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

Page 23 text:

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.

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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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Page Twenty-six COACH BILL MAULT gives the Gael bas- ketball squad last-minute instructions be- fore a big game. Players, left to right, are: Capt. George Schramm, Tom O'DoWd, .lim McQuillan, Dick Schrainin, Ted NVeisS, Tom Nichols, Bill Mcflluskey and Fred Carroll. Not pictured are Tom Hagen and Jim Cav- ender. ,bczagaflgaff