3 from St. Laurence Selected for CL ‘Hall’
Three graduates of St. Laurence High School will be inducted tomorrow (Thursday) into the Catholic League Hall Fame.
The three inductees are Steve Mally (Class of 1973), Kevin King (’74) and Bill Gleeson (’76).
All three were previously enshrined in the Athletic Hall of Fame at St. Laurence.
Steve Mally was the quarterback on the Vikings first Chicago Prep Bowl championship team.
Running the wishbone offense, Mally led the Vikings to their first-ever Catholic League title and first-ever city championship in 1972.
Perhaps the fastest athlete ever at St. Laurence, Mally still holds the 100-yard dash mark for the Burbank school.
Fellow St. Laurence Hall of Famer Gerry Skizas has called Mally “the best quarterback in St. Laurence history.”
Mally died March 20 of this year, and his wife died a few weeks later, leaving behind two daughters.
Out of the thousand-plus football players who have participated in the St. Laurence football program, perhaps none has personified the spirit, determination and achievement of the team better than King.
King, a 1974 graduate, was a varsity player on the 1971, ’72, and ’73 squads. During those three years the Vikings compiled a mark of 21-7-2, with two Catholic League and two Prep Bowl championships.
The late Coach Tom Kavanagh once called King “the best running back in the Catholic League since Johnny Lattner.”
Gleeson, a multi-sport athlete at St. Laurence, was named all-Catholic League in 1975 in football, played basketball all four years, and was a track star.
He won the Catholic League 400 meters his sophomore, junior and senior years, and qualified for the state finals in the 400 as a senior.
He has served at Brother Rice High School for the past 23 years in a number of capacities, including head football coach.
Currently, Gleeson is an assistant track coach at Brother Rice is is an assistant football coach at Saint Xavier University.
Tickets for the Hall of Fame dinner, which is at 7 p.m. tomorrow, are $35 (or $350 for a table of ten).
More information may be obtained by calling Jim Prunty at St. Ignatius High School, (312) 432-8355.