Leo Lions
Lasting legacy of championship teams
Leo, a Catholic school on the South Side of Chicago, is the Sun-Times' Spotlight School of the Week. The Lions have won five state titles in track and one in boys basketball. Notable alumni include Andrew McKenna (President and CEO, Schwarz Paper Co.; former chairman of the board of the Cubs, Sox; board of directors, Chicago Bears), Jason Jefferson (Buffalo Bills) and Jim Hallberg (President, Insure One).
TOP SPORTS MOMENTS
(Brian Jackson/Sun-Times)
Location: 7901 South Sangamon
Conference: Chicago Catholic League
Colors: Black and orange
Nickname: Lions
Enrollment: 285 boys
State titles: 5 in track, 1 in basketball
Behind the name: Pope Leo XIII, the pope of the working man
95,000 witnesses
1 Leo stormed to a 39-6 halftime lead and smashed Tilden Tech 46-13 before 95,000 in the 1941 Prep Bowl at Soldier Field. Coach A.L. Cronin's team (11-0) was led by quarterback Babe Baranowski, halfback Ed Hayes, fullback Bob Hanlon and linemen Jim Arneberg, James Gallagher, Larry Forst, Chuck Mehmel and Frank Lauro. Hanlon scored on a 73-yard run.
For the defense
2 Ed Ryan, the Sun-Times Player of the Year, and Rich Boyle led an offense that rushed for 313 yards as Leo (10-1) stifled Calumet 12-0 in the 1956 Prep Bowl before 66,282. Boyle rushed for 164 yards, Ryan 92. Two linemen were Bob Foster, now president of Leo High School, and Tom Winiecki, who went on to have a distinguished coaching career at Gordon Tech.
Rookie winner
3 In his first season as coach, Noah Cannon guided the basketball team to the 2004 Class A title. The Lions (28-5), who beat Winnebago 65-57 in the final, were led by Sun-Times Class A Player of the Year Frank Clair, Tracy Robinson, Keelan Donald and Alan Downing. Robinson, the sixth man, averaged 16 points, eight rebounds and seven assists in the playoffs.
Moving up in class
4 Coach Ed Adams' track team beat state power Wheaton Warrenville South 47-40 for the 1995 Class AA title. Chris Watson won the 100 and 200 while Fletcher Boyd, Curtis Clark, Ryan Payne and Watson won the 400 relay. Boyd was second in the 110 high hurdles and eighth in the 300 hurdles. The 800 relay of Watson, Payne, Clark and Courtney Cook was second.
Most points ever
5 The 2002 track team scored the most points in meet history by a Class A team by overwhelming Harrisburg 85-46. Ryan Shields won the 100, 200 and 400 for the third year in a row. The 400 relay of Jason Hall, Whitney Holley, Jimmy Williams and Marcel Morgan set a state record, and the 800 relay of Akeem Hunter, Williams, Hall and Morgan also won.
WHAT LEO MEANS TO ME
By Andrew McKenna: A 1947 graduate, CEO of Schwarz Paper Co., former board chairman of the Sox and Cubs, and a member of the Bears board of directors.
I grew up on the Southeast Side and rode three streetcars to get to Leo. The logical thing for me was to go to Mount Carmel, but a group of us from my grammar school elected to go to Leo. It was a great blend of the South Side ... Irish, Polish, Italians.
Why Leo? The football team won the Prep Bowl in 1941 and 1942, and it focused a lot of attention on the school. Everybody admired Bob Hanlon, who came from our neighborhood and was an outstanding fullback and solid citizen. He ended up teaching at Leo.
I look back with fond memories. It brought discipline into my life. The Irish Christian Brothers who ran the school in those days taught us how to study and how to interact with people of all backgrounds.
I'll always remember Bro. Francis Finch, who coached the basketball team to the Catholic League championship in 1947. He also was my chemistry teacher. He was very disciplined and very focused. I admired how he conducted his life. His manner of teaching was very open and well directed.
I wasn't involved in sports, but I was sports editor of the school paper and statistician for the basketball team. At that point in my life, I wanted to be a writer and journalist. I was a stringer for the old Chicago Times and Sun. My boss was Jerome Holtzman, the Hall of Fame baseball writer.
Leo was a great experience in life. And it was great preparation for Notre Dame, where I majored in business. Would I do it over again? A hundred times. Bob Foster, the president, has done so much for the school. There wouldn't be a Leo without Bob Foster.
But there were a whole bunch of Bob Fosters at Leo, people who cared, loved the opportunity to go to school there, contributed, were unselfish and demonstrated great social skills. Today, as a proud alum, it is refreshing to see so many Leo men achieve things.
NOTABLE ALUMNI
* James Collins: Attorney, Bell, Boyd & Lloyd.
* Frank Considine: Retired CEO of National American Can Co.
* Thomas Fitzgerald: Justice, Illinois Supreme Court.
* Donald Flynn: Member, board of directors, Waste Management Inc.
* Bishop John Gorman: Former president, St. Mary of the Lake.
* Jim Hallberg: President, Insure One.
* Jason Jefferson: NFL player, Buffalo Bills.
* Edward Joyce: President, Chicago Options Exchange.
* James T. Joyce: Former Chicago fire commissioner.
* Ed Koloseike: CEO, Bill Kay Chrysler & Dodge.
* Dan McGrath: Sports editor, Chicago Tribune.
* Andrew McKenna: President and CEO, Schwarz Paper Co.; former chairman of the board of the Cubs, Sox; board of directors, Chicago Bears.
* Lt. Gen. George Muellner, USAF: Retired president of Boeing Corporation's Strategic Defense Systems Division & Phantom Works.
* Tom Owens: Chairman of the board, XL Datacom.
* Dr. William Payne: Photonic Switching Architectural Group, Bell Laboratories.
* Joseph Power: Partner, Power, Rogers & Smith.
* Robert Sheehy: President, Sheehy & Sons Funeral Home.
