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Eulogizing Fenwick Athletic Legend Tony Lawless (1903-1976)

His closest friend for 46 years summed up the great Coach’s qualities in an address to Friar student-athletes one month after his death at age 73.

By late coach/trainer Dan O’Brien ’34
(Fenwick Sports Banquet, December 1976)

Editor’s Note: In 1929, 250 people applied for the position of athletic director at Fenwick High School, an all-boys Catholic school opening in September of that year. Principal/President Fr. Leo Gainor, O.P. selected 26-year-old Anthony R. Lawless to direct the new school’s athletic program. From Peoria, IL, Mr. Lawless was a graduate of Loyola University, Chicago, and the lone layperson among the then all-Dominican faculty and staff. He was the Friars’ head football coach from 1929-56 (record: 177-43-8). A member of the Illinois Basketball Hall of Fame, Lawless also was Fenwick’s head basketball coach (1929-47) and founded the Chicago Catholic League Coaches Association.

There comes a time in the life of every athlete when he draws back and takes a hard look at his experiences in order to assess the returns that might have been. His initial inclination will be to recall the emotional peaks, the victories: the win over Loyola’s football team; the cross country effort against Gordon Tech; the golf team’s close finish in the league and district competition; our tennis team’s dramatic victory in straight sets. It is perfectly natural to cling to these memories for personal satisfaction.

However, your more meaningful returns – rewards that will affect your lifestyle and personality – will come in the form of your character-information. This type of return will, in most cases, come as the result of behavior patterns formed from personal contacts – benefits derived from the regard you have for your leader or coach. No doubt most of you, presumably, have developed this type of respect for your respective coaches.

I believe it is very timely to consider the returns we have received from our association with the incomparable Tony Lawless. This very unusual man had personal characteristics that are rare by any standard of reference. His lifestyle was anything but commonplace; it was truly unique. Father Conley’s beautiful homily reflected insight into Tony’s character in his peak years as a coach. My forty-six years with him have given me a singular opportunity to discern what made him tick and the legacy he has left us.

A Supreme Court justice said he learned in his youth a lesson that remained indelible throughout his life: human happiness is not gained from a series of pleasures but from total dedication to a goal above and beyond oneself.

An even greater authority said: “He who loses his life shall find it; he who finds his life shall lose it.” It is a lesson of history that happiness comes only to those who surrender themselves to a work greater than themselves. There is no greater delight than to feel necessary to something you love. A young mother, even if ill herself, when walking the floor at midnight with her sick infant, is doing what she prefers to all else in the world. Children never understand mother until they have children of their own. Tony would have no trouble discerning that young mother’s feelings.

Father Gainor, the founding principal of Fenwick and a priest of exceptional talent and insight – who brought Tony to Fenwick – had a “rule of thumb” in judging the potential value of a student or employee. He believed that a person, regardless of his shortcomings, had value to Fenwick if he had demonstrated love for Fenwick. Tony Lawless was close to the heart of that tradition.

Tony truly loved his work in a most extraordinary way; he really relished coming to work in the morning. The size of his salary was of little or no consideration with him. He filled his every day in a work he deeply loved; being paid for it was a bonus.

Tony was a romantic at heart. While still very young, he fell in love with Fenwick and all it stood for. To the very end, that love was undiminished. What he left us came from a great heart in love with a sublime dream.

Photo album of Coach Tony Lawless:

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Cold War on the Airwaves: The Radio Propaganda War Against East Germany

Almost 50 years since graduation, this loyal alumnus still is writing book reviews for Fenwick!

By Timothy Fitzpatrick ’71 (MAJ, USA, Ret.), HHC Berlin Brigade and 4th BN, 6th in 1980-1983

In 1970 I was bombarded with images of the world as seen through U.S. media and prevailing opinion-makers in the United States as the Vietnam War was dragging on and numerous Communist challenges were confronting our country. I was a 17-year-old Fenwick High School rising senior that summer and took my first flight ever, on my first overseas experience ever, and landed in Berlin for 10 days of my six-week Foreign Study League German immersion program led by Father Nicholas Aschenbrenner, O.P., our Fenwick German instructor. Our group took some of our meals in the Free University dining hall where tables covered with Marxist and Maoist literature were hawking their wares mostly to students trying to ignore them. I bought an ITT Schaub – Lorenz radio and listened across many bands to various broadcasts and was surprised at the clarity of BBC world broadcast and Voice of America compared to other nation’s broadcasts. I even tuned into Radio Albania, which would turn anyone away from Marxism by their heavy-handed diatribes.

