Corpus Christi School offered athletics to their young men. Basketball, Baseball, Football and Golf were for sure
offered. Track and Field and Cross Country may have also been offered. Information is limited on the history of Corpus Christi
(and St. Joseph) athletics. Corpus Christi was a member of the Illinois High School Association.
Boys Basketball
Boys Basketball was offered at Corpus Christi. Evidence of the earliest teams can date back to 1925. Two of the games
that year were played against Kewanee High School. In the first games, Kewanee won 18-10, but in the second game later that
season, Corpus Christi came back to score a close win against the Boilermakers, 21-20.
Coach Jim Murphy left his mark as a basketball coach at CCHS, taking three consecutive teams to
the National Catholic (Prep) Basketball Tournament in 1938-39-40, after finishing second in the state Catholic school tourney
(mind you, the IHSA didn't allow private or parochial schools into their organization until 1941). These games were played
in Chicago, hosted by either Loyola or DePaul.
Previously in 1934, the Irish (as they were called prior to 1938) were Catholic State Champs, and
won their first two games at the National Catholic tournament. Coach Harry Bell directed that team to a 27-2 finish.
Several of the key players for the '34 squad include Carl "Red" Thielbert (who was all-tournament at both
the state and national tournaments), his brother Ralph, Bill Foley, Marv Seastedt,
and Bill Bowen. An excellent artilcle on this team written by Tom Wison of the Galesburg Register
newspaper can be read at:
In 1953-54, the Friars won their only basketball Regional (
www.ihsa.org), defeating Cambridge 61-55, Galesburg 51-48, and Oneida ROVA 53-52 to take home the regional plaque. Coach
Bob Drolet's
team was led by captain
George Bednarcik, Tom Belezos, Joe Mills, Gene Mellican, Chuck McGeary, and Dan Foley.
The win over Galesburg was the first-ever in 13 meetings (at that point) for Corpus Christi, and all three victories came
on consecutive nights...from behind each time!
(Source of ALL of this information is courtesy of "Joe's Back with
Sports Memories" by former Galesburg Register-Mail
sports editor (and Corpus Christi grad) Joe Morrissey...book was published in 1993).
1953-54
N.R.A. Regional Champions Coach
Bob Drolet
1963-64
Knox Co, Tourney Champs Coach Rex Davis
Football
Football was also offered at Corpus Christi and evidence of their earliest teams can be traced back to as far as 1927.
After that, we are uncertain of it's history and are hopeful that they have had some good battles with Galesburg High School
and/or the Knox College secondary teams.
According to research by our own Kev Varney:
The school offered football and even had an undefeated season in 1947, going 8-0 for coach Mike Esposito.
The 1939 Friar gridders were undefeated and untied (no record known) going into the final game, where they lost to Rock Island
St. Joseph (now Alleman), 6-0. Jim Murphy was the coach of the '39 team. Also worthy of mention is the 1927
team, which was undefeated with one tie. Some other records of the better Corpus Christi seasons between 1958
and 1963 are listed below as well thanks to the research of Tom Sikorski.
1927
Undefeated / untied
1939 1 Loss Lost final game of season
Coach Jim Murphy
1947 8 - 0 Coach
Mike Esposito
1958 3 - 3 - 1 Coach
Jim Pogue
1959 3 - 3 Coach Maynard
Luetkehans
1961 6 - 2 Coach
Jim Phalen
1962 5 - 3 (first year in Little 6 conference) Coach
Jim Phalen
1963 5 - 4 Coach
Rex Davis
Baseball
Baseball was a summer sport at the time Corpus Christi was in existence. The earliest team can be traced back to as far
as 1947 when they played in a game against Lewistown and fell to them 2-1 on two occasions.
Boys Golf
Of all the sports offered at Corpus Christi, Golf took home the most notoriety. In 1958, back when Boys Golf was a spring
sport (as opposed to it being a fall sport today) Corpus Christi won a District Championship and qualified for the state tournament.
1957-58 N.R.A. District Champions
IHSA State Qualifiers Coaches name unavailable
Diocesan Music Festival
Corpus Christi High School was the host of the Tenth Annual Diocesan High School Music Festival on May 1, 1958.
The Festival was hosted by Corpus Christi at the Cathedral of St. Mary, in Peoria, with rehearsals and some performances at
the Spalding Gymnasium.
Seeking Your Assistance
As you can see, we are in need of a few things. We are especially interested in more clubs and activities offered at
both Corpus Christi and St. Joseph Academy as well as coaches and athletes and famous alumni. Personal memories are also a
must have...they make this site a special one.
More information is being sought about the schools. Corrections are welcome as well. If you have more Information about
the schools, including photos, nickname, other great sports athletes and other great teams and high school memories you would
like to share please drop us a line at:
Or you may also write us at:
Illinois HS Glory Days
6439 N. Neva St.
Chicago, IL 60631
