Crusader Collegians

Hal Cervini

Hal Cervini St. Aloysius

Hal Cervini Tulane

Harold (Hal) Cervini started at G for Johnny Altobello on three straight St. Aloysius state championship teams: 1949, 1950, and 1951. Hal wanted to go to Tulane, but Greenie coach Cliff Wells was recruiting a G in the Midwest. Altobello called Wells several times asking him to take a look at Cervini, who was holding off other schools waiting for TU. Finally, Cliff sent an assistant who raved about the Crusader. So Wells offered the scholarship and was not disappointed. Cliff called several times after games in which Cervini made the difference to thank Johnny for recommending him.

5'11" Cervini lettered four years for the Green Wave, scoring 1,013 points. He holds the records for the second most FTs and FTAs in a game in TU history with 17-of-20 against LSU on March 4, 1955. He's tied with himself for fourth in most FTs in a season (133 in both '53-4 and '54-5) and is third in FTA in a season (186 in '54-5). He led the team in scoring as a junior and a senior (14.7 and 16.4) and made all-SEC second team both years.

Here's an item from the Sports Illustrated "Vault" (a great online resource) from the January 3, 1955, issue - "A Roundup of the Week's News."

Tulane broke 60-60 tie in final three minutes, went on to hand Stanford first loss 67-62. Jim Nowakowski and Hal Cervini each scored 17 to top Green Wave.

He was chosen in the ninth round of the 1954 NBA draft by the Milwaukee Hawks but did not play for them. (The Hawks took another Louisiana player, Bob Pettit, in the first round that year.) Hal coached with Altobello at De La Salle during the 1957-8 season that featured the seven game "World Series" between the Cavs and Crusaders. (Look for an article on that topic in the fall Century II.)

Hal is a member of the Tulane Athletic Hall of Fame (1982) and the Louisiana American Italian Sports Hall of Fame (1991).

Foret Brothers

The Foret brothers, Teddy ('55) and Bobby ('58), starred in football for the Crusaders to earn scholarships to Auburn.

Teddy lettered at tackle all three years he played varsity ball for "Shug" Jordan at Auburn. In that era of limited substitution, starters played both offense and defense. The '57 Tigers finished 10-0 to finish #1 in the AP Poll. The '58 team went 9-0-1, and the '59 slate showed 7-3. Ted was drafted by the Baltimore Colts of the NFL (15th round) and the Denver Broncos of the brand new American Football League. However, he did not sign with either team. He played Canadian football for one year

Bobby Foret

The Aloysian proclaimed: "Bobby Foret, 6'2' 180 pound senior at St. Aloysius, has been selected by Teen Magazine to fill the end position on its All-Southwest Honorable Mention team. ... Bobby is one of the tri-captains of the football team. He has been named Player of the Week and chosen for the All-Catholic Team by the Times Picayune, the All-Catholic and All-City team by the States, and the W.D.S.U. Team. His absence from the Times-Picayune All-Prep Team is one reason why the selections of that paper have been highly criticized."

Bobby lettered at end in 1960 and 1961 at Auburn, both winning seasons (8-2 and 6-4).

Both brothers coached at St. Aloysius during the 1962 season under Andy Douglass.

NCAA Tennis Champion

Junior Donni Leaycraft receives the MVP award from BM coach Dr. Winston Riehl.

When he signed Donni Leaycraft for LSU in 1986, coach Jerry Simmons called him "the most heralded player in Louisiana junior tennis history, and he will have a big impact here." Three years later, Leaycraft became the first player in LSU history to win the NCAA singles title. The following year, as a senior, Leaycraft played in the main draw at the U.S. Open.

While at Brother Martin, Leaycraft played on the U.S. Junior Davis Cup Team along with teammates Pete Sampras, Andre Agassi, Michael Chang, and Jim Courier. He was chosen as a Parade High School All American while compiling a 62-2 singles record. Two of his biggest accomplishments were a top 10 national ranking in the Boys 18 and under division and a victory over Sampras. When Leaycraft won the LHSAA singles championship his sophomore year, he became the first BM player to do so. He defended his title as a junior and senior.