As a group, we began a tour of East Berlin by walking through Check Point Charlie. In contrast to the relaxed, confident and friendly U.S. MPs [military police] at Checkpoint Charlie, the East German foreign visitor checkpoint was designed to intimidate — with your passport disappearing and sense that the wait gave them time to begin a file on you and make you nervous; both, in fact, true. Once through and walking along Friedrichstrasse towards Unter den Linden, there were numerous anti-USA posters in English, clearly aimed at me.

East Berlin was a sad contrast to West Berlin in all things. I was saddened to see a burned-out Cathedral and nearby the twin French and German Churches barely standing in the shell of their walls with trees growing through. The Alexander Platz shopping area and the newly opened (October 1969) Berliner Fernsehturm or Pope’s Revenge (we mistakenly called it the funkturm) were clearly meant to be a showcase for DDR [German Democratic Republic] progressiveness, but the lack of goods in shops gave away the lie. I was amazed that East Berlin youth were not listening to Radio Berlin DDR broadcasts emanating from that tower, but to RIAS (Radio in the American Sector) and U.S. Military Armed Forces Network broadcasts. The contrast between communism and its threat to freedom and Western democracy and capitalism and freedom could not be made starker to me, and this is where I decided to join the U.S. Army.

My experiences as a youth in Berlin, as a member of the Berlin Brigade and as a Psychological Operations Officer, have always made me appreciate RIAS, but I never knew the breadth and depth of what RIAS meant to U.S. efforts in Berlin and to the people of East Germany. Nicholas J. Schlosser, in his book Cold War on the Airwaves: The Radio Propaganda War against East Germany, has given us a precious gift to our understanding of the contributions of RIAS to the psychological combat between the Soviet block and the United States and between the contrasts in freedom between East and West Germany. The book sums up the importance of RIAS to East Germans, Berliners and the United States powerfully when Schlosser writes “….RIAS went from being just a purveyor of news and information to a quasi-United States Embassy, a representative of the United States  in East Germany.” RIAS was founded by and controlled by the United States but staffed by German-Berliners and engaged in the front lines of influence and political warfare against communism.

Schlosser relates the early foundations of RIAS to counter Radio Berlin that the Soviets took despite being in the British Sector (the Eifel Tower-like Funkturm) and refused to share with the other occupying powers. To compete, though late, the American Forces initiated broadcasts on the old, Nazi-wired (telephone line) radio system developed so allied WWII bombers could not home in on Berlin through a signal. This Wired (Drahtfunk) Broadcasting in the American Sector (DIAS) initiated U.S. broadcasting in its sector as the voice of the U.S. Occupation Government. It soon began radio broadcast and became Radio (Rundfunk) in the American Sector (RIAS).

Schlosser relates the stages of RIAS effort over time and in reaction to Berlin and world events. Throughout its history, RIAS emphasis on credible and objective news from a United States perspective and calling out DDR and communist failings were its hallmark. The people of East Germany came to rely on this during crisis after crisis, starting with the Berlin Airlift during the 17 June 1953 East German uprising and Soviet suppression, the Berlin crisis and the construction of the wall, and during the long period of the Cold War, easing tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union, the collapse of the wall, and Berlin and German reunification.

Schlosser writes this book not in a technical manner, but in very human terms that goes to the heart of RIAS’s dedicated staff and their understanding of the information (and entertainment) needs of their audience in clear contrast to communist deterministic programming. 

I strongly recommend this book for all students of history as you explore the totality of what the U.S. meant to Berliner’s on both sides of the wall and to complement our own understanding of RIAS giving voice to what we in the U.S. and allied forces physically stood for. 

RIAS still exists as the RIAS Berlin Commission. The RIAS Berlin Commission was founded in 1992 as a binational organization for the promotion of German-American understanding in the field of broadcasting and promotes the exchange of persons and information in the field of broadcast journalism between the two countries.

Cold War on the Airwaves: The Radio Propaganda War against East Germany by Nicholas J. Schlosser is Published by the University of Illinois Press (1st Edition November 3, 2015) and is available at Amazon.

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Forever Friars: Remembering Mr. Edward Ludwig (1934-2012)

For 37 years, this 1993 Hall of Fame inductee enriched the character of Fenwick and its students with intelligence, kindness, talent and wit.

Mathematics teacher, department head, Assistant Principal and Dean of Students, and perennial Blackfriars Guild director and moderator, Mr. Edward E. Ludwig (shown above in 1988) was exemplary of the Catholic layperson involved in the Church’s mission to teach at Fenwick High School.

