Oak Lawn reunion a model for success

Updated: March 23, 2011 9:50AM

Memory Lane was a popular avenue in Oak Lawn over the weekend. The attendees at Friday's 40th anniversary reunion of the Spartans' 1970-71 basketball team and those who watched and participated in Saturday's alumni basketball games had a great time.

So why aren't there more of these get-togethers, which can serve the dual purpose of renewing old ties and, potentially, raising money for athletic programs?

The question especially is true for public schools. Oak Lawn, thanks to boys basketball coach Scott Atkins, is the rare school that has embraced such a concept.

From the well-organized display cases in the hallway leading to the Spartan Gym - a year-round nod to the school's athletic heritage in all sports - to the weekend's festivities to the Feb. 4 night honoring players from the 1950s and 1960s, the Spartans have a winner.

The weekend bash was something more associated with private schools, whose development offices, by necessity, often engage in gentle arm-twisting of alumni to raise funds. Reunions of old teams are one way to do that. Successes on the football field or basketball court always are more fondly remembered than, say, chemistry class.

Given that Oak Lawn was the runner-up for the state title, one would think that the winning team also would be planning a reunion. When word from Thornridge reaches this office we'll pass it along.

Thornridge became a legendary squad - and enhanced the Spartans' legend as well, for no team gave the Falcons a tougher game during their 58-game winning streak - by winning the following year as well, demolishing Quincy in the first Class AA championship game. The final score, 104-69, is the state's gold standard for dominance, and their 43-9 outburst over eight minutes of the first half, Boyd Batts scoring 21 in that stretch, remains unfathomable.

The back-to-back championships are worth remembering, and there are other anniversaries coming up schools could celebrate. This year alone is the 35th anniversary of Morgan Park's Class AA basketball title - Laird Smith's buzzer-beating 20-footer via Levi Cobb's tip was the shot seen 'round the state and sank West Aurora 45-44 - and the 45th anniversary of Thornton's 1966 title team.

Chicago Christian's girls rolled to the Class A hoops title 30 years ago, while Mother McAuley did so in Class AA 20 years back.

In baseball, spring will bring the 20th anniversary of Thornwood's 1991 Class AA champions, a Cliff Floyd-led 35-3 team that knocked off previously unbeaten Edwardsville in the title game, and the 35th anniversary of Brother Rice's 1976 championship squad.

There are a slew of successes to toast in the fall, including the 30th anniversary of Mother McAuley's 1981 Class AA volleyball champs - the third of the Mighty Macs' 13 state crowns - and the 25th anniversary of Richards' Class AA stunner in 1986, which included knocking off McAuley en route to the title behind All-Stater Barb Blizzard.

Football brings forth eight more anniversaries, the oldest of which is owned by St. Laurence. It was in 1976 when Tom Kavanaugh's Vikings ran the table, becoming the first Catholic League team to win a football title. Can it really be 35 years?

Or 25 that Tinley Park, with the remarkable Brian Wise, captured the Class 4A crown?

It's true. Brother Rice also has the 30th anniversary of its 1981 Class 6A football champion, while alums of Mount Carmel and Providence can get together and cheer grid success in both 1991 and 1996, each winning it all those years, in 5A and 4A, respectively.

Whether there will be reunions is another question. It seems a natural, but someone has to put it together. Oak Lawn alum Don Wesselhoff and Atkins - to use Len Scaduto's phrase, "people who bleed green" - did the heavy lifting for the Spartans' bash. Then the old-timers have to buy in. At Oak Lawn, they have.

It can be worthwhile beyond the smiles from people otherwise separated by many miles. In an era of squeezed budgets, including at Oak Lawn, every dollar counts, and the extra money raised by everything from a reunion to munchies sold at the concession stand goes toward supporting athletics. In that way, a ride down Memory Lane can smooth the path to the future.

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