St John High School - Blue Book Yearbook (Jackson, MI)

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:sand Saw The Annual John-St. Mary Game BASKETBALL SEASON The Gaels entered the 1947 basketball season with a veteran team and were again under the tutelage of Bill Mault, who was starting his fourth season at St. Johns. Mault had available eight returning play- ers from last year's varsity from which he could mold his team. Bill McCluskey, Jim Cavender and George Schramm saw con- siderable action at. the forward posts, while .lim McQuillan, Tom Hagen, Bob Nichols, Tommy O'Dowd and Dick Schramm handled the guard duties for the Gaels. With these lads as the nucleus of the squad, St. John's presented an extremely formidable aggre- gation for all opponents. Making their season debut at Lansing against Resurrection, in a cold Lansing Eastern gym, the Gaels quickly took control of the game from the start and went on to win 33-16. On the day after Christmas, St. John's met Kalamazoo St. Augustine in the newly inaugurated Catholic Invitational basketball tournament. The game was played on the Jackson High School court and was recog- nized as a league encounter. Little could be said of either team, the Gaels dropped a 27-25 decision after leading 15-13 at half- time. The next evening Grand Rapids Catholic Central, a class A school, furnished the op- position for the Gaels, who went to work in the second half to white-wash the visitors -L7-19. Finals were held on Saturday night with a non-league St. John's-St. Mary's clash as the consolation game. The smaller Gaels fought valiantly against the Celts' height, but were turned back 39-33. McCluskey lead the Gaels, scoring with 11 points. The Hrst game of the new year was a league tilt at Ann Arbor against a stubborn St. Thomas quintet. St. John's lost in an overtime 39-35. It was close all the way. Witli an off-night from the league schedule, the Gaels invaded Napoleon and came home with a 47-31 victory. This gave St. John's a 500 percentage for the season, with three victories and the same number of losses. Back into league competition, the Gaels played host to a lanky Lansing St. Mary squad. Tom O'Dowd sent the game into an overtime, when he dropped in an all-inipor- tant free throw with a minute of play re- maining. St. John's iced the contest in the extra stanza on George Schrammis two- pointer, 26-24. The Gaels and Celts were tied for second place in the league standing with two wins to one loss each, as they clashed for the sec- ond time in the season. St. Johnls courage and determination were again wasted thc St. Mary's height proved too great a barrier to overcome. Hitting the comeback trail once more, St. John's whipped Battle Creek St. Phillip in a well played contest, 37-27. Tom Hagen led the Gaels, as he threw in 12 points. Getting their first taste of sweet revenge. St. John's flumped St. Augustine of Kala- ttiontinucd on Page 271

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FOOT BALL SEASON John's assault was good for two scores against the Capital City eleven in the third period, with Tom OlDowd registering both of the touchdowns on passes to knot the score at 13-13. With about a minute re- maining in the contest, Tom Hagen sped back to fling a screen pass to George Schramm, but the tall Lansing line that charged in reached up and hit Hagen's pass and the ball bobbled around in the air until big Bruce Nakafor, Lansing guard, reached up and pulled the ball into his arms and raced to the St. .lonns two-yard line, where he fumbled and the ball went out of bounds. XVith 30 seconds left in the battle, Carmen Moceri, driving St. Mary's fullback, bucked over for the deciding tally as the game ended, to give the Gaels a heart-breaking 20 to 13 total. The Gaels hit the victory trail again in their next Catholic League game, when they traveled to Ann Arbor to dish out a 12 to 0 defeat to the Shamrocks of St. Thomas. Schramm crashed over for both of the St. Johnls scores and missed both of his boots for the extra points. In preparation for their big game with St. Mary s, the UHCLS released the fury of their scoring punch on straight football plays and produced a all to 19 victory over a scrappy St. Augustine of Kalamazoo eleven at NVithington Stadium. Despite the wet, muddy field, the Gaels went right to work to pile up a lead before the second and third stringers took over. A repetition of the Army's famous touchdown twins, 'tDoc Blanchard and Glen Davis, in the form of Fullback George Schramm and Left Halfback Tom Hagen cut loose to tally three touchdowns each. Schramm smashed over for two TD's on plunges of one and six yards and took a pass from McQuillan for the other score. Hagen dashed around end for two scores on a 40 and 50-yard dash and on a fourth down pass play he took an from McQuillan to romp ten yards to Schramm had a field day kicking points. His educated toe spiraled five out of six place kicks through the uprights for five extra points. XVith a league title and the Catholic foot- ball supremacy of Southern Michigan hang- ing squarely in the balance, the Celts of St. Mary's and the Gaels of St. .Iohn's clashed in Withington Stadium before 10,000 people, the largest crowd ever to witness a pigskin contest in this city. Late in the second period the unbeaten Southsiders completed a long pass to put the ball on the Gaels' 8- yard line. From here Fullback Weed plung- ed over, giving the Celts a 7 to 0 margin at half-time. Play seesawed back and forth, until St. Mary's ground out another TD late in the third stanza, to finish the scoring for the afternoon. Tackling and blocking were both sharp and crisp, with the clean play of both teams recognized by all, a game that was a credit to both squads. FOOTBALL TEAM 7. Ralph Skrockig 8. Bill liellyg El. Bill McCluskcyg 10. Jack Maher Not pic- tured, Pat XICQLIHILIII. Page Twenty-Ihreu

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THE FIGHTING IRISH of St. .Iohn's Foot- ball give the two non-Irish Fighting Irish on the squad the once over. Standing are Bill Kelly, Tom Hagen, .lim McQui11an, Al OlDell, Bill McCluskey, Jim Cavender, Jack Maher, Toni O'DoWd and Pat McQuillan. In the Center of attraction are Ralph Skrocki and Capt. George Schrannn. Page Twenty-five A TRICK PLAY is explained by signal Caller Bill Kelly to Tom Hagen, George Schramm and Jim McQui1lan.