A Modest Man, who never proclaims his talents, former Board V.P. George McKeegan '69 doesn't have to, they speak for themselves.  A litigator (Michigan Law School) at a Manhattan law firm, which bears his name, McKeegan, the retiring "Editor-in-Chief" of TRADITION, Briarcliff Manor soccer coach and CCD teacher, is a mix of the best of Fordham.  Solid and substantial, he amazes with a dead-on observer's wit; you're never quite sure if you're being treated to irony with a sincere spin or the musings of a disingenuous quipster.  On the road to current wedded (Barbara is an alumna) and paternal (David, Catherine, Elizabeth and Kristen regularly attend alumni events) joys, George forged lifelong friendships at Rose Hill at the height of the turbulent sixties.  His sense of conscience was formed not so much by the Era of Peace and Love, but through a lasting exposure to the influence of his Ulster born parents and the subtle Jesuit tradition.

      Named for a Male Saint who was not even a Jesuit, Thomas More College, an all-women's liberal arts college distinct from Fordham College, admitted its first students in September 1964.  According to Robert Gannon, S.J. in Up to the Present, the men (principally those in black cassocks?) felt invaded and the women neglected by the opening of TMC:  "Every daughter has been taught by an experienced mother to hide her I.Q. until after the wedding, but in college it is on display most of the time and the average intellectual superiority of the co-ed militates against romance or even ordinary dates".  However, romance between the institutions blossomed when the two colleges became as one.  TMC degrees were last conferred in 1976.

      Rumor has it that the schools which have contributed the greatest number of baseball players to the major leagues include Southern Cal, Arizona State, Holy Cross, and Fordham.  The majority of Fordham's major leaguers are said to have played before the turn of the twentieth century.  Roy Smith '86, a right-handed starter for the Minnesota Twins, and Peter Harnisch '88, a right-handed starter for the Baltimore Orioles, were Fordham's representatives in the big leagues during the 1989 season.

      Approximately 500 students on the Rose Hill Campus currently participate in volunteer activity for programs such as Big Brother/Big Sister, programs to feed the homeless and a therapeutic counseling and recreational program in The Bronx.

      On May 20, 1989, at the 144th Commencement ceremonies on the Rose Hill Campus, University President Joseph O'Hare, S.J. presented honorary degrees to Timothy Healy, S.J. '59, president of Georgetown University and newly appointed president of the New York Public Library; the Most Reverend Patrick Ahern, D.D., the vicar of Staten Island; Francis Arthur Lord Cockfield, formerly an official of the Commission of European Communities; Clara Hale, the founder of a residential facility in Harlem that cares for children born with congenital drug dependency and reunites the children with their mothers after the mothers have undergone drug rehabilitation; and Lewis Rudin, the president of a real estate construction and development firm and the founder of the Association for a Better New York.

      Please send TRADITION your nominations for honorary degree recipients for the 1990 Commencement.

      As you enjoy televised football this fall in this television's fiftieth anniversary year, remember that the first football game televised was the contest between Fordham and Waynesburg of Pennsylvania in 1939.  Fordham won the game 34-7.

      Homecoming will be celebrated on November 11, 1989 against C.W. Post.  The Varsity Football Rams are 645, 288, and 50 entering this this season.

      Miss Fordham?   From 1941 to 1974, thirty-three co-eds reigned as "Miss Fordham," the University's Homecoming Queen.  Each Miss Fordham was more beautiful than the others, and the twenty-fourth Miss Fordham was the daughter of the first.  With the advent of the women's movement, the contest declined in popularity and was discontinued.  In place of Miss Fordham, a King and Queen now reign at Homecoming.

      Ramology.  In February 1960, Fordham changed forever with the dedication of the Campus (McGinley) Center.  Cited by many as the ugliest building on campus for its radiator style architecture, the Center won professional acclaim for its architect who admitted that he had "aimed at spatial nobility" and had wanted "something that would resemble Grand Central Station".  Among other things, the Center housed The Ramskellar which, on its opening, legitimized the consumption of beer on campus and allegedly broke the standing record for consumption of beer at a single facility in a single night.  Despite protests that it was "tacky", The Ramskellar became every student's favorite social scene.  Long a campus gathering place, the Center, and in particular The Ramskellar, is for many of today's students the place where their father met their mother.

      On a More Sober Note, to allow its friends, guests, students and alumni to better enjoy themselves at University functions, Fordham has prohibited alcoholic beverages at home football games.

      University President Rev. Joseph O'Hare, S.J. has been elected chairman of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities and recently attended a week-long conference in Rome to develop an apostolic constitution on Catholic higher education.

      The Third Generation:  the Reisses.  Paul Julian Reiss '79 advises that eleven members of his family have attended Rose Hill.  Our correspondent's grandfather, Julian Reiss, a founder of The Ram and treasurer of his class, was voted "most handsome" member of the Class of 1919 by his Fordham College classmates.  Julian's son, Paul '54, and Paul's wife, Rosemary '66 earned degrees from the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.  Paul later served Fordham as a member of the faculty and as the University's executive vice-president; he is currently the president of St. Michael's College in Vermont.  Eight of Paul and Rosemary's children have attended Fordham College:  Catherine (Sloane) '78, Paul Julian '79 (our correspondent), Gregory '80, Mark '82, Julia (DeSantis) '83, David '85, Steven '88 and Martha '91; their youngest child, John, is enrolled in the Fordham College Class of 2001.

         "Happy Anniversary, Happy Anniversary, Happy Anniversary . . . Happy Anniversary!" TRADITION congratulates The Bronx, the motherland of our beloved Rose Hill, on its three hundredth anniversary as a political entity.