Born and raised in Chicago, Mr. Ludwig was educated at Loyola University. He did extensive graduate-level work at both DePaul and Michigan State universities. At age 26, Mr. Ludwig joined the Fenwick faculty as a teacher in the Mathematics Department. For the next 37 years until his retirement in 1990, he participated in the Christian apostolate of teaching. He held students to the Fenwick standard of discipline as well as academic and personal achievement and growth. In many ways, he was responsible for establishing these standards during his long tenure as teacher and administrator.

When Mr. Ludwig was asked to be Chair of the Mathematics Department in 1967, he revised the mathematics curriculum to include courses in pre-calculus and then calculus to better prepare Fenwick students for college and university and an increasingly technological society.

Mr. Ludwig was acknowledged as an outstanding teacher of mathematics by all who came into contact with him – students, parents and faculty. His knowledge of the subject matter was exceptional. His ability to communicate it to his students was phenomenal. He was empathetic and precise; his method of delivery was unique.

Mr. Ludwig taught algebra and geometry in 1955.

When he wanted to be heard, he spoke sensibly in quiet, well-modulated tones. When he enunciated “gentlemen!”, students whose minds might have started to go elsewhere were brought back to attention. “Come here, child,” brought to his desk boys who needed individual tutoring or counseling.

At times Mr. Ludwig allowed irony to enter into his sense of humor, and sometimes it took the students some time to understand and appreciate him. Once he told a cafeteria full of students that a few Fenwick boys at the bus stop had hindered the progress of an ambulance. He told them if they ever did that again, the ambulance would have to make an unscheduled stop to pick them up. All of this was done in his best basso voice – nervous laughter, point well made.

Students always felt he cared about them, and, indeed, he did. During freshmen orientation in his classroom, students were encouraged to talk about themselves – their hobbies, their abilities. Many students would then discover they had common interests and develop close friendships that lasted lifetimes.

Math & the Arts

Mr. Ludwig’s work with Blackfriars Guild reflected his own varied aesthetic interests in opera and other music, drama, art, dance and literature. He produced and directed musicals, drama and the annual variety performance. Under him, this organization flourished adding a needed dimension in the arts to the Fenwick curriculum. A number of former members of the Guild are now involved in professional theatre.

Mr. Ludwig in 1973 (Blackfriars yearbook photo).

Mr. Ludwig served as Assistant Principal and Dean of Students for fourteen years – longer than anyone in the history of Fenwick. The Director of Happiness, an expression for this office originating with one of the priests on the faculty, was one that Mr. Ludwig relished.

Students came first. He never allowed paperwork to take priority over people. Mr. Ludwig could be seen in his office at all hours tutoring students in mathematics or other subjects. He always saw himself as a teacher first and only then an administrator.

Mr. Ludwig had a fierce pride in the school. As Dean, he personally saw to many of the details in the school – health needs, pep rallies and, of course, conferences with students who found adjustment to school difficult. He was always in the halls and cafeteria greeting students with a smile (or a sterner look when necessary). He knew most by name, and they generally responded favorably to him. He was present at almost all student events outside school hours – many times the first to arrive and the last to leave. He was always one of those staff members former students wished to see when they returned to school during college vacation periods.

In addition, he was always interested in promoting the religious heritage of the school. He made this his primary goal. He was one of those faculty members who formed and then preserved the Fenwick tradition of a strong, structured, disciplined Christian environment.

A student who might speak out of turn was asked if he “had a license to broadcast.” Mr. Ludwig would tell the offender that if he did not, the “federal government would have to smash his transmitter.”

In 1976 when vandals broke into the building and turned on the fire hoses, Mr. Ludwig was called about 11:00 p.m. The water had already done a good deal of damage, and school might have to be cancelled the next day. However, he telephoned students and organized a clean-up detail, working all night. He was at the main entrance of the school as usual the next morning to greet the students and faculty at 8:00 a.m.

Mr. Ludwig was admired by all members of the faculty, personally and professionally. His pedagogical expertise, kindness and sense of justice were impressive. His devotion to his mother and aunt in their old age and sickness was inspirational. The faculty awarded him the Father Conway, O.P. Award for Excellence.

His time at Fenwick was devoted to thousands of students and many duties, some great, some small, some beautiful, some sad. His time here enriched the entire Fenwick community then and now.

(The original of this historic recollection (from 1993?) can be found in the Fenwick archives; author unknown.)

