Girls basketball in the 1950s.
Go Romans
Under the leadership of athletic director Bill
Hoffman in the '40s, the school celebrated a
prolonged period of athletic success – largely
due to the talents of Johnny Groth '45,
who played football, basketball and baseball
for Latin and led the school to winning
seven of the nine Private School League
championships it won during this decade.
Furthermore, AD Hoffman's boosterism
and popularity created immense school
spirit. In 1949, Latin's athletic teams
referred to themselves as the Romans
for the first time. In the following years,
popular activities included the Letterman's
Club and cheerleading. Hoffman's passion
for football, in particular, and his football
banquets and Lake Geneva football camp led
to some of Latin's most glorious days on the
field. In 1942, the Latin team won its first
Prep School League (PSL) Championship,
followed by winning seasons in 1944 and
1945. The 1951 13-player squad, known
as the "Iron Men," went 5-2-1 under the
captainship of Robert Mendelson '52, who
earned All-State honors. The 1953 and 1954
teams earned undefeated PSL championships.
But by the end of the '50s, the "glory days"
of football at Latin were over. The PSL
expanded to include some very tough teams,
and despite the strength of athletes like Jeff
Cohn '59 and Niles McMaster '61, Latin
did not have a winning season again until
1967, when the Romans won the newly
formed Independent School League (ISL)
championship. Within the next decade,
interest in football at Latin and in the ISL in
general, waned and sadly, the program was
discontinued in 1973 after more than 75 years.
In addition to football, the '50s were
strong years for baseball and tennis, in
which Latin won four PSL championships
behind the leadership of Patrick McKenna
'55, who was one of the outstanding tennis
players in Illinois.
Coach Hoffman
LATI N SCHOOL OF CHI CA GO
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