While a Tiger, Leaycraft was a four-time All-SEC selection, a two-time singles All-American (1988 and 1989), and played a key role in LSU's NCAA runner-up team in 1988. In all, he was ranked among the top 50 in the nation in singles for four years, which included a No. 3 final ranking in 1989. His 1989 singles mark of 42-10 still stands as a school record for most victories in a season, and his career mark of 135-38 also ranks No. 1 in school history. He was inducted into the LSU Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998.

Leaycraft is the head tennis professional at the Country Club of Louisiana in Baton Rouge.

Dale Valdery

Then ...

The September 12, 2008, Picayune included a story "SUNO hires veteran Valdery." "Valdery," of course, is Dale Valdery, PG of the 1970 and 1971 Brother Martin state championship teams. As a freshman at St. Aloysius in 1967-8, Dale became the first African-American to enter a game in the LHSAA Top 28 Tournament.

Valdery fulfilled the role of defensive specialist on the best Xavier University team ever, the '72-3 squad that went 21-6 and knocked off #1-ranked Sam Houston State at the NAIA tournament only to be upset themselves the next day by Maryland-Eastern Shore. The other G on Coach Bob Hopkins' Gold Rush team was bald Don "Slick" Watts who became an All-Pro with the Seattle SuperSonics. One F was Bruce Seals from B. T. Washington.

After coaching the Xavier women's team for six years, Dale directed the Gold Rush men from 1990 to 2002, compiling a 234-136 record. He won at least 20 games for his first six seasons and totaled 10 winning seasons. His teams won three Gulf Coast Athletic Conference tournament championships and had three NAIA tournament appearances. He was chosen 2001 GCAC Coach of the Year and 2001 Louisiana Small College Coach of the Year. (One of Dale's ball boys at Xavier was Avery Johnson, future NBA player and coach.)

Dale also served as an assistant coach at Southern and Grambling State. While he was at Grambling, the Tigers won the Southwestern Athletic Conference in '87 and '88. Southern won the SWAC championship in '03 when he was an assistant.

Read more about Dale.

... and now

Football Foes

The 1987 LSU-Tulane game in the Superdome featured six Crusaders, three for each squad.

Jay Rink

For Mack Brown's Tulane Green Wave:

DB Tookie Spann (BM '84), who lettered in 1985-6-7, was a captain in '86 and '87, and intercepted a pass in the '87 LSU game;

DE Jay Rink (BM '86), who earned four letters (1987-8-9-90)

LB Pat Stant (BM '87), who also lettered four times (1987-8-9-90)

For Mike Archer's LSU Tigers:

DL Tommy Clapp (BM '83), who lettered four years (1984-5-6-7);

LB Mike Hebert (BM '84), who lettered in 1985-6-7;

DL George Henriquez (BM '83), who earned letters in 1984-6-7.

LSU scored in the last minute to take an exciting 41-36 victory over Tulane in the regular season finale for both clubs. The 9-1-1 Tigers defeated South Carolina 30-13 in the Gator Bowl. The 6-5 Green Wave also went bowling. They lost to Washington 24-12 in the Independence Bowl.

QB Tookie Spann against St. Augustine in the Superdome 1983

Mike Hebert

Warde Manuel

Warde Manuel earned high school All-American as a DT his senior year in 1985 when the Crusaders reached the state semifinals. He then attended Michigan where he lettered at DE under Bo Schembechler his sophomore year. Even after a neck injury ended his football career, he lettered in track and field while completing a bachelor's degree in 1990. He then earned a master's degree in social work and an MBA from Michigan.

He served as an executive staff assistant in the UM Athletic Department before being named an assistant athletic director in 1998 and associate AD in 2000. In 2005, he became the AD at the University of Buffalo of the Mid-American Conference where he has considerably upgraded the athletic program. In September 2008, he was reported to have interviewed for the AD position at the University of Washington.