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NDCL HALL OF FAMEWelcomed 2007 InducteesWith great pride, Notre Dame-CathedralLatin hosted the 48th Annual Cathedral Latin Hallof Fame Induction Ceremony and the 5th AnnualNDA/NDCL Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony onSeptember 15. Congratulations to all the inducteeswho were talented athletes and individuals atNotre Dame Academy, Cathedral Latin and NDCLand who continue to live their lives shaped bylessons in character, faith and tradition learned attheir respective alma maters.THOMAS CROFTCathedral Latin Class of 1955FootballUnlike many young boys whobecome high school all-starathletes, Tom Croft never playedorganized ball as a youth.“Initially, I didn’t play CYO. I just played in the streetand fields. Then in high school, I was originally scheduledto play in the band. On a Saturday evening, we weresupposed to leave for band camp. Brother Ken Sommer[Cathedral Latin freshman football coach] called me toask me to play. I decided it would be fun to play forCathedral Latin. My mother cried. I cancelled bandcamp and went to play football,” he says with no regret.“Brother Sommer was very authoritative and gave us asense of pride. We didn’t have junior varsity, so you hadto make the varsity after freshman year. I did. It was anhonor playing for a school with so much history andnotoriety and a great football and academic program.”No doubt the powerful and skilled All-Catholic first-teamcenter was one of the reasons why CL triumphed on thefootball field. As a junior, his team lost to Benedictine7-6. The team never lost again during Croft’s tenureat CL and won the East Senate title in 1954 with anundefeated season. Croft remembers the thrill of playingin Cleveland Municipal Stadium against Holy Name in aCharity Game for the city championship his senior year.Approximately 45,000 people watched Cathedral Latintop the Green Wave, 13-0, for the city championship.After graduating from CL, Croft played his first yearof college football at Miami University, in Oxford,coached by Ara Parseghian (who later went on to fame asthe head coach at the University of Notre Dame). Then,he made the decision to pursue a career in medicineand transferred to John Carroll University for threeyears where he played under Coach Herb Eisele beforegraduating in 1959.Subsequently, his efforts to become a physician continuedin earnest. Croft attended St. Louis University School ofMedicine where he graduated in 1963 and completedhis surgical internship at Cleveland Metro GeneralHospital in 1964. After serving his country as a captain inthe US Army and as a flight surgeon in Vietnam duringthe 1960s, Croft completed his neurosurgical residencyand opened a private practice in Atlanta, Georgiawhere he lived for almost 20 years. In 1997, he returnedto the Cleveland area and worked as a medical directoruntil his retirement in 2000. A resident of Hudson,Croft has four grown children and has been marriedfor more than 30 years to his wife Joan.RICHARD WERVEYCathedral Latin Class of 1959FootballWhen Rich Wevey graduated fromgrade school at St. Gregory theGreat Catholic School in SouthEuclid, people assumed he wouldwant to attend St Joseph High School, which was brandnew at the time.“Instead I visited Latin with a friend and was absolutelyin awe of the place. The old building, the gym and thetremendous traditions displayed in the trophy cases inthe hallways sold me. I went to Latin, and I must say Ienjoyed every minute,” Wervey touts.He participated in track, but football is where he madehis mark. During his senior year, Cathedral Latin’s recordwas 10-0-1, and the team clinched the city title with a12-6 win against St. Ignatius. Wervey received mediahonors including All-Scholastic, All-Catholic and All-Senate for his prowess as an offensive and defensive end.His skill also garnered him a four-year scholarship to theUniversity of Indiana to play football after graduationfrom CL. He played three years at Indiana and wascaptain of the team his final year. After his last season,he was selected to play in the annual North-SouthShrine All Star Game in Miami, Florida.Wervey graduated from Indiana in 1964 with a degreein business administration and joined the US Army.Afterwards, he spent 30 years working in the food andvending industry. Upon selling his own company in1990, he started Precious Cargo Transportation inNotre Dame-Cathedral Latin Seasons Fall 2007 3