Alumni football players from the Saint Patrick Classes of 1986-1989 were honored during halftime of the Shamrocks Homecoming football game on Oct. 8.
During those respective seasons, the Shamrocks produced an abundant amount of success. Under the guidance of legendary coaches John Urban and John Gruber, the ’86, ’87 and ’88 Shamrocks won three consecutive East Suburban Catholic Conference Championships.
Urban and Gruber led St. Pat’s to five consecutive playoff appearances while posting a combined record of 38-13 during that span, and an overall record of 62-25 during both their tenures as head coaches.
During the Shamrocks three title runs, the team went 23-8 overall and outscored their opponents 592-273, never allowing more than 100 points to be scored on them in any single season – while shutting out their opponents on 10 different occasions.
During the 1987-88 season, Urban and the Shamrocks secured the first IHSA playoff win in school history by defeating St. Laurence 21-7.
These great teams produced 25 All-Conference athletes, four players recognized as All-Area and one selected to the IHSA All-State team – along with four athletes who eventually were inducted into the Shamrock Hall of Fame. Urban and Gruber’s teams also produced 15 Shamrocks who played in college, 12 of which were for NCAA Division I programs.
The alumni in attendance at the game included: Kevin Breaux ’86, P.W. Leyden ’89, Joe Sartin ’89, Frank Miller ’86, John Bellizzi ’86, David Muellner ’86, Mike Gillespie ’89, Sean Crilly ’88 and Vito Cinquepalmi ’89 – in addition to Gruber, Urban and coach Jeff Troxell.