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What Fenwick Means to Me

By Johnny Lattner ’50 (originally published in the Chicago Sun-Times, May 30, 2007)

Growing up on Chicago’s West Side near Cicero and Madison, I could have gone to St. Mel, St. Phillip, Austin or St. Ignatius. I decided on Fenwick because I knew it was a good academic school and I had heard about the football program coached by Tony Lawless.

I was a big kid in eighth grade, 6-1, more recruited for basketball than football, and I almost went to St. Phillip because of coach Bill Shay, who later coached at Fenwick. But I wanted to see if I could play football at Fenwick. It was a challenge.

Lattner, who passed away in 2016, was an All-State football player for the Friars in 1948 and ’49 and won the Heisman Trophy at the University of Notre Dame in 1953.

At the time, I didn’t know if I would go to college. Neither of my parents nor my older brother and sister went to college. They couldn’t afford it. At Fenwick, I learned a lot. I wasn’t dumb, but it took me a year to acclimate to the school. And Lawless taught me so much.

Fenwick had won the city championship in 1945. I went to the game at Soldier Field and was impressed. I knew Lawless was a hard-nosed coach who taught the fundamentals of blocking and tackling. He was a winner, a legendary figure on the West Side.

He taught me persistence and fundamentals, not to think of today but of tomorrow, how to compete, to keep improving.

“[Coach] Lawless taught me … persistence and fundamentals, not to think of today but of tomorrow, how to compete, to keep improving.”

– the late, great John Lattner ’50

Lattner (left) with Coach Lawless and John Carroll ’54.

I never regretted my decision to go to Fenwick.

Learning to play both ways – I also was a defensive back – helped me to win the Heisman Trophy at Notre Dame. I went there because, like Fenwick, it was a challenge. Some people said I wasn’t fast enough and never would play at Notre Dame, that I’d just be another number on the roster.

But Lawless taught me to stick to my books, to hang in there, to play when you’re hurt.

It helped me to get through Notre Dame. I was in awe of the program … Frank Leahy, Leon Hart, Terry Brennan, Johnny Lujack, George Conner.

They were unbeaten for four years. I hoped to make a name for myself.

READ MORE ABOUT MR. LATTNER

“Fenwick Community Gathers to Say Goodbye to Johnny Lattner.”

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I Walked — But Not Alone

A look back at the Friars’ “Walkathon” 40 school years ago, when 900+ students walked 15 miles – at about $2.50 per mile – to help pay for renovations to the Fenwick gym.

“Oak Chips” by Harriet Vrba
(column originally published in the Oak Leaves, October 8, 1980)

I put on my loafers and went walking Friday, accompanied by some 900 students of Fenwick High School.

Fenwick held its first Walkathon that day, and I predict it won’t be the last. The jaunt kicked off the school’s homecoming weekend and, at the same time, raised a nice sum to help pay for the new gymnasium.

The morning of the walk was cloudy and cool. Every once in a while the sun smiled down on the walkers. And occasionally a cloud wept.

When I started the trek, which bordered much of Oak Park and River Forest, the hikers were filled with enthusiasm and raring to go. That spirit stayed with them.

The Class of ’84 raised the most money.

I DROPPED OUT after the first mile or so, retraced my steps and watched the last bunch of walkers step off.

After completing the 15-mile circuit, the students still had enough energy to spend on a boisterous pep rally.

Walkers were hoping to collect approximately $2.50 a mile.

Fortunately, the young hikers had such generous backers that the Walkathon brought the school $56,000 instead of the hoped-for goal of $39,000.

Thanks to good friends, Steve Bory of Monroe Av., River Forest, a freshman, received the largest contributions for his efforts. Bory raised $1,225, an equivalent of $81.66 for each mile he walked.

Students stop at a check point.

THE FRESHMAN CLASS topped the school with $19,000.

Several teachers accompanied the students on the brisk hike. Terry Buckley took his 4-year-old malamute on the circuit. Sister Mary Meegan of the religion department changed her shoes three times.

When it was all over, principal Father William Bernacki breathed a sigh of relief. And smiled.

Homecoming weekend kept lots of villagers busy.

Saturday afternoon the Rev. Malachy Dooley, director of development and alumni affairs for the Dominican high school, and Leo J. Latz, assistant director, spent a few hours chopping up pieces of the old gym floor and shaping the wood into small blocks which sold for $25 each.

(All photos from 1981 Blackfriars yearbook.)

A LEGEND WAS attached to each block, explaining why the old gym floor means so much to the alumni.

