Sports

St. Louis Catholics and sports have a a long and celebrated heritage.

Stan Musial and Red Schoendienst. "Easy Ed" Macauley and Harry Keough.

Those are just a few of the Catholics in the St. Louis Sports Hall of Fame, organized by Greg Marecek and a group of passionate, dedicated St. Louis fans to honor the metro area's greatest athletic achievements.

Football is the perfect combination of strength and skill, force and finesse.

Linemen smash into each other in an attempt to move the ball forward or, on defense, to push it backward or at least impede its progress. Receivers run precise routes and running backs accelerate and make quick cuts while defensive backs rely on their speed and skill to make a play.

Neither team was willing to accept defeat.

But somebody had to lose. Incarnate Word had pulled ahead after the first quarter of a crucial game — with the winner going to the Final Four of the state's Class 5 girls basketball finals.

St. Joseph's Academy battled back to within four points late in the fourth quarter, but Incarnate Word wouldn't let go. With key free throws, rebounds and steals as the game wound down, Incarnate Word left the Mark Twain Building on the University of Missouri St. Louis campus with a 49-42 win.

A close match featuring two highly regarded basketball teams from
Catholic schools in the archdiocese didn't disappoint those who attended
the Coaches vs. Cancer Shootout at Scottrade Center in Downtown St.
Louis Jan. 26. The tournament featured 16 teams from Missouri and
Illinois, including a third Catholic school here.

Heavy defensive pressure and accurate shooting were cited as factors
as Cardinal Ritter College Preparatory High School handed St. John
Vianney its first loss of the season. The 69-66 win brought Cardinal
Ritter's record this year to 12-4.

Scott Highmark would not have been a member of St. Louis University's Billiken Hall of Fame if it had not been for a three-letter word from his new coach, Charlie Spoonhour -- fun.

Highmark's basketball experiences had been focused mostly on winning and losing, and he'd been on the winning side until his freshman year at SLU. The team started out 5-5 and ended up 5-23. The coach, Rich Grawer, whose son was Highmark's best friend and roommate, was fired after that season. Highmark was ready to transfer to Mizzou until he sat down with the new coach, Spoonhour.