This is the story of the young boys who stayed at Holy name of Mary high school in the 1940 era and early 1950's and played on the very first basketball, baseball and football teams in the newly formed Metropolitan high school sports league that was established in December 1950. The story represents a time when the young boys of HNM loved sports and all they wanted to do was play ball. I was one of those boys so I can tell the story and feel comfortable knowing the story represents their feelings also.
THE STORY
In my young adult life after high school and serving four years in the U.S. Marine Corps, over a period of time I was asked the question, Joe, how old were you when you first started playing ball. My answer was always the same, I don't really know because it seems like I was born with a ball in my hand. But the same was true with all my buddies. We all had balls to play with, basketballs, baseballs and footballs, it did not matter as long as it was a ball. Hardly was it a new ball because we could not afford one, but who cares, we just wanted to play ball and we played a lot. From the youngest age we met at each other's house or at the place we were going to play.
We played a lot in the streets on the blacktop roads, never had to worry about automobiles, there were few of them on the streets. We played in the TDC yard next to HNM church which was also blacktop, we played at the foundry field, at the park across from HNM church, at the school yard and we played a lot at Skelly ballpark and gym. We played from sun up till sun down. We even played by ourselves. I can remember throwing a baseball on the top of the roof of my house and catching it when it came down. I did that for hours sometimes.
It was a treat when one of us managed to have a new ball to play with. Thought we were in the major leagues. The cover on the new balls did not last long thanks to the blacktop we played on that ate it up. No problem, when the cover was gone we wrapped the ball with black electrical tape and when hit with the baseball bat felt like you hit a brick and stung but what is a little sting when you are playing ball? We broke a lot of bats but improvised. There was always a mop stick to use. Of course when our Moms found out we had to make sure in the future it was a throw away mop.
We played so much ball we had an air pump to add air to the basketballs and footballs. Some basketballs also had a tie up string just like a football and when you dribbled the ball if it hit on the string you never knew which way the ball would bounce. Playing on blacktop is an experience you never forget. Sometimes when the touch football games got a little rough, you landed on that blacktop and had brush burns as large as a silver dollar all over your body. The funny part is we always came back for more. On one spill I had so many brush burns my Mom took me to see Dr. Landry on Pelican Avenue.
Summer vacation during the school year break we gathered at Skelly park and gym. We would be there in the morning, go home for lunch, return and then go home for supper. There was no better way to spend the summer than playing ball. Skelly had two baseball diamonds, a smaller one for kids up to 14 and the large diamond for the older boys and adults. In fact the large diamond was comparable to Pelican stadium. We not only played on teams we played just as a group of buddies. For us young boys, we could hardly wait to play in the big park. Because a baseball can be hit a long way, we could only bat in Skelly park and the foundry field. Of course we could play catch anywhere. Early on we tried playing baseball in the TDC yard using bats and ended up breaking several windows in the priest house which sat on the TDC's rear property line. Those windows were large and high like a lot of windows on houses in old Algiers are still today. So the priest told us we had to put the bats away, a real disappointment because the yard was small enough you could hit a home run.
In grade school we played intermural and CYO ball against other catholic schools on the west bank and also played in the Irish Channel. We were fortunate to have a number of young adults who loved sports and coached us after school and on weekends. They took the time to form leagues and make up teams and taught us the most important thing, sportsmanship. They were kind enough to take time out of their lives to work with us and care about us and will forever be remembered.
Every year as we moved up in grade school and eight grade became closer and closer, the boys who loved to play ball were thinking of their next stop in high school. HNM was not a member of any high school sports league for the boys to look forward to play in. Some of the boys were already talking about going to Behrman high school just two blocks away that played in the Riverside league. Some were talking about going to one of the Catholic schools across the river like Jesuit, Holy Cross and etc. who participated in what was called at the time the Prep league. It was not a happy time for I nor my buddies who knew we would be staying at HNM.
Talk began to pick up in 7th grade that HNM and other schools were looking to form a new high school sports league. That talk continued going into high school but every year nothing happened to become a fact and therefore, more disappointment. Since we had already entered high school the disappointment was a heavy load to carry. Then out of no where, Fr. Morin, HNM's Athletic Director announced in December 1950 that HNM along with six other schools joined together to form the Metropolitan Sports League. It was the first new sports league since 1938. It was a happy and joyous occasion for the boys who stayed at HNM and loved to play ball. It took place for school year 1950-1951in my junior year.
The very first sport played that year in the new league was basketball. Walt Williams was our first full time coach and was an excellent coach and ball player himself. We had brand new uniforms for the first time ever and went bananas. The uniforms were also very good looking and made a good show. I do not remember our won-loss record but the team gave a good account of itself. One of our players made the All Metro team and led the league in scoring.
The second sport played was baseball. We played the first two games without uniforms because they were late coming in. We wore Jeans and a sweat shirt and I guess you can tell what took place. Yes, our opponents had a good time teasing us and rubbing it in, but we were above it all because all we wanted to do was play ball. We completed the season in a tie with S.J. Peters and the league proclaimed us co-champions. It did not last long because the league found that we played a game with an ineligible player and therefore Peters was claimed the lone champions. Two of our players made the All Metro team and one was the leagues MVP player. It was a good year for a first year start.
The next school year was my senior year and the 1951-1952 school year. The first sport up was football and HNM named Harry Hahn as coach to replace Walt Williams. Harry was a former outstanding player on Tulane's football team and was a no nonsense coach with a roaring voice. We had no practice equipment to wear so harry borrowed some old equipment from Warren Easten where he had coached. The equipment was older than old, no string to tie up the shoulder pads, no cushion inside the head gear and the one on one and two on one drills were bruising to say the least. We went home from practice every day with an aching head and body. Being a small school, HNM only had 22 men on the squad, a lot less than other teams. But all in all, the team finished the season and did well overall. One of our players made all Metro honorable mention.
The next sport up was basketball. I played the first half of the season and sat out the second half with an injury. Very unhappy and the first and only injury ever sustained. Overall HNM had another successful season.
Next sport up was baseball and HNM won the Metro League title outright. The team went to the state playoffs in Baton Rouge, won our first two games and then lost in the semi-finals. HNM had 6 of its players who made All Metro and one of them was also Metro's MVP.
To be able to play and compete in the Metropolitan high school sports league was a dream come true, a happy and satisfying ending for the boys who stayed at HNM school. The disappointments and setbacks along the way turned out to be only interruptions. All we ever wanted to do was play ball and live our dream. Many of my buddies who played on those teams and who we played ball with when we were all so young are deceased now but will always be in my thoughts. We all shared so much in common, especially sports. And all of that took place over 70 years ago but sometimes seems like yesterday. All we ever wanted to do was play ball.
This story was written by Joe Lorio