In part, it said, “I am part of a noble and glorious tradition. Thousands played, prayed and paid on me. I am the Fenwick gym floor.”

Those who love that much-used floor added, “Born Nov. 23, 1929. Died Aug. 12, 1980. Rest in Peace.”

At half-time period of the homecoming football game which Fenwick lost to Loyola by two points Saturday, 11 members of Fenwick’s first football team, who played 50 years ago, gathered on the field. The late Tony Lawless had been their coach. Later the 11, seven of whom still live in either Oak Park or River Forest, were honored at a reception at the school.

They are Bob and Ray McGrath, Ed Muholland, Bob Collins, Dr. Arthur Wise, Frank McShane, W.A. Brandt, Vince Dierkes, Bob Hanson, Jack Hardin, John Lilly and Andrew McElligatt.

Dierkes said he couldn’t remember against which school the first team played its first game 50 years ago. “But I do remember we lost.”

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Colleges Are Calling Friar Athletes

Three Fenwick senior student-athletes have made their college decisions, while Class of 2021 classmates and juniors weigh their options. Congratulations to Fenwick volleyball All-Stater Beau Vanderlaan ’21 (above): The 6’2″ senior middle blocker from Oak Park has committed to Brown University (Providence, Rhode Island) in the prestigious Ivy League!

Cakuls

Fellow senior and Friar swimmer Angelina Cakuls ’21 (right) from Palos Park has committed to continue her education and athletic career in the pool at Miami University (Oxford, Ohio) in the MAC.

Wiktor

Golfer Jake Wiktor ’21 (River Forest, IL) has committed to North Carolina State. Jake earned All-Conference honors for the third consecutive year and also is the Chicago Catholic League’s Lawless Player of the Year!

Hopkins

Basketball All-Stater Bryce Hopkins ’21 is expected to make his decision soon. The much-sought 6’6″, 220-lb. power forward, who de-committed from Louisville this past summer, has narrowed down his top nine college choices: Cal, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa State, Kentucky, Michigan, Oregon, Providence and Texas.

Gridiron greats

To date, 26 colleges have verbally offered athletic scholarships to seven Fenwick football players: three seniors and four juniors. Ball State University (Muncie, Indiana) offered the four members of the Class of 2022 on the same day in early September!

Cobb

Junior QB Kaden Cobb ’22 now has nine D1 scholarship offers (and counting): Ball State, Boston College, Bowling Green, Howard University, Northern Illinois, Mizzou (University of Missouri), Toledo, Vanderbilt and West Virginia!

Liston

Junior center/offensive lineman Jimmy Liston ’22 (No. 64) has been offered by Ole Miss (University of Mississippi), Ball State and Central Michigan so far. “Jimbo” also is a heavyweight wrestler for the Friars.

Reese

Junior slot receiver/tight end Max Reese ’22 has five offers from Alcorn State, Arizona State, Ball State, Bowling Green and Kansas. Reese also plays basketball for the Friars.

Lanky, junior wide receiver Eian Pugh ’22 now has seven offers, from: Ball State, Bowling Green, Cincinnati, Howard, Indiana University, Toledo and the University of Kansas. Pugh also is a Fenwick basketball player.

Capek

Senior wide receiver Jonas Capek ’21 has offers from Roosevelt University (NAIA, Chicago), Lake Forest College (D3 in Illinois), St. Ambrose (D3 in Iowa), St. Norbert (D3 in Wisconsin) and St. Olaf (D3 in Minnesota).

Novak

Senior running back Isaac Novak ’21 has offers from Wheeling University (D2 in West Virginia) and St. Norbert (D3 in Wisconsin).

Moran

Senior offensive lineman Jamie Moran (No. 70) has a pair of D3 offers from Augustana College (Rock Island, IL) and North Park University (Chicago).

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Teaching to be a Champion: Vocation and Unity in Christ

How a young alumna’s Fenwick education has influenced and informed her understanding of and action on behalf of her vocation.

By Tierney Vrdolyak ’14

One motto of the Dominican Order that has resonated with me these six years out of Fenwick is contemplare et contemplata aliis trader – “to contemplate and hand on to others the fruits of contemplation.” In my experience with Catholic educators there, so many have lived this truth: to contemplate Christ and share with others (students, specifically) the mystery of Christ through their words and works, their lessons and lives is the Divine call of the teacher. Through their witness and God’s grace, I have come to realize my vocation as teacher, too. I’d like to relay one person’s authentic witness as teacher to you in the hopes that you might contemplate and share with others this fruit.

