Though it has more than half a century of athletic achievements, Bishop Ludden Junior/Senior High School did not have an official place to honor them – until now.
On Aug. 1 at the Marriott in downtown Syracuse, Ludden celebrated its inaugural group of Sports Hall of Fame inductees, a group ranging from individuals to coaches to teams.
This initial class concentrates mostly on athletes who were at the school during its first three decades, beginning with Mark Wadach and Phil Harlow, who both starred in basketball and track and field from 1966 to 1969.
Chet DeLucia, a football and track standout from 1969 to 1973, moves the induction class into the ’70s, where seven more inductees made their mark.
There was Martha Mogish Rowe and Jim Roy, who both were there from 1974 to 1977 – Rowe in basketball, Roy in golf. Gretchen Byrne Burns and Mike Naton competed from 1974 to 1978, with Byrne Burns taking part in everything from basketball to golf to soccer to speed skating.
Tom Whelan rounds out the 1970s alum, having gone from 1975 to 1979 in basketball, cross country and lacrosse, which leads to a trio of noted 1980s selections.
Pat Driscoll attended Ludden from 1982 to ’85 and later became a nationally recognized college basketball official who took part in multiple NCAA Final Fours and was chosen this year to the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame.
John Johnstone (1984-1987) went on to pitch in Major League Baseball and later returned to Ludden to coach its varsity baseball team, while Len Rauch (1984-87) also played basketball and baseball and later had his daughter, Danielle, set all the school records while leading the girls basketball team to a pair of Section III titles and later starting at Michigan.
Four coaches were chosen for this inaugural class, including football and track coach Dave Didio, along with three basketball coaches Terry Quigley, Jerry Wilcox and Pat Donnelly, the latter two also members of the Greater Syracuse Sports Hall of Fame.
Special recognition was given to softball star Carol “Stash” Stanley (1963-1967) along with the 1968-69 boys basketball team known to Ludden fans as the “Green Machine”.
