A Remembrance On August 20, 1978, \\C lost \t1r LaSalle - ChMies "Obte" O ' Brien "v1r O'Brien was the "Red Auerbach" of Philadelphia h1gh o;chool basketball from 19~4 until he retired in 1970. H1s name has been synonymous with LaSalle for the past forty-four years and lw was the .,chool"s most enthuo;ia•aic and energetiC supporter. The most important things m Mr O'Brien's ltfe were his tamll~ , the high school, the Christian Brothers, and, of course, basketball . Alt<•r hts retirement ac.; coach he rematned actt\e at the c.,chool as head of the LaSalle High School De\elopment Fund He also acted a'> Reun1on Coordinator, which enabled h1m to keep 1n contact wtth the thousands of fnends he had made at La5alle. lie had total reca ll for every boy who had ever played for htm He was at the school almost ever) da7. working hard to raise money for the Dewlopment Fund Dunng Mr. O'Bnen'c., retgn as basketball (Oach hts teams ""on seven Catholic League champ1onshtp!> and four c1t7 titles. He never had a losing season and won 541 games dunng his career, more than any other Phila· delphia coach. Mr. Charles "Obte" O'Brien was a legend tn hie; own t1me. He was one of the greatest men ever a'>'>O<.iated with LaSalle. He truly was "Mr. LaSalle".
Mr. Charles O'Brien Ceorge McManus was the school Janitor. He d1ed on 14 1978. He had been working at LaSalle for tht• pa~t thirteen years. When each freshman class en· tPrNi LaSCIIIe, George was the object of their intrigue and lac.,unat1on Crowds of freshmen could be heard as they gathered to curiously watch G<'orge entertain the bewil· dercd nev-. students. They always walked past h1m cau · t10usly, tcartui of becommg the next \ICtlm of his playful , wanton broom handle. In the precanous world of new stud<•nts, the kind!~ cld man \\lth a e~gar 1n the corner ot his mouth crumpled hat perched atop his head, and the familiar broom, was a con.,tant factor 1n the1r unstable IIV<''>. Ac., each class progres'>ed, their Initial curiosity was replaced w1th respect They cou ld understand the impor tann' or George's role at LaSalle George utilized h1s JOb to touch the lives of the thouc;andr, ot bovs \\hO cam<' 1n contact w1th h1m George \\c\\anus lett his mark Cit LaSalle High, and he \\Ill not be forgotten H1s ramll1ar Yeah man, .,..,.hat's happening?" \\ill ring throu~h the halls ot thts '>Chool fort.?\ er.
~eptPmber
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Mr. George McManus