BEARFACTSII - Catholic High School

Catholic High School
P.O. Box 65004
Baton Rouge, LA 70896-5004
www.catholichigh.org
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Baton Rouge, LA
Permit #481
LET IT SNOW. December 11, 2008 marked a
special day at Catholic High with three inches of
snow. (Photo by CHS Guidance Counselor Cathy
Robichaux.)
Parents: If your son no longer lives at home, kindly send us his new address. If you also wish
to receive Bear Facts II, please phone (225) 389-0978 and let us know. Many thanks.
Sports in the Past
By David Butler ’77
Mac Chauvin,
retiring from his post
as assistant to the
Commissioner of the
Louisiana High School
Athletic Association,
recently reflected on
his younger days as a
high school basketball
David Butler ’77
official. He could not
help but chuckle as he fondly recalled two
different games involving Catholic High
teams.
On one occasion he was officiating a
Catholic High varsity game when Brother
Eldon Crifasi, SC ’39 was coaching.
Chauvin was working the game with a
younger and less experienced partner. At
some point in the contest the other official
blew his whistle signaling a technical foul
on the Catholic High bench. Somewhat in a
state of shock, Chauvin ran up to the other
official saying: “Who did you call a technical
foul on?”
The rookie official responded, “The
Catholic coach.” Chauvin, disbelieving
what he had just heard, replied, “That’s
Brother Eldon. You can’t call a technical foul
on Brother Eldon. What did he do?”
The new official responded by pointing
out that Brother Eldon was squatting on
the court and was not seated in his chair.
Chauvin quickly took control of the situation
saying: “That is Brother Eldon. We do not
call technical fouls on Brother Eldon. He can
squat wherever he wants and we are not
calling technical fouls on Brother Eldon.”
The other incident brought a huge smile
to Chauvin’s face as he recalled a prank that
occurred as he officiated the finals of the
prestigious Wedge Kyes tournament being
played at a packed Catholic High gym.
Chauvin recalled: “Catholic had made
it to the finals. The starting lineups had
been introduced, the teams were lined up
for the National Anthem and the lights were
dimmed. You could hear the scratching of
the record player over the P.A. system, but
instead of the crowd hearing the National
Anthem, ‘Wild Thing’ blared over the P.A.
system.” ‘Wild Thing,’ a popular song at
the time, began with a very vocal “Wild
thing, you make my heart sing. You make
everything groovy, wild thing. “Chauvin
said it was all he could do to keep his
composure realizing that one of the students
had played a prank on the Brothers.
Don Cassano ’67, a member of the
team, recalled Val Duffel ’67 had taken the
label off of the National Anthem record and
placed it on the “Wild Thing” record.
“Once we heard the song we
immediately knew who the culprit was, as
Val was always pulling pranks; but we kept
our mouths shut. It is still the talk of the
team and the class today,” stated Cassano.
(Top) COACH. Head Basketball Coach Brother Eldon
Crifasi, SC ’39 (kneeling) coached the 1961-1962
Bears. (1961 Bruin photo)
(Bottom) PLAYERS. Don Cassano (44) shakes the
ball free from his opponent. (1967 Bruin photo)
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