketball with equal efficiency. Al- though he unfortunately won no titles during his tenure from 1927 to 1931, he laid the foundation for the successes which followed. I. M. Red Gleason graduated from Leo in 1932 and earned letters in football, baseball, and basketball at Notre Dame. He returned to Leo in 1944 and coached football and basketball. He has won one Catholic League Heavyweight Bas- ketball Champgnsh-ip, one Catholic League Lightweight Championship and one R11-city Lightweight Basketball Championship. Br. A. A. Loftus came to Chicago in 1928. Besides teaching English, Latin, and history, he coached the lightweight basketball team. He brought Leo its first Catholic League Champion- ship in 1933. Brother Loftus is now an assistant to the Provincial of the Irish Christian Brothers and President of Iona College, New York. Barney Varnes came to Leo in 1942 and left in 1943. He was one of the most successful coaches at Leo, although he only served the school for one year. lt was in 1942 that his great Heavyweight squad captured the St. George Tournament crown and the Catholic League Championship. Mr. E. I. Iohnson came to Leo in 1931 and left in 1945. He served as assistant football coach to both Whitey Cronin and Ioe Gleason. He was one of the finest backfield coaches Leo ever had, and developed many notable back- field stars. lt was Iohnson, working hard in the background and more or less unnoticed by the general public who helped the Leo teams with many championships during these fifteen years. Br. F. H. Finch was at Leo from 1939 to 1948 as chemistry and mathematics teacher, ath- letic director, and lightweight basketball coach. He led the Lions to two All-City Lightweight Bas- ketball Championships, two Catholic League Lightweight Basketball Championships, and two Fenwick Lightweight Tournament Champion- ships. Mr. C. C. Vaughan' came to Leo in 1932 and left in 1937. During his stay at Leo, he brought the Heavies basketball squad to a South Section championship in 1933 and the Lights to a similar title in 1934. He taught mathematics at Leo and was very well liked by all his students and play- ers. He was known as Champ to his many friends at Leo. Allan Schuss coached at Leo from 1934 to 1936. Although he won no championships with the Heavies, he won a Catholic League Light- weight Championship.