La Salle Athletics
Here at La Salle, we believe in moving “always forward.” Our Cardinals embody that spirit and a tradition of excellence both in the classroom and on the field, whether they’re hitting home runs or hitting the books. La Salle Academy teams compete in the New York City Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA) leagues in baseball, basketball, bowling, handball, soccer and track and field at the freshman, junior varsity and varsity levels. In 2017, we welcomed the “new normal” at La Salle with city championship titles earned in junior varsity bowling, junior varsity baseball, varsity baseball and varsity basketball. Our varsity basketball team also went on to win the New York State Class B Federation Tournament for the first time in Cardinal history!
Click here to view the La Salle Academy Athletic Hall of Fame.
BASEBALL
Our baseball teams were the City Champions in 1941, 1960, 2000, 2006, and again in 2017. La Salle’s varsity and junior varsity teams are highly competitive, participating in playoff competitions every year.
Day of Week: Seasonal-Spring Sport
Time: 2:30 pm
CITY CHAMPIONS
1941, 1960, 2000, 2006, 2015, 2016 and 2017
BASKETBALL
La Salle boasts one of the proudest basketball traditions in New York City. Our students have been competing on the court since 1906, a mere 10 years after Dr. James Naismith invented the game. La Salle has produced seven NBA players, including Dick McGuire ’43, Ed Bartels ’44, Bill Kenville ’48, Tom Owens ’67, John Roche ’67, Shammgod Wells ’95 and Ron Artest ’97. La Salle basketball owns 12 city championships – ranging from 1914 to 2017.
Day of Week: Seasonal-Winter Sport
Time: 2:30 pm
CITY CHAMPIONS
1914, 1915, 1916, 1946, 1954, 1960, 1962, 1967, 1971, 1997, 2004 and 2017
BOWLING
Dedicated to the building of school community through sports, La Salle’s bowling team continues to grow in prominence. Junior varsity and varsity teams practice and compete in locations throughout Manhattan and Queens. In the 2016-17 and 2017-18 academic years, the junior varsity team won the Brooklyn/Queens Division title and moved on to win the CHSAA City Championship game.
Day of Week: Seasonal-Fall/Winter Sport
Time: 2:30 pm
CITY CHAMPIONS
2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018
SOCCER
Speed, stamina, hand-eye coordination and teamwork are all essential skills built on the soccer field. The team plays in the fall semester and practices every day throughout the season. In recent years, La Salle made it to the playoffs in the quarterfinals of the Class B Division Championship but did not advance.
Day of Week: Seasonal-Fall Sport
Time: 2:30 pm
CITY CHAMPIONS
2022
TRACK & FIELD
La Salle’s track and field team consists of cross-country running in the fall, indoor track and field in the winter and outdoor track and field in the spring. Endurance, leadership, guts and dedication are prized in these sports, and our teams embody these traits. La Salle’s track teams of the past have been some of the best in New York City history. In 1971, La Salle was the city champ in cross-country and outdoors. Today, we are consistently making strong runs to the top of the league. Practices are held every day after school and meets are on the weekends.
Day of Week: Year-round
Time: 2:30 pm
CITY CHAMPIONS
2021,2022,2023, & 2024 (Cross Country)
HALL OF FAME
In 1987, under the leadership of Alumni Director Brother Henry Betz, Athletic Director Bill Aberer ’67, and Secretary of the La Salle Academy Alumni Board of Governors Bob Welsh ’55, the Athletic Department of La Salle Academy established the Athletic Hall of Fame. The athletic tradition of La Salle, to say the least, has been very rich, and it is only fitting that a vehicle such as the Hall of Fame was established to recognize the accomplishments of our many fabled athletes, coaches, and moderators.
Athletics Testimonials
John Candelaria ‘72
Baseball and Basketball
I have often wondered why our Lord has given me so many blessings, and although I will never come to a conclusion as to why, I am and will be forever grateful for my years at La Salle Academy.
While you may know me best as “The Candy Man” from Major League Baseball, I started my career as a student-athlete at La Salle in the late ’60s. I played baseball and basketball for the Cardinals and I was always proud to wear the uniform.
I loved going to the school on 2nd Street and 2nd Avenue; I would take the F train from Brooklyn right in the middle of rush hour… I thought that was so cool! I am grateful for all the friends who meant so much to me, and the Brothers and lay faculty who made young men out of us. I still have those connections and fond memories today.
If it weren’t for La Salle’s Athletics program, I wouldn’t have had made it to the big leagues. After La Salle, I played professional baseball for 18 years with eight different teams. Throughout my career, I never forgot where I came from. When you walked in the door of the school, you saw the sign that read, “Remember… You Are La Salle.” That saying always stayed in my heart.