As I have come to believe through education observation, theory and practice, a teacher succeeds when the student develops; the teacher more than less fades into the background.[1] The teacher leads only when he or she serves; the teacher imitates Jesus Christ, the Divine Teacher, who freely humbles Himself to the point of death to Himself (the words “humble” and “human” are derived from the Latin humus, meaning “earth” or “soil” – that is, what is on the ground). The truly successful teacher is the one who stimulates the student’s receptivity – qualifying the pupil for all vocations (priesthood, religious life, married life, single life) and opening up avenues for vocations within vocations (professional life) – and remains humble by letting God lead, the students follow, and oneself adapt to their promptings. The teacher, therefore, takes on the “He must increase, I must decrease,” dynamic of which the Gospel speaks (John 3:30), adjusting his or her view of the harmonious human person to the individual student’s personality. Fenwick teachers have helped countless students come face to face with reality, welcoming our vocation and that of others with joy.

Friar tennis alumni/former teammates Annie Krug ’14 (from left), Tierney Vrdolyak ’14, Coach Tom Draski and Kaelin Schillinger ’14 during the 2014 Summer Tennis Camp.

Mr. Draski was my tennis coach during the Frosh-Soph fall seasons of 2010 and 2011. From the first week of tryouts through the last banquet, Coach Draski encouraged the team to seek and find wonder in all things. His practices, lectures and personal example oriented us toward our good as individuals and as a team. Although his teams had an 11-peat at that point, winning wasn’t the goal. Growing into our authentic selves was.

Practice

The “Ten Ball Drill” was certainly an example through which we learned to love building speed, stamina and strength during practices. It was a joy to place each ball on the racket before our teammates’ feet on the doubles’ sideline as we ran to collect the next ball from the opposite side.

Lecture

Coach Draski’s words, too, and the way in which he spoke, encouraged us to be nourished and renewed together. Before each tournament, Coach Draski called us together to pray through Our Lady and read a poem entitled, “The Champion.” He divided the poem into stanzas, which some players would recite and on which all would reflect. These words – which to me point to our universal call to greatness, which is holiness – have stuck with me in small and large decision-making moments. Before I took part in a city-wide half marathon last May, for instance, I warmed up with a prayer and this poem. Some phrases that resonated while I ran the race were: “You’ve got to think high to rise./ You’ve got to be sure of yourself before/ You can ever win a prize./ Think big and your deeds will grow, think small and you’ll fall behind./ Think that you can and you will; it’s all in the state of the mind…Our Lady of Victory, pray for us!” I was able to run at a personal-record pace among many others – perhaps tennis players themselves – keeping Coach’s words in mind. Before your work or school day today in these times, we can ponder these lines again.

During each tournament, Coach would invite us to “give a love tap” to our partner after every point – win or lose – letting our partner know that she is good, she can do it and you are there for her. He would invite us, too, to come to him in difficult situations during breaks in a game, set or match. Coach Draski would then poke his pointer through the wire for us to each tap it and afterwards ask, “How are we doing?”

Personal Example

Not only did his practices and words inspire my teammates and me, but his personal example reflected all that he tried to teach. I will never forget Coach Draski’s smile, finger taps, fist bumps or chuckle at some pasta party conversation. I will never forget his personal stories that shed light onto the words we spoke in the “Champion,” making me think about the wonderful power of our minds to think well and wills to act well, no matter the situations within our societies, families or selves.

Working together on hatching and raising chickens, learning the life cycle first-hand.

After graduation from college in 2018, through the guidance of grace, my human nature, mentors, courses and many more encounters, I realized my call to be a Catholic educator. For two years, I attended graduate school in theology while teaching theology within a Catholic middle-school setting. Following this program, beginning this August, I was led into teaching in the home-school setting using the Montessori and Catechesis of the Good Shepherd model as guides. Here, I have the opportunity to walk with three children, fostering a relationship with each child and God through formative learning experiences.

Continue reading “Teaching to be a Champion: Vocation and Unity in Christ”
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‘Outstanding’ Girls’ Golf Team Heads into Conference Championship

The Fenwick Girls’ Golf Team (8-1) had a great week last week with wins over DePaul Prep and Chicago Latin School, reports Varsity Head Coach Mike Trankina ’84. Earlier this month, the Friars bested Providence, Resurrection and Montini by wide margins.

