July 1990At the University's 145th Commencement on May 19, 1990 Fordham bestowed its highest honor, the Insignis Medal, on each of the eight martyrs slain in El Salvador last November. William P. Ford '60, an attorney and a brother of an American Churchwoman killed in Central America almost a decade ago, presented the commencement address and urged the graduates to "correct our country's moral compass." The University presented honorary degrees to Mr. Ford; Rev. James C. Finlay, S.J. '44, past president of Fordham; Joseph Flom, an attorney and director of the Constitutional Education Foundation Inc.; Thomas F.X. Mullarkey '54, past chairman of Fordham's board of trustees, and Dr. William P. Magee, Jr. and Kathleen S. Magee, founders of an organization that sends medical teams to Third World countries to perform corrective surgery on children who suffer from cleft lips and palates. As its gift to the University, the graduating class of Fordham College presented a Westminster carillon system which is being installed in the tower atop Keating Hall to ring in the sesquicentennial year.Dr. Frank Holbrook '49 advises that at The College's commencement in 1847 over two thousand guests witnessed a ceremony at which only four graduates received diplomas! One of the graduates became a lawyer; the other three entered the priesthood after graduation and, by some accounts, prayed for the soul of the first.With great pride, the Alumni Association presents the 1990 Fordham College Alumni Achievement Award, awarded annually to an outstanding graduate, to John D. Feerick '58. John, who is Dean of Fordham University School of Law, the Chairman of the New York State Commission on Government Integrity and a nationally recognized authority on labor relations and electoral process and presidential succession, has committed himself selflessly to community service and has provided vital leadership to his university, his state and his country. John and Emalie, his wife, live in Mount Kisco, New York with their children.In a significant development, Fordham and the New York Zoological Society have signed an agreement for collaboration. The agreement complements Fordham's graduate program in biological sciences and a conservation biology program currently under development. The agreement calls for shared use of university and society libraries, computer facilities, laboratory and field research facilities and encourages staff exchanges and collaborations between society members and University faculty. The society operates the largest zoo in the United States and field conservation projects in more than 40 countries and offers a range of education and training opportunities in animal conservation.Ramology. While the epithet "The Fordham Flash" has most frequently been applied to baseball Hall of Famer Frankie Frisch '20, Sam Perry '66 can lay claim to the title. According to Pete Cava '69, Perry's running career included a 5.9 for the 60 yard dash on January 23, 1965 in Annapolis, Maryland and again on January 28, 1965 at the Millrose Games at the Garden. Both times tied the hand-timed world best for the 60. The record held up until 1972.College Dean (and Rugby moderator) Rev. Gerard Reedy, S.J. announces a reunion for all Ram ruggers this Fall. Contact Ed Buckley of Alumni House at (212) 841-5340 for details.Maroon rugby jerseys with white collars! Alumni may order genuine Fordham rugby jerseys. Contact Paul McTigue '91 c/o TRADITION to place your order.The Sports Page. Congratulations to Men's Basketball Coach Nick Macarchuk, who was voted Metropolitan Area Coach of the Year for guiding the 20-13 Rams to a successful season which included wins over nationally ranked Seton Hall, Tennessee and Boston College. Nick and his staff have recruited Sherwin Content (6'6", 210), a power forward from Christ the King High School in Middle Village, Queens; Brett Ayers (6'7", 190), a shooting forward from Mead High School in Spokane, Washington and Nick Gianopoulos (6'9", 220), a center from Norwalk Free Academy in Norwalk, Connecticut, to play on Rose Hill. . . . Women's freshman basketball guard Heather Donlon led the nation in three point percentage shooting during the 1989-90 season. Heather is a Dean's list student. . . . Coach Ted Bonanno's Ram rowers captured the Patriot League championships. Under Ted's direction, the rowers jog to and from practice on the Harlem River. . . . Pat Rooney '24, Coach of Women's Tennis, continues to amaze. His charges were 11-0 during the Spring season.Director of