Latin School of Chicago

"In the mid to late '70s, Latin was somewhat of a powerhouse in the Independent League when it came to girls basketball. In a home game on February 15, 1978 against Harvard St. George High School, which was an ISL member at the time, our girls team clearly was in a position to dominate the game against an undermanned opponent. Harvard St. George was one of the smallest schools in the state and could barely field a team. In fact, as the article in the Chicago Tribune the next day pointed out, Harvard's team had only six players. During the game, one was injured and another fouled out, and the girls coach Ethel Allman agreed to let them keep the player who had fouled out in the game so it would be five against five. At halftime, Harvard still had not even scored a point – that's right, the game was a shutout at the half. Same for the end of the third quarter. By then, word had spread through the building that the girls team was on its way to a record shutout performance, and the crowd started to build. Every Latin fan wanted the team to get the record for the largest shutout victory in U.S. history. But our team was coached by the aforementioned Coach Allman, and she clearly understood the meaning of sportsmanship and why you do not intentionally do that to an overmatched opponent. So with Latin up something like 90-0, Coach Allman ordered the Latin team to let Harvard get on the scoreboard by playing a base defense. When that didn't work, she told her players to start fouling the Harvard players every chance they could to give them a chance at a free throw and to avoid the inglorious record. And sure enough, the game ended in a 117-1 Latin victory. "The message in all this is clear: At Latin, win or lose, we always left the field the same way we came onto it – with our heads held high and our honor intact. Truth be told, I was also one of those students who wanted the girls basketball team to get the record. But now looking back, I appreciate Ethel Allman's courage to do the right thing even when she was going against the wishes of the student body and probably her own players. She taught a life lesson that day about sportsmanship and not kicking someone when they are down. I remembered it, and I will always be grateful to her for it. No, the girls basketball team didn't get the record that day, but they left the gym that day with something even better – their honor and their self-respect." – Jon Feiwell '78 Girls basketball team in the 1970s Background: 1980s volleyball team LATI N SCHOOL OF CHI CA GO 67

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