• Ernie came to Esplanade Avenue from St. Stanislaus, where he coached just one year. However, what a year it was since the Rock-a-Chaws had one of their best teams in many years, losing only four games.
• The Crusaders were invincible at home for the first three and a half years of Smith's reign, compiling 32 straight wins in the Aloysius gym.

That streak came to a halt on Friday night, January 15, 1960.

• Crestfallen by their fourth place finish in the annual CYO Tournament, the Jesuit Blue Jays were determined to bounce back in league play.
• Jesuit opened Catholic league play at Aloysius.
• Jay Coach Kevin Trower used only five players: Bobby Kerrigan, Rusty Staub, Lou Triche, Al Weddle, and Pat Screen.
• The visitors were hot in Q1 to take a 19-12 lead. They led 33-24 at the half.
• The Jays scored only 4 points in Q3 but held Aloysius to 9 to still lead by 4 going into the final eight minutes.
• Jesuit won the last period 18-14 to take the ball game 55-47.
• C Triche led all scorers with 20 points while Staub contributed 14, Kerrigan 9, Screen 8, and Weddle 4.
• Gary Albrecht was high man for the Crusaders with 15, and Ed Burgard threw in 8.

Aloysius lost to Jesuit at their gym in the second round 41-39 on their way to tying for 2nd in the district with the Blue Jays behind De La Salle.

• The deadlock necessitated a playoff with the Jays for the district's second state playoff berth.
• Jesuit completed the trifecta 49-48 at Loyola Field House to end the Knights' season.

Dick Brennan

Here's Ron Brocato's comments on each from the Clarion Herald with some additional information on each.

• Dickie Brennan - One of legendary coach Johnny Altobello's greatest basketball players. He was named to the All-City and All-State teams each year from 1948 to 1951.
  
  Brennan was also a solid first baseman for Altobello's teams that won the 1948 AAABA tournament in Johnstown PA and Aloysius's first city and state baseball champion­ships the following year.
  
  
• D. J. Augustin - A two-time All-State guard who led Brother Martin to state basketball titles in 2004 and 2005. He now plays for the Indiana Pacers of the NBA.
  
  D. J. also led the Crusaders to the finals his freshman year. We'll never know what would have happened if Katrina hadn't exiled his family to the Houston area for his senior season.

Read about all the new inductees.

D. J. Augustin

• The football team left that morning for Alexandria where the Crusa­ders took part in an unprecedented game - the replay of the 0-0 deadlock with Neville the previous Friday when the teams also tied in first downs and penetrations.
• Andy Russo's youthful but promising basketeers hosted Baton Rouge High.

Many people in the Crusader gym kept tabs on the football game via their transistor radios while watching an exciting basketball contest that went into overtime.

• The game stayed nip and tuck the whole way. The Crusaders led 13-11 at the end of Q1 and 22-21 at the half.
• The Bulldogs tied the game 33-33 at the end of three periods to set up an exciting final eight minutes.
• But the last quarter settled nothing, each squad scoring 14.
• The Crusaders won the OT 4-2 to take the game 51-49 and run their record to 7-0.
• Junior C Rick Robey, in his first year of eligibility, led the Crusaders with 17 while sophomore Leroy Oliver added 15. Other scorers were Jimmy McCulla 8, Sidney Hill 6, Joel Hron 4, and Jay Trapani 1.
• Cornelisu Fair led Baton Rouge with 20. Severa Alexander contrib­uted 12 and Dave Faris, 11.

The news from Alexandria was not as good.

• A large portion of the game was played in a driving rainstorm.
• Neville capitalized on a botched snap on a punt to take over on the Crusader 42. The Tigers drove eleven plays to score the only TD of the evening to cop an 8-0 win.
• Three days later, Neville played its third game in eight days but still defeated Airline 6-0 for the state title.

The first was Anthony Imbraguglio in 1953. Read more ...

The second was John Giblaint in 1958.

• When Ernie Smith came from to coach the Crusaders for the 1957-8 season, he brought Giblaint with him. The 6'3" 170 lb F would attend Aloysius for his senior year.
• Adding John to an already talented roster enabled the Saints to reach the state finals, where they lost to De La Salle in the seventh time the teams faced each other that year.
• Giblaint and teammate Gasper Cardinale, a 5'9" senior G, made the AAA all-state cage team and were chosen for the Coaches' All-Star Game July 29 at Tulane Gym.

The coach for the South team was none other than Ernie Smith.

• Giblaint traveled to New Orleans for the game from Dallas, where his family had moved during the summer.
• The two Aloysians scored almost half the points for Smith's team, which defeated the North All-Stars 63-43.
• Gasper led the South in scoring with 16 (7 FG, 2-2 FT) while Giblaint added 14 (5 FG, 6-12 FT), including 10 in the first half when the Southerners forged a 30-14 lead.
• The coaches in attendance voted Johnny the MVP of the game, which earned him the "Mr. Basketball" designation.

John Giblaint played for Auburn in the 1959-60 season. He died November 13, 2012, in Leesburg TX.

Even before we get the state playoffs in football out of the way, the bas­ketball season jumps up and hits us in the face.

Area high schools began playing last week and this week's slate of games will be headed by the first official game between an all-white and an all­Negro high school team when St. Aloysius meets St. Augustine at Loy­ola Field House Sunday.

Tap-off for this game is 2 p.m., and there will be many fans from both schools on hand to root for their teams.

This is the start of what may develop into a fine basketball program for all schools, and many followers are looking forward to the annual CYO tourna­ment in which both St. Augustine and Xavier Prep will participate.

• Joly probably used the term "first official game" because Jesuit and St. Au­gustine were rumored to have played a secret game with no spectators at the Jesuit gym the previous spring. First "public" game would have been a more accurate phrase.
  
• The rumor was confirmed by the 1999 film "Passing Glory" directed by one of the Purple Knights who participated in the game, Harold Sylvester.
• Even though the 1956 state law banning interracial athletic events had been invalidated by the Federal District Court two years later, the LHSAA still had admitted no black schools as members as of 1965.

Led by three seniors, Aloysius won the November 28 game 67-55 before 3,000 fans.

• Johnny Vitrano hit for 18 points to lead Nick Revon's Crusaders.
• Kerry Marler added 14, and Ted Meade 10.
• No untoward incidents were reported.

Kerry Marler

Ted Meade