      Ram Roots:  An Update.  Allan Gilbert, an assistant professor of anthropology, is continuing the excavation of Rose Hill Manor.  He has unearthed two portions of the original manor house and retrieved artifacts that provide valuable information about the manor's ownership and the lifestyle of its inhabitants.  Archival research by Roger Wines '54, a professor of history, has shown that the original owner of the manor was not Benjamin Corsa, as had been traditionally thought, but a Dutchman named Reyer Michaelson.  Corsa married Michaelson's daughter and was deeded the house and land in 1736.  In 1787 the property was bought by Robert Watts, a wealthy New York merchant of Scottish descent.  Watts named the estate Rose Hill after his family's ancestral home.  Bishop John Hughes purchased Rose Hill in 1839 as the future site of Fordham's forerunner, St. John's College.

      Wiseguy.  Vinnie Terranova (actor Ken Wahl), the main character of CBS's critically acclaimed weekly dramatic series "Wiseguy" is a Fordham grad and frequently proclaims his allegiance to his alma mater on the air.  To TRADITION's knowledge, Vinnie is the only T.V. character who claims a college diploma from a specific school (Harvard educated "Reverend Jim" Ignakowski of "Taxi" having dropped out before receiving a degree).   TRADITION urges its readers to write Mr. Wahl and David Burke, the supervising producer of the series, to learn Vinnie's major, year of graduation and other pertinent details of his on-campus experience.

      In cursu honorum.  Begun in 1939 but interrupted by the war years, the Honors Program was firmly established in 1950 under the direction of Thurston Davis, S.J., the College Dean.  While the Honors Program has contributed many Rhodes, Marshalls, Danforths and Wilsons to Fordham, some of the older Jesuits have said that it has distracted interest from extracurricular activities, such as the publications, drama, and debate.  But, what is the harm if intellectual talent is distracted by intellectualism?

      On behalf of the alumni, TRADITION thanks the following alumni who served as geographical chapter leaders this past year:  Albany - James Boyle '61; Baltimore - Thomas Deliberto '67; Boston - Richard Reilly '67; Buffalo - Paul Smaldone '64; Chicago - William O'Brien '74; Cleveland - Michael Dowell '63, Barbara Harrison '76; Colorado - Ernest Ficco '51, Maria Seid '76; Dallas - Kevin Good '69; Georgia - Edward Bauer '65, James Buckman '66; Hartford - Kevin Budds '73; Houston - Kevin O'Brien '64; Long Island - Joseph Ingersoll '59; Milwaukee - Robert Cronin '65; Northern California - H. Thomas Smullen '54, Joseph Wagda '65, Frank Zampino '49; Northern New Jersey - William Burke '65; Palm Beach - Walter Clayton '34; Philadelphia - Anthony Garbowski '68, Patrick Donohue '60; Puerto Rico - Jose Cartagena '68; Rhode Island - Joseph Dabek '68; Sarasota/Manatee - John Lyons '51; San Diego - Victor Frazao '70; South Flordia - Julia Winters '53; Southern California - Angelo Mozilo '60, Michael Grzanka '69; Syracuse - Ted Sondej '68; and Washington, D.C. - James Harkins '61. 

      The Sesquicentennial.  Among the events planned from September 1990 to September 1991, during the celebration of Fordham's 150th Anniversary, is a 450th Birthday Party for the Society of Jesus which was founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola in 1541, 300 years before Fordham's founding.  Birthday hats and cake will be provided at the September 1990 event; however, celebrants are requested to bring their own noisemakers and party games.

      Pideret's Peripatetics to Pound the Pavement.  Fordham is putting both feet forward once again with Rev. John Pideret, S.J., leading students, alumni and friends on a walking tour of New York.  Stroll from the serene slopes of Rose Hill through the tumult of Manhattan down to the Bowery.  You'll have a chance to take in bright conversation, good company and New York, New York from a new perspective during two peripatetic outings in '89-'90.  Call Fr. Pideret (212-579-2000) at Rose Hill for details.

      The Faculty.  John Boyd, S.J., professor of English, delivered a paper, "The Paschal Action in Eliot's Four Quartets", at the Eliot Centennial Symposium in Pittsburgh . . . . Robert Lewis, professor of mathematics, was awarded a National Science Foundation grant for undergraduate research . . . . Joseph O'Callaghan, professor of history and director of the Center for Medieval Studies, has written a book titled "The Cortes of Castile - Leon, 1188-1350" . . . . During this school year, Armand Brumer, associate professor mathematics, will research  "Galois Theory, Hilbert Modular Varieties and Testing Shimura Taniyama;" Mary Hamilton, associate professor of chemistry, will research "Carbohydrate Residue in Mollusks;" Carol Laderman, associate professor of anthropology, will research "Malay Shamanism".

      Jublee've this?  On June 8, 9 and 10, 1990 the Classes of '85, '80, '75, '70, '65, '60, '55, '50, '45 and '40 will celebrate their reunions at Jubilee weekend.  If you wish to help plan your class' reunion, contact Tom Mauiello of the Development Office at (212) 841-5640.  Pursuant to established University procedure, those persons who do not help plan or who do not attend their class' reunion, will receive an increased volume of mail from the Development Office over the next five-year period.

      Bring the Kids to the Games.  The Men's Varsity Basketball Rams at 1197 and 856 enjoy the 17th Winnigest record of all time among the 286 NCAA Division I teams.  Watch Coach Nick Macarchuk's roundballers in the Rose Hill Gym on December 9, 1989 v. Holy Cross on January 17, 1990 (Winter Homecoming) v. LaSalle and on February 15, 1990 v. Niagra and at Madison Square Garden on February 15, 1990 v. Georgia Tech.