The team captain is junior Lillian Bateman (Western Springs, IL), who “has become a leader both on course and off,” Coach Trankina praises, adding how consistent, reliable, and often dominant she has been throughout the year. “Lillian’s worst rounds have still been solid posts for the team,” he says, “and she has had two rounds in the 30s. She is coming into form as her putting is starting to come back.”

Ms. Bateman is joined by her sister, Charlotte, who is a sophomore and “is definitely the most improved golfer on the varsity,” according to Trankina The team is rounded out by newcomers but experienced competitive golfers sophomore Jordan “JoJo” Wiktor (River Forest) and freshman Kathryn Sweeney (Hinsdale).

On September 22nd vs. DePaul (at Willow Crest), the Friars had their first-ever match against the Rams’ new girls’ golf team. Fenwick was led by Bateman with a 41 and helped by a 42 from senior/varsity newcomer Blaire Lepore (Chicago), a 44 from Sweeney and a 45 from Wiktor.

“We had a collective 46-stroke victory over the promising young DePaul Prep team,” says their coach. Last Thursday came a “huge victory” over a very experienced Latin School team that returned a few state-experienced players from last year, he added. “We were led with an unbelievable par score of 35 from frosh Sweeney, followed by a 39 from Wiktor, 41 from Lillian Bateman and 42 from Charlotte Bateman.”

Mid-month, Fenwick had another great week with wins over Providence and Trinity. “The Providence match was noteworthy because we had all six varsity players score in the 40s for the 9-hole match,” explains Trankina. Sweeney, the frosh, led with a 40, and Lepore shot a 48. Junior Maeve McEnery (Elmhurst) had a personal best 45 in competition. The Bateman sisters and Wiktor were all in the low-mid 40s, forming the core of a strong and balanced team. Against Trinity, the girls had an equally consistent game with Wiktor breaking the 40 barrier with a 39. Fresman Kathryn Sweeney (Hinsdale) had another 40 and is proving to be a consistent scorer for the varsity.

“We have a very young team that is only going to improve over the next few years,” Trankina adds. “I see a huge future with this team. And our JV team is unbeaten so far this year also!”

The varsity squad is rounding into form for the upcoming postseason. They have Senior Day vs. Mother McAuley today, a final full-team match vs. St. Ignatius on Wednesday and the big GCAC Conference Championship on Thursday at White Pines.

Their only loss to date in 2020 is to Loyola Academy, “only by 6 strokes,” Trankina points out. “The Ramblers are a team that perennially goes downstate and also wins conference. We will meet them again in the conference championship.” GO FRIARS!

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If Dogma Won’t Save Us, Nothing Will

Remembering Fenwick and Fr. Regan in the 1940s: “There was a reason for burning incense. Father James Regan knew it and explained it.”

By James Bowman, Sr. ’49 (originally published The Alumni Wick Magazine, spring 1985)

Father Jim Regan, O.P. taught at Fenwick High School for 29 years and was inducted into the school’s Hall of Fame posthumously in 2002. His picture first appears in the 1943 yearbook and every year afterwards through and including 1971. Fr. Regan was born to eternal life in the year 2000.

At Fenwick in the middle and late ’40s, there was this bald, big-eyed priest, always with the armful of papers and pencil, walking along the corridor taking everything in, or sitting as study-period prefect in the library, also taking everything in. He looked like he knew more than he was saying.

A freshman might know him from the servers’ club, where this priest made the point that the incense better be well lit so the smoke could rise high and full. Why? Because smoke rising stood for prayers rising to heaven, that’s why. The freshman had never thought of it that way. There was a reason for burning incense. Father James Regan knew it and explained it.

For the senior who had him for religion, the message was much the same: there’s meaning in religion you haven’t even thought of. Gospel passages were memorized, such as “Behold the lilies of the field, they neither reap nor sow, etc.” with its punch line, “Seek ye first the kingdom of heaven and its justice.” He said lines as if he meant them, and knew whether you knew them by use of the daily quiz.

Fr. Regan in the early 1940s.

That’s what all those papers in his arms were, daily quizzes from four or five classes. There was a lot of tedious work correcting those quizzes. But if he didn’t correct them and get them back, the senior didn’t know where he stood. Lots of them didn’t want to know, but that’s another question.

He quoted a lot from Time Magazine. A man bet he could drink a quart of absinthe in one gulp and live. He did it and died. Nice, obvious mortality for 17-year-old ears.

Or the story of Franklin D. Roosevelt riding in an open car in the rain without a hat on, to make the point that he was vigorous and capable of leading the country. It was one of the anecdotes Father Regan used to point up the Gospel saying, “The children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light.” That is to say, followers of Jesus don’t work as hard at following Jesus as others at achieving their worldly ambitions.