Athletics Frank McLaughlin proudly announces that the Fordham football program, which is among the oldest in the nation, will play its 1,000th varsity game on November 3, 1990 against Lafayette on Jack Coffey Field at Rose Hill. Meanwhile, sports historian Bill Dunn '33 insists that the University has miscounted and that the 1,000th game was actually played three years ago. Bill, who has researched Fordham's sports schedules extensively and who has documentation to support his argument, advises that the Lafayette game will actually be Fordham's 1,021st. While controversy rages regarding the number of games played, preparations for the Fall football season continue. The University is treating Coffey Field and Stadium to a multi-million dollar renovation and improvement, and Coach Larry Glueck has recruited a talented freshman class for play in the Division I-AA Patriot League.Baseball coach Dan Gallagher compares his team to old bread, that is they are tough and hard. Because the University was renovating Coffey Field, Gallagher's hardballers were forced to play all their games on the road. Team members, led by All-America centerfielder Ray Montgomery, dubbed themselves "The Road Warriors" and responded to the extraordinary number of "away" games by equalling the school record for wins (36), setting the record for wins on the road (36) and winning the ECAC Championships. Gallagher, whose record over the last four years is 120-65, was rewarded for his efforts by being appointed Fordham's second ever full-time baseball coach.Even more McCluskey. Referring to the March 1990 issue of TRADITION, Julio Diaz '77, advises that TRADITION and Pete Cava '69 are mistaken and that Fordham Olympian Joe McCluskey '33 was voted into the Fordham Athletic Hall of Fame in 1973.Please send your nominations for Fordham's Athletic Hall of Fame to Joe Favorito, Sports Information Director, c/o TRADITION.Honorary Chairman Vince Scully '49 advises that a limited number of foursomes and sponsorships are still available for the Sixth Annual Fordham Golf Classic at Winged Foot Golf Club in Mamaroneck, New York on Monday, October 1,1990. Contact Frank Marino of the Development Office (212-841-5450) for details.Leo Connelly '51 reminds alumni that the Third Annual Fordham Tennis Outing to the semi-finals of the Tournament of Champions at the West Side Tennis Club in Forest Hills, New York will be held on August 25,1990. Brunch and great tennis will be featured. Contact Kate State of Alumni House (212) 841-5340 for details.Bob Hawthorn '53, Men's Squash and Tennis Coach, advises that the 25th Annual Vincent C. Hopkins, S.J. Tennis and Squash Tournament will be held on the Rose Hill campus rain or shine at noon on Saturday, October 6, 1990. Lunch and a buffet supper will be served at the Tennis House. Fr. Hopkins, who passed away in 1965, was a professor at The College, moderator of the tennis and squash teams and "a great friend" to Fordham. Funds raised at the tournament support a scholarship in Fr. Hopkins' name. Contact the Department of Athletics (212-579-2447) for details.The Faculty. William H. Berman, assistant professor of psychology, presented a paper, "Weight Loss and Psychiatric Disorders in Obesity," at the meeting of the North American Association for the Study of Obesity in Washington, D.C. . . . Rev. Avery Dulles, S.J., Laurence J. McGinley Professor of Religion and Society, delivered the lecture "Newman on the Magisterium and Infallibility" at the John Henry Newman Centenary Celebration at the University of Pennsylvania. Fr. Dulles' article, "The Teaching Mission of the Church and Academic Freedom," appeared in a recent edition of "America" . . . Nancy A. Busch, associate professor of psychology, recently published "Social Network Influences on Adolescent Sexual Attitudes and Behaviors" in the "Journal of Adolescent Research." . . . Carmen Bambach Cappel, assistant professor of art history, received an Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship from the Metropolitan Museum of Art for 1990-91. She will research and write a book entitled Design Theory and Workshop Practice in Renaissance Italy: The Technique of Painting. David A. Burney, associate professor of biological sciences, specializes in techniques to study environmental changes. One of Dr. Burney's long-term projects concerns the mass extinction centuries ago of 17 species of large animals on Madagascar. Of a seemingly mythological collection of native Madagasy beasts, from half-ton flightless elephant birds