New feature on website recaptures history of sports at area Catholic high schools

By John Shaughnessy

Bob Kelly wanted to create a new feature for his website that focuses on the sports teams of five Catholic high schools in Indianapolis—Bishop Chatard, Cardinal Ritter, Cathedral, Father Thomas Scecina Memorial and Roncalli.

Beyond the excitement of the games and matches today, Kelly also hopes to capture the magic and the memories of games that were played by previous generations of Catholic school athletes.

“I wanted something that brings you from the memories of yesteryear to what the kids are doing today,” Kelly says. “Kids today could look back, and people from those times could have memories of those days and those games. I’m just trying to connect the young generation with their moms and dads, their aunts and uncles, their grandparents. It gives them more of a chance to relate through this common bond.”

Called “Yesteryear,” the feature will become a weekly staple on Kelly’s website, www.sportschronicle.net, beginning on the weekend of Aug. 27-28. To develop “Yesteryear,” Kelly spent several weeks this summer at the Central Library in downtown Indianapolis scouring microfilm of long-ago issues of The Indianapolis Star. He will share summaries of games and highlights from as far back as 50 years ago.

In his research, Kelly came across one sports story that had a personal connection for him.

“In 1971, there was a game where Roncalli was playing [the former] Latin School in boys’ basketball,” Kelly recalls. “My dad had coached for Latin School then. The story stopped me in my tracks. Dad passed away in 1980. It brought back all the memories of being back in that gym.”

Those kinds of connections are the ones that Kelly strives for in his coverage of high school sports today.

“This will be the start of my sixth year,” he says. “I love it. I’m so thrilled about being able to do this. I remember playing golf in high school at Roncalli. The only time golf got coverage was in the state finals. We never made it that far. It would have been nice to have a site like this where you could read a story or two about it, and see pictures. That’s what I’m trying to do.

“Football and basketball always get the publicity, but I want the swimmers, the golfers, the runners and the volleyball players to get that feeling as well. It brings a lot of satisfaction for me, and hopefully the people who come to the site are getting that satisfaction, too.” †