Father Regan intended to make points with his seniors. He was very serious about it (entertaining too), and he had a plan: if dogma (doctrine) won’t save them, nothing will. He meant to inundate us with church teaching. He believed in church.

Skip Mass to go fishing on Sunday?

He could be stunned by disbelief or disloyalty. The student who said it was O.K. to miss mass on Sunday to go fishing, became the center of his attention. How could this be? Whence came this creature into our midst, or this idea anyhow? Skip Sunday mass to go fishing?

Not histrionics by the aggrieved father, but genuine amazement (though played out for effect, to be sure). We heard about it in his high-pitched voice, fast-paced speech (mind and lips working at high speed) and windup pause and slight smile for effect. Silence spoke as well as words.

Fr. Regan in the early 1970s.

Discipline … seemed secondary to the business of the classroom or study hall, the classroom especially. It was basically a college-style classroom, senior religion under Father Regan: daily quiz, return of the previous day’s quizzes and extended discussion of missed answers.

He repeated questions time and again until enough of the students got them right. The quizzes were teaching devices, not just checks on retention. Then lecture. The 42 minutes went fast, and up and out we went with books, gym bags and the rest to what the next 42 had to offer, which was rarely better and usually not as good.

He took religion seriously, aided and abetted by the school’s policy which put it on a par with the other four subjects. He took the Scriptures seriously, extracting meaning from gospel sayings that we’d heard from pulpits for years, thinking they had no meaning.

He used the classroom for what it’s good for: indoctrination and motivation. Counting on his students’ faith to supply the impetus, he would put the question about daily mass: what else can you do daily that is worth as much? Time and again, he asked it in those quizzes. He couldn’t force you to go to mass, but he could drill you in the reality of faith, forcing you to choose.

That’s not bad. It took a lot of work and commitment to the life he had chosen. It’s a lesson for us all. It was then for us 17-year-olds, and given a little thought on the matter, it is now, too.

Read more recollections of Fr. Regan from alumnus James Loverde ’64:

Fondly Remembering Father Regan

About the Author

In addition to being a member of Fenwick’s Class of 1949, Jim Bowman is a long-time Oak Parker and former newspaper reporter. Mr. Bowman wrote the “Way We Were” column for the Chicago Tribune Sunday Magazine as well as corporate histories and other books, including books about religious issues. His eighth book, Illinois Blues: How the Ruling Party Talks to Voters, was published in 2016.

Read more about him.

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“So, You Two Wanna Fight, Do Ya?”

A 1958-62 alumnus takes a fist-in-cheek look back at Fenwick’s lost ‘art’ of pugilism, which began at the school in 1930 as an intramural activity.

By Jim Fineran ’62 (originally published in Fenwick’s First 75 Years, 2005)

It was called the boxing tournament but it actually was ‘fighting’ with gloves and rules, because [for many students] the boxing instruction lasted about two minutes. Tony Lawless was the instructor for what he called the ‘Art Course.’ It was strictly voluntary in that Mr. Lawless decided who was to volunteer and who was not. It was not a good time of year (early February) to be on his bad side. Doctors all over the West Side were exhausted from writing excuses for boys to not participate in the ‘Art Course.’

A left uppercut by freshman Ray Heinz slowed fellow frosh Bob Denvir, who recovered to win the 100-lb. class title in 1960.

The bouts consisted of three one-minute rounds with Referee Lawless intoning ‘That’s a round!’ when the minute was up. Of course, if a couple of guys were really going at it, Mr. Lawless would let the rounds go on longer. The tournament commenced on a Friday night in March with ‘The Silver-Gloves:’ a big night of runner-up and championship fights in eight different weight classes. The gym was always packed. [In 1960, some 1,500 fans jammed into the bleachers and balcony.] Tony would bring in ex-pug ‘Tuffy’ Griffiths to referee. ‘Tuffy’ appeared to have taken a few too many shots during his career because it was not unknown for him to ‘put ’em up’ and start feinting when the bell would sound.

Fenwick’s “Silver Gloves” tourney received prominent coverage in Blackfriars’ yearbooks for more than three decades.

I don’t know when Mr. Lawless started all this [it was in 1930, during Fenwick’s infancy], but I do know it came to an end when Fr. Thomas Cumiskey became principal/president (1962-69). More than once he told me that he thought the whole thing was too brutal. Maybe yes, maybe no, but I never knew anyone who got hurt and I think the boxing did a little character-building.

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