6th Annual Athletic Hall of Fame he would be interested in operating the clock during home football games. Sam agreed and has been doing it ever since. Shortly after that, Tony Tedesco invited Sam to be a goal judge for the hockey program. After that, the invitations just kept coming. Coach John Salter asked Sam to operate the scoreboard for the baseball team and Bob Santello asked Sam to operate the clock for the basketball games. Sam soon found himself working for four of CC’s varsity sports programs. He continues to work for all four sports and loves every minute of it. Sam is known to be a pretty reserved guy, but his induction speech was anything but reserved. Sam won over the crowd with his wit and stories. No one expected Sam to speak for as long as he did, but we are all glad he did. Hall of Fame Class of 2012
The 6th Annual Hall of Fame Evening took place on Saturday, August 25, 2012, in the cafeteria at Catholic Central. The evening was indeed special for the five inductees and their families as we honored them for their athletic successes and the distinction they brought to CC. These men are the foundation for our great tradition, and our community is proud to have been able to honor them in this way. The first inductee was the late Bill Wightkin ’45. Bill passed away in 1997, but his legacy lives on in the history of Catholic Central. Bill participated in four sports during his years on Belmont Avenue: baseball, basketball, boxing and football. It is football for which Bill is well known. He was the captain of the Shamrocks in the first Boys’ Bowl game against Boys Town in 1944. After multiple All-State honors, Bill earned a scholarship to play football for the legendary Frank Leahy at the University of Notre Dame. There Bill was a part of three national championship teams. Upon graduation from Notre Dame, Bill was drafted by the Chicago Bears and played with the Bears from 1950 until 1957, being 40
selected to the Pro Bowl in 1955. Bill was inducted by Rudy Seichter ’59 and Bill’s classmate, Hon. Roland Olzark ’45. The next to be inducted was Bob Handloser ’54. Bob was a fine athlete at Catholic Central, earning nine varsity letters in football, baseball and basketball. Bob earned All-State honors in football and baseball and was captain of all three teams during his senior year. Upon graduation, Bob played football on scholarship at Michigan State University. There he was a part of two national championship teams in 1955 and 1956. Bob was unable to travel to Michigan for the evening. Accepting on his behalf was classmate Don Rembiesa ’54. Next up during the program was perhaps the longest and most surprising speech of the evening. Sam Borri ’55 was inducted in recognition of his many years of dedicated service as a volunteer to the Athletic Department. Sam played baseball while a student at CC, but it was well after graduation that Sam made his mark. Since 1975, Sam has attended most of the CC sporting events. In 1990, then-Athletic Director Bob Santello ’58 asked Sam if
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Coach Chuck McHenry was next to be inducted. Coach McHenry began coaching football at CC in 1952. From 1956 until 1970, Chuck was an assistant coach on the varsity football team. He was also a professional boxer and amateur boxing judge during that time. His son, Chuck “Rocky” ’71, spoke on his behalf until the coach decided it was his turn to take the microphone. We are sure glad that he was able to be with us to accept this honor. The final inductee of the night was the 1999 Varsity Baseball Team. The 1999 team won the State Championship and finished the season with an impressive 38-1 record. To this day, they are considered by many to be one of the greatest baseball teams in Michigan high school history as they were ranked #12 in the nation by USA Today. Led by Head Coach John Salter and assistants Al Moran ’57, Ed Hamacher ’61, Kevin Walters, Bob Murray ’79 and Bill Lis, the team sent multiple players to the major leagues, including Casey Rogowski ’99, Anthony Tomey ’99 and Bobby Malek ’99. We were thrilled that many team members were able to be with us to celebrate the evening.