Chicago, IL (December 1, 2022) – On Saturday, November 5, Saint Patrick High School inducted one individual and two teams into the Shamrock Hall of Fame. The individual and two teams joined St. Pat’s prestigious class of athletes during a Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the school. The Induction Ceremony was held in the Lowell I. Stahl Family Theatre prior to the school’s All-Inclusive Class Reunion where there were over 300 alumni, family and friends in attendance.
This year’s class of inductees are:
Gary Didier ‘71 (Football) – Gary Didier was a 4-year football player (1967-1971) at Saint Patrick High School. Didier was a 4-year starter on teams with a combined 31-3-1 record that collectively won three Conference Championships. He was selected to the SCC All-Conference team and presented with the Golden Helmet Award by the Chicago Tribune as a Prep All Star and was also selected as All-Area Special Mention and All-State Honorable Mention.
Although he was recruited by a number of colleges, most notably the Ivy League schools (Yale, Dartmouth, Columbia, Brown, Cornell) and the Army, Navy and Air Force academies, Gary chose to “walk on” to the Northwestern University football team coached by Alex Agase. Didier graduated from Northwestern with a B.S. in Industrial Engineering and Management Science, and earned his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern.
Gary retired in 2016 after a successful 40-year career in the financial services industry and serving as the Chief Technology Officer for Invesco, one of the largest, global, independent investment firms, for 10 years. He says “It’s a tremendous honor and privilege to be inducted into the Shamrock Hall of Fame. I’m very proud and also humbled by St Pat’s honoring me in this way. It’s also a great pleasure and rare blessing to have played with a three-time champion Hall of Fame team, four Hall of Fame coaches and three teammates who’ve also been individually inducted into the Hall of Fame. It doesn’t get any better than that!”
1970-71 Football Team – The Saint Patrick Football program has had many outstanding individuals throughout history and some very good teams, but the 1970-1971 Football season was certainly a season to remember. Under the leadership of head coach Larry Scannell, this talented group of men brought great pride to Saint Patrick High School.
The 1970-71 Saint Patrick Football team dominated their conference, finishing with a 9-1 record in the Suburban Catholic League. This was the team’s first year playing in the Suburban Catholic Conference after many years in the Chicagoland Prep League. The football team captured the East Division Championship by defeating neighborhood rival Notre Dame. The Shamrocks defeated the West Division Champion, Marmion Military Academy, to claim the Suburban Catholic Conference Championship and finished in the top 10 for state.
1970-71 Basketball Team – Under the leadership of head coach Max Kurland, the 1970-71 Saint Patrick Basketball team dominated their conference, finishing 8-1 in the competitive East Suburban Catholic Conference in their first year in the league. The Shamrocks finished the regular season with a record of 26-5, tying the 1959-60 team for the most wins in a season. The 70-71 team won the Saint Patrick Thanksgiving Tournament and finished in 3rd place at the Carbondale Christmas Holiday Tournament.
The team captured the East Division Championship by beating Notre Dame twice and breaking their neighborhood rival’s win streak. Like the football team, the Basketball team defeated the West Champion, Marmion Military Academy, to claim the Suburban Catholic Conference Championship. The Shamrocks went on to win the Regional and advance to the Sectional Finals before losing to Oak Lawn, the eventual State Runner-Up. During their four years, the players on the ’70-’71 team were coached by three hall of fame coaches: Joe Schmidt, Bill Geist and Max Kurland.
Visit www.stpatrick.org, call (773) 282-8844, like Saint Patrick on Facebook or follow @SaintPatrickHS on Twitter for more information.
ABOUT SAINT PATRICK HIGH SCHOOL
Now in its 159th year, Saint Patrick is the oldest all-male Catholic high school in Chicago. Its mission is to provide an educational experience of the highest quality which enables young men to develop their maximum potential as lifelong learners and assets to society and the Church. Saint Patrick welcomes students of other religious beliefs, varying academic abilities, and diverse ethnic and economic backgrounds. Students reside in the city of Chicago and nearby suburbs and come from more than 128 different elementary schools
MEDIA CONTACT
Jennifer Sloan
Director of Communications
773.282.8844 ext. 231
jsloan@stpatrick.org
