Evening star., 1953-03-08
ST. Anthony's Played
lis First Schedule
Only 8 Years Ago
By Brian Bell, Jr.

~. AIlCIIOIly , ID q OI1IdI1 AACASAA~
borhood school in Brookland-it
doesn't even have gymnasium
but the TONES are kings Of
scholastic basketball in this Sec
ton now.
The TONES, who like to use
just five or six men for an entire
game, beat such big schools as
Wilson. the interhigh champion
and Washington-Lee and George
Washington, Northern Virginia
powerhouSes, to win last weeks
Metropolitan Tournament. Seed
ed eighth and last at the start,
st. Anthony's was first at the
finish in the biggest upset of the
events 21-year history.
ST. Anthony's, located at
Twelfth and Monroe streets NE.
is not much older than the
Metropolitan tournament. Mrs.
Charles Sullivan, mother of Jack
Sullivan, ST. Anthony'S star
player, was in the high schools
first graduating class in 1926.
First Star Was a Sullivan.
The TONES had their first
basketball team in 1886 and their
star then also was named Jack
Sullivan-now a Catholic priest.
In those days the present St.
Anthony's wasn't built and games
were held IN a building called
The Hall on the lot where the
school is now.
st. Anthony's didn't play a
regular schedule either. The
team met pickup fives from S.
Johns and neighborhood clubs.
Playing in The Hall was lntei-
esting. There were pipes that
ran through the building and a
player had to shoot over these
obstacles OF drive under them for
q shot.
Won Priory Event in '48.
In 1945, St. Anthony's played
its first regular schedule against
other schools and by l948 the
TONES were good enough to win
the first Priory tournament. A
player on that team was JACK
Bonne. coach of the present st.
Anthony's team.
Last year the TONES played IN
their fist Metropolitan toulna-
ment, losing by one point 10
Roosevelt in the first round.
This year they went all the way
quite an achievement in c 2-lt
years for a schoo! W. lO6 boys
In an enrolment of $50. 80
They are still celebrating IN
Brookland, Michigan Park an6
Edgewood. for their noighbor-
hood team is the best in the area
It's as if a small-toWn five Weut
to the big city and took away all
the marbles.
Bohne is a neighborhood boy
He went to st. Arth0ny's Tor IL
wears and Eddie Moyle, the
Toriies coach in 1851 and 81 VINO
is now in the service, graduated
from St. Anthony's too. Tie
school turns out brother COM
binations-Al and Phil Tore
twins who played until they
graduated last year; Jack Sui
livan and his younger brother
Joe, who is f1rst-line SUBSTITUTE
and will be back next year, lom
Cassidy, a star last season, VINO
is now at George WASHINGTON
University. and his brother Bill a
regular this year.
Play The Year Around.
"You name a gym and we've
practiced there Bohne says.
"We've practlced at Catholic U.
and Nativity mostly but the boys
play the year around on the
Turkey Thicket Playground
They don't have the facilities
at St. Anthony's that other
schools have but maybe they
like basketball better. The
neighborhood boys leave the Tur-
key Thicket open air court for
organized St. Anthony's practice
in October-they played their
first game this season on Decem-
Der 5. The TONES were still going
strong in March too.
Maybe that's the answer to
their giant-killer role. St. An
thongs plays basketball the year
around and all the players know
each others style. They ought to.
7koo,,1,yo ham O1ovino 11eio 1h0r-