Golf Outing Photo Gallery
PHILADELPHIA – La Salle basketball fans and alumni gathered for the ninth annual “Friends of Bill Raftery” Golf Outing, which benefits the men's basketball program, on Monday, June 20 at North Hills Country Club in North Hills, PA. Led by co-chairmen Frank Corace '63 and Bill DeMarco '62, the “Friends of Bill Raftery” Golf Committee plans the yearly outing and is comprised of volunteers. This year, the committee honored Professor Sidney J. MacLeod of the Communication Department and Hall of Fame Coach Herb Magee of Philadelphia University. Generous donations and corporate sponsorships made this outing the most profitable outing to date. For the second straight year, Land Services, USA, a full service national title insurance agency, participated as the title sponsor of the event.
Golfers once again enjoyed excellent weather conditions for the outing, which included a capacity number of registered foursomes. The outing was played in a scramble format. With a score of 57 (-14), the foursome of Chip Greenberg '86, Kevin Lynam '81, Pete Tiano '85, and Greg Webster '81 repeated as winners. Finishing second on a match of cards with a score of 61 (-10) was the foursome of Eric Eberz, Mike Grugan '02, Matt Thornton '04, and Tom Thornton, while the foursome of Tony Abbott '63, Tom Galia, Fr. Charles O'Hara, and Fred Rullo finished in third place. In the closest to the pin contests on holes 3, 9, 11, and 14, the winners were Tom Bowe '70, Eberz, Chris Burns, and Jim Gulick '89, respectively. Connie Newman '60 and Cean James won the longest drive contests on holes 4 and 17.
During the evening portion of the event, Corace acted as emcee, and to open the program, Head Men's Basketball Coach John Giannini provided the introduction for Magee. A fixture in the Philadelphia basketball community since his days at West Catholic High School in the 1950s, Magee spoke of the strong friendships with La Salle basketball players, including Tony Abbott '64 and Bill Raftery '63. Magee also praised the work of La Salle's Associate Director of Academic Support for Student Athletes, Christine Cahill, who previously worked in the Academic Support Department at Philadelphia University. The NCAA record holder for coaching wins, Magee is slated to be inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame on Friday, August 12.
Leading the recognition of Sid MacLeod was previous recipient of the same honor, Brother Gerry Molyneaux. Each year, the “Friends of Bill Raftery” recognizes an individual who embodies Lasallian traditions and has a passion for the Athletics Programs at La Salle. MacLeod was a perfect fit for this recognition considering his long running dedication to the students at La Salle and his considerable video work with La Salle basketball games. During his remarks, MacLeod accurately stated that he has watched more La Salle basketball video than any other person in the world. In true dramatic fashion, MacLeod closed his speech by unbuttoning his shirt to reveal a La Salle Basketball t-shirt, exclaiming “Go Explorers!”
Other Lasallians recognized by the “Friends of Bill Raftery” Golf Outing Committee include: Jim Phelan '51, Bill Raftery '63, Coach Obie O'Brien, the Greenberg family (Hank '49, Charlie '56, Chip '86 and Kelly '89) Charlie Halpin '46, Jack Reardon '59, and Brother Gerry Molyneaux '58, and Gregory O. Bruce, MBA '81.
Corace presented the Buck the Bartender Award to Brother John Kane '80 MA '87 for his significant contributions to the basketball program. As Director of Academic Support for Student-Athletes, Brother John works diligently to ensure La Salle's athletic teams have the resources and assistance to succeed in the classroom. During his remarks, Brother John expressed gratitude to the aforementioned Christine Cahill for her work in their department.
Numerous recently graduated men's basketball alumni were in attendance at the dinner, including Kimmani Barrett '10, Sherman Diaz '08, MBA '11, Rodney Green '10, Darnell Harris '08, Paul Johnson '09 Yves Mekongo '11, and Steve Weingarten '11. Also, Greg Danish '11 and Steve Smith '05 entered foursomes and attended the dinner.
Raffle prizes for this year's outing included a one-year membership to Talamore Country Club, Weber Gas Grill from Ambler Fireplace and Patio, Rita's Water Ice Party for 30, and La Salle Men's Basketball jersey. The give-a-way for the golfers was a "Friends of Bill Raftery" jacket, donated by Under Armour, the official apparel provider for the "Friends of Bill Raftery" Golf Outing.
The date for the 10th annual golf outing has been set for June 18, 2012, once again at North Hills Country Club. To receive additional information on next year's event, please contact Phil Telan at telanp1@lasalle.edu or 215.951.1524 to be placed on the mailing list.
