"I miss the 1963 team. I have good memories. But I don't lookback. It would be nice to see them again. I hear they're planninganother reunion. I hope it's not when I'll be salmon fishing inupstate New York. I love you guys. But salmon come first." - Casey Mitchel
After 25 years, the football players who keyed St. Rita's driveto the only national championship ever awarded to a Chicago areaschool have reached middle age, gone their separate ways and foundsuccess and joy in other pursuits.
But the bond that tied them for four years never will bebroken. And the memories they shared never will be forgotten.
They recall Jim Klutcharch's two-point conversion pass to RogerNiemiec that beat Loyola 16-15 for the Catholic League championshipand John Byrne's record five-touchdown, 231-yard rushing performancethat buried Vocational 42-7 before 81,270 in the Prep Bowl at SoldierField.
But, most of all, they remember coach Ed Buckley with reverence,respect and fear accorded to Vince Lombardi. Even Lombardi,however, might have blinked if confronted with Buckley's two-a-day,no-water practices, four-hour scrimmages, power training and "bull ina ring" drill.
"We went through hell together," said Byrne, who was the ChicagoSun-Times Player of the Year.
"We were a group of guys who were trained like animals and wouldeat through a brick wall," said tackle John Gorman. "We had a motto: The team that drinks together stays together."
"Boot camp wasn't as hard," said tackle Joe Kosiak. "AfterBuckley's practices, games were an escape, a walk in the park."
"We often wondered what it would have been like to lose and rideback on the bus with Buckley," said halfback Tom McCague.
"Buckley generated a lot of fear," said guard-linebacker TomLabus. "But he always walked a fine line. If you generate too muchfear, you risk paralyzing an individual. But he seemed to know howfar he could go with each player without breaking him. He alwaysgot more out of a kid than you thought it was possible to give."
Most important, Buckley ignited a competitive fire and built amental toughness within his players that carried them through highschool and college and served as solid foundations for successfulbusiness careers.
"If you can go through four years of football in a toughprogram," Klutcharch said, "you'll be successful in life."
Klutcharch, Kosiak and Frank Salvatori are football coaches inthe Chicago area, but Casey Mitchel doesn't think about footballanymore. When he isn't fishing, the corporate executive embraceshis first love, soccer, serving as an official and president of NewJersey's soccer association.
Niemiec raises and trains thoroughbred horses in a westernsuburb, Mike Poehner is chief executive officer of a large NewYork-based television research company, Jim Enright is a truckdriver, Tom Pavletic is a public defender and Labus and McCague arecollege professors.
Byrne is product manager at Andrew Corp. in Orland Park, JackGardner is an optometrist, Don Mrozek and Jim O'Grady are lawyers,Frank Angone is a medical social worker, John Berry and Jeff Bybeeare Chicago policemen, Dennis Callinan is a city inspector and Gormanis a construction contractor.
Larry Smith, who started for Michigan State in the memorable1966 "Poll Bowl" game with Notre Dame - a 10-10 tie - is regionalmanager of a computer software company on the West Coast. FrankPorrevecchio is a vice president at Xerox Corp. and assistant coachesJim Guzzo and Bill Egan have remained in high school administrationand teaching.
Only one player had died. Two-way end Ray Reiche, an officerin the Coast Guard, was killed when his ship was lost in the northPacific while carrying arms to Vietnam.
The trip to the national championship began in 1959 whenBuckley, after coaching in Massachusetts for 11 years, was lured toChicago to rebuild the St. Rita program. The Augustinian school at63rd and Claremont hadn't won a Catholic League title since 1923.
He went to South Side parishes and recruited 52 freshmen,promising them everything but new cars and vacations to Florida toattract them away from traditional powers Mount Carmel and Leo.That only 11 survived to play as seniors says volumes about Buckley'scoaching philosophy.
"They weren't very big and they weren't stars in college,"Buckley said, "but they were very tough kids, very competitive, verydisciplined, very smart, quick, hard workers, hitters.
"They had great teamwork, something that is lost in today'sgame. They proved if you're smart, competitive and willing to workhard, you can beat a lot of odds."
After practices, Buckley often told his assistants - MichiganState coach George Perles was an aide in 1961 - to write down thenames of the "11 toughest guys regardless of position." Then theycompared lists and found starting spots for each of them.
"Put the right peg in the right place - that's what is wrongwith high school coaching today," Buckley said. "Coaches try to makespecialists and don't coach fundamentals. Instead, chemistryteachers are trying to coach linebackers. The kids aren't asmentally tough as they used to be."
Tough?
McCague recalls his first practice as a freshman. The playerspicked up their equipment and walked to Lindblom Park at 59th andDamen. When the coaches arrived . . . well, let McCague relive theexperience.
"They tortured us for four hours in 95-degree heat," he said."Kids passed out, threw up and walked off the field and quit. Therewas no water, just a wet towel. Guys kept sucking on it, thenspitting into it. When somebody dropped, the coaches just moved thescrimmage five yards upfield to get out of his way.