Col. John Valentin ‘71
Cross Country and Track
When I reflect on my time as a member of both the cross country team and the track team, the first thought (of course) is of the camaraderie we enjoyed with our teammates. Those bonds among us go far beyond the friendships we developed as members of the same team. We grew and matured into a band of brothers who persevered through the trials of arduous practices, personal disappointments and crushing losses. We were always together during the challenges as well as the victories. We were part of something which represented not only our school, but our way of living our lives. The team provided us an opportunity to meet boys from the other grades who served as leaders; it provided us a platform to develop our own leadership style to assist those who came after us. I am still in touch with members of the team and during our reunions, we all gravitate to each other and reminisce about our shared experiences.
I cannot overemphasize the role of our coaching staff. Mr. Dennis Haley and Mr. Dewitt Thomson were shining examples and sources of inspiration to us all. They provided us much more than the technical details of running or competition. They served as role models who challenged us to achieve excellence on the track team and in the classroom. They fostered the essence of a student athlete and created synergy between the two. I will never forget how Coach was as demanding an individual as I had ever experienced, while always being the first one to extend compassion and understanding when we fell short. To this day, I find myself using the concepts and sayings of both of those phenomenally gifted men.
Finally, my experiences on the team not only led to me pursuing running on the collegiate level, but it set in motion a passion for fitness which carried me through my career as an officer in the United States Marine Corps. The knowledge, skill and experiences of being a student athlete directly transferred to the requirements for physical fitness inherent to my profession as a Marine officer. Throughout my 32 years as a commissioned officer, I enjoyed the benefits of having had the challenges and rewards of life as a student athlete at La Salle Academy. Running track, being a member of a team and developing a sense of responsibility were the building blocks of maturing into the individual I became.
La Salle Academy holds a special place in my heart and is the reason for any success that I might enjoy. GO Cardinals!
Bryce Council ‘17
Basketball
“Use basketball, don’t let basketball use you” is one of the quotes I live by. Playing basketball for La Salle meant everything to me. My goal from day one was to bring back the history of La Salle Academy. La Salle is known as having a great basketball program, so I wanted to help it get back to where it belonged and leave it in a better place when I left.
I learned a whole lot of lessons while being on the team. I learned how to be a leader. I learned how to lead in different ways. I learned how to help others become leaders. And I learned that leaders are followers, too. Listening and learning how to take control, and when to step back, were important lessons I learned on the team. I developed a family outside of my own family. Coach Pannell is a second father to me, so I learned the real meaning of brotherhood being part of this family.
As a senior at La Salle, I got a scholarship to play basketball in college which helped me to continue my education and get a degree to enter the business world. I used basketball to get me where I wanted to go. I will graduate in January with a business degree from Georgian Court University.
Ed Elisma ’93
Baseball
When I was introduced to La Salle Academy, I didn’t know anything about it. The coach for the freshman team, Tyrone Green, saw me play at a tournament. At the time, I went to a junior high school that had a 9th grade. Tyrone came up to me and said, “My school would be the right fit for you.” He not only became my coach, but he became a father figure for me too. He was a great guy and later introduced me to Coach Bill Aberer.
I loved every bit of playing basketball at La Salle. The team and teammates, we became like a family. We built a camaraderie. It was awesome playing during that time, too. Our league, the Catholic league, was the best in New York. Our gym was very small on Second Street and Second Avenue, so it was quaint, but we were competitive; it was unbelievable playing top-notch teams.
La Salle taught me hard work and dedication. Coach Aberer and Coach Green had me come in early in the morning at 6:30 to get in some workouts before school started. I was pretty good at basketball, but this factored into how I became even better. I became an all-city and all-state player, which is a feat in itself because there were some greats playing at the time.
I got a scholarship to play for Georgia Tech. I got drafted by Seattle and after that I played overseas. I played all over; the first year I was in Israel and Italy, and then I went to Belgium, China, and Dubai. It was a great adventure. I owe a lot of my success to Tyrone Green who discovered me and to La Salle for helping me get to where I needed to be.
Douglas Porr ‘76
Handball
Being on the handball team was a lot of fun, but it was intimidating going to the Bronx! We used to take that train up to the south Bronx where there were a dozen handball courts or more. Our coach was Mr. Krause and he was an English teacher at La Salle as well. He was a great guy to be around; uplifting and just an all-around good guy.
It was a diverse group of students, but we all got along. The school was sobering as far as the races and things like that. It helped you appreciate a lot of things in life. I had some good memories. The camaraderie of being on a team builds character for you and helps you deal with situations that you might run into in the workplace. It builds character in a positive way. Like I said, just going from lower Manhattan to the South Bronx on the 4 or 5 train, was an eye-opening experience! That was a reality check right there; seeing what else was outside of my little bubble helped me later on in life, that’s for sure.