to cow-sized hippos, only the crocodile remains. Burney attributes the extinction to a complex combination of factors, from hunting and the changing nature of natural fires, to the introduction of domestic animals and natural climate changes. This summer David will work on an ongoing Smithsonian Institution project: the study of lava caves in the Hawaiian islands for fossils of recently extinct native birds. Next, he will return to Africa for a National Science Foundation - financed study of environmental changes in Botswana's Kalahari Desert.More Shaw. Col. Robert Gould Shaw, the young officer who commanded the first Afro-American fighting unit to be raised in the North during the Civil War, was only eleven years old when his father enrolled him as a boarding student in the Second Division of St. John's College at Fordham in 1848. Homesick Robert wrote to his parents: "I wish you hadn't sent me here . . ., because I want to be there, and now I have to stay at this old place. I'm sure I shan't come here after vacation for I hate it like everything. . . ." Robert ran away from Fordham but his father forced him to return. Later, expressing the sentiments of many other Fordham students, Robert wrote of a faculty advisor: "My old teacher scolded me because I didn't do something he didn't tell me to do, and I hate him like everything. He is the worst old fellow I ever saw."RAMembrances. Bill Healy '30 remembers an estimated 5,000 fans packed into the Rose Hill Gym for the 1928 boxing match between Fordham and archrival N.Y.U. The N.Y.U. team dressed in violet robes with white trim strode proudly to ringside in size order. The Fordham team coached by "Harlem Tommy" Murphy and led by national amateur bantam weight champion Joe Lazarus, strolled up to ringside, dressed in multicolored family bathrobes, in no particular order. Fordham did not match up well against the N.Y.U. team in the heavyweight category. N.Y.U. boasted 237 pound intercollegiate heavyweight champion Len Grant. Fordham's heavyweight entry, Vic McGratton '30, an undefeated light heavyweight, gave away 62 pounds to the champ. But Vic's older brother, Jim McGratton '28 was concerned about Vic's safety and would not permit his kid brother to enter the ring against the champ. So, after Vic's decision over the N.Y.U. light heavyweight, with the score tied at 3-3, Jim McGratton, an undefeated middleweight who at 165 pounds was even lighter than Vic, entered the ring against the powerful heavyweight. At the opening bell, Jim rushed across the ring and hit the surprised champ on the chin, driving him into the ropes, and battered him. The crowd leapt to its feet sensing an upset. But, amid a deafening roar, the champ recovered and slugged it out toe to toe with the ever-aggressive McGratton for three furious rounds. As the bell ended the final round, the exhausted gladiators listened to the announcement of the judges' decision: "The fight is a draw, and an extra round will be fought to decide the winner." The bell rang for the fourth round and the warriors rushed to the struggle. The middleweight McGratton pummeled the heavyweight and won the decision. Amidst a thunderous roar, Jim McGratton shook the defeated heavyweight's hand and was carried in triumph from the ring.The Third Generation - The Rodiers. William Rodier, Jr. advises that his father William J. Rodier graduated from The College in 1904, he graduated from The College in 1931, and his son John Edward Rodier graduated in 1972.Sesquicentennial Chairman Rev. Eugene J. O'Brien, S.J. announces that the year long celebration will officially begin on September 30, 1990 with University President Rev. Joseph A. O'Hare, S.J. celebrating a Mass of the Holy Spirit in the University Church followed by the Sesquicentennial Convocation on Keating Hall steps. As part of the Sesquicentennial Celebration, the University will sponsor 150 attorneys who are graduates of its schools for admission to the bar of the Supreme Court of the United States in a ceremony in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, January 22, 1991. Admission will allow these attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court. The University will arrange for hotel accommodations, a reception, tours of the Supreme Court Building and a celebration luncheon. Contact Dean Robert J. Reilly, Fordham University Law School, 140 West 62nd Street, New York, New York 10023 for details.TRADITION: Minister of Propaganda: George P. McKeegan '69; Contributing Editor: William J. Healy '30