"Afterward, when we were walking back to school, we passed acement company. There was some fresh cement with some water on top. I'll never forget a bunch of us just fell flat on our faces in thewet cement to get a drink of water. It tasted so good."
Tough?
While beating Leo in the second game, Kosiak suffered a kneeinjury and Gorman had a charley horse in his thigh. Buckley sentthem to the Chicago Bears' team physician, who applied anankle-to-hip plaster cast to Kosiak and taped a knee-to-hip cast onGorman.
They had some time to recuperate because St. Rita had a bye onthe next weekend. On the following Monday, however, Gorman limpedinto the locker room and saw a startling sight.
"Kosiak was stretched out on a training table, Buckley had ahand saw and was sawing off Kosiak's cast," Gorman said. "Joe wasscreaming and Buckley kept saying: `It doesn't hurt, does it? Youfeel all right, don't you?' I ran into the next room, cut off mycast and went to practice."
Buckley's style raised eyebrows, of course, and his criticsbecame increasingly disenchanted despite his promise to win a citychampionship within four or five years. Finally, after the 1963season, Buckley and the school administration agreed it was time forhim to leave.
He moved to the AFL, USFL and NFL, coaching and scouting for theChiefs, Montreal Alouettes, Jets, Saints and Redskins, finallyretiring with George Allen. Now 68, he lives in Phoenix, Ariz.
Some of his players may have "hated" his tactics, but they neverlost their respect for him. "We were in awe of him," Poehner said."We hated him. He'd run you into the ground and blow smoke in yourface with his cigar. But we wanted to play for him."
"Buckley was fair - he treated all of us like dogs," Byrne said. "He was a football genius. We didn't beat up or outrun opponents. We beat them on execution. He knew what all 22 players were doing,right or wrong, who missed blocks, who made tackles. He didn't need game film."
Nobody practiced harder or longer. Nobody was in betterphysical condition. And hardly anyone came close. Their first sixvictories were by margins of 46-0, 44-0, 44-6, 48-0, 44-6 and 42-20.
After official practice began in mid-August, ex-marine Buckleyput his troops through double sessions. They used only 10 basicplays but executed them so flawlessly that opponents couldn't stopthem even whenthey knew which play was called.
"It was wham right and wham left (with Byrne running and Mitchelblocking)," Poehner said. "In practice, Buckley used to say: `Runit again, you're dogging it, run it again.' In games, we'd tell theguy across from us: `We're coming this way.' That's the way weplayed. That's the kind of confidence we had."
Buckley never let up. In November, when darkness came early,he moved practice to the south end of St. Rita Stadium so he couldrun drills under a streetlight. "We once scrimmaged from 4 to 9 p.m.and only quit because the other team didn't have any players leftstanding," Gorman said.
St. Rita was tested only once. The Mustangs fell behind Loyola15-8 in the third quarter, then marched 60 yards to score asKlutcharch triggered the drive with a 37-yard pass to Mitchel.Klutcharch scored on a six-yard rollout, setting the stage for themost important play of the season.
"The year before, I was the goat in our loss to Fenwick in theplayoff when I quick-kicked the ball 65 yards up in the air and onlyfive yards downfield, setting up a Fenwick touchdown that put us in ahole," Mitchel said. "So when Klutcharch threw that long pass, Isaid to myself: `If I drop the ball, I'll go back to Loyola'ssideline."
After Klutcharch scored, sophomore wide receiver Niemiec ran tothe sideline to get the extra-point play from Buckley. Nobody everconsidered a kick to tie, only a two-point conversion to go ahead.
Buckley called for Klutcharch to roll out, then run or pass toNiemiec, who was to run a post-flag pattern.
"Niemiec was covered," said Buckley, who always walked thesideline in the same green shirt, gray pants and tan hat, "but hehad brains enough to get open. He stopped, went back to the middle,was alone and Klutcharch threw to him. It was the biggest moment ofmy life."
After overwhelming Vocational in the Prep Bowl, they celebratedwith cigars and beer on the bus ride home. "It was over, all thehard work," said Labus, who didn't play as a freshman or sophomorebut was a 5-8, 160-pound all-stater as a senior. "Suddenly, therewere no more things to conquer and we asked ourselves: `Is this allthere is to it?' "
Years later, Byrne still says the Prep Bowl was "the mostexciting moment of my life" and people still remember hims as "thatJohn Byrne." But he asks a question about 1963 he can't answer.
"If we hadn't gone all the way and won the city title, would itall have been worth it?" he said. "Would the dedication, sacrifice,abuse, double sessions, marine drills - would it all have been worthit if we had lost?"
Byrne's teammates think so.
"Our competitive spirit carried over to the business world,"said Gardner, who was president of the senior class. "When you'reforced to sacrifice for the good of the team, it teaches you to gothrough tough times in life."
Gardner recalls when running drills was punishment at St. Rita. Now he enjoys competing in marathons.
"The training I got under Buckley carries over to how hard I pushmyself in business and life and sports," Gardner said. "Some of uswere overachievers. But we were able to be coached and pushed. Webelieved in ourselves and went for all the glory."
And they got it.
