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ST. THOMAS HIGH SCHOOL
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HOUSTON, TX
INSIDE EAGLE ATHLETICS
Eagle Legends Revered,
R
emembered and
E
nshrined into
STH Sports Hall of
F
ame
They first came to St. Thomas with
little more than a name and have
since spent their lives making it into
something.
Over time, those names earned
well-deserved reputations, which
often became greater because of the
company that was kept.
And for one night, the shared
company of these select men was
one and the same.
They gathered at 4500 Memorial
Drive, not to merely re-live musty
recollections and yellowed page
exploits growing more distant by
the year, but brought back by a
bond and a brotherhood.
They had all left St. Thomas, but St.
Thomas had never left them.
“This place is such a big part of
me, all through college, through
good times and tough times in my
life,” Jimmy Raley ’65 said. “So
many values learned from the
priests ... to have goals, don’t give
up, surround yourself with great
people. I’m still close with so
many of my classmates. And not
just socially. When you lose your
parents, have disappointments in
your companies, they’re the people
you can rely on.”
Raley was one of 10 Eagle
luminaries honored as the latest
members to enter the STH Sports
Hall of Fame, remembered and
revered at a ceremony before a
vibrant and supportive crowd in
Reckling Gymnasium.
Raley relished the distinction
enhanced by being inducted
alongside his half-brother, Jerry
Pizzitola ’60, who reluctantly
enrolled in STH during the late
1950s, not imagining the gale force
impact the experience would have
on his life.
“I didn’t want to come here and
make that daily commute from
Galena Park. But the St. Thomas
influence was the best thing that
ever happened to me, made all the
difference to my dad. He knew
what was best for me,” Pizzitola
said. “I would not have gotten
to Texas A&M and finished if St.
Thomas had not prepared me. Not
sure what would have been in front
of me if not for St. Thomas.”
Pizzitola maintaines his personal
barbecue brand within two miles
of the campus where he was a two-
sport standout. He has witnessed
and contributed to the school’s
recent resurgence, which includes
record enrollments and the ongoing
4500Forever capital campaign to
complete the funding for the Joplin
Campus expansion.
Ted Nowak ’70 has also been an up-
close witness to the STH spikes, the
first Hall of Fame inductee from
his class and a frequent visitor to
campus, particularly when two sons,
Matt ’95 and Mark ’98, followed his
own baseball excellence.
Neither Bernard (Nardy) DeGeorge
Jr. ’63 nor Mark Yokubaitis ’70,
hesitated to make the trip from
opposite extreme corners of the
United States.
“Because it’s St. Thomas,”
Yokubaitis said simply on why
he was determined to travel from
outside Portland, Oregon to attend
the induction ceremony. “This is a
huge honor for me. Bruce Hotze
called me with the news. I cried.”
DeGeorge felt the same sort of
emotional jolt when he received
confirmation at his home in Florida.
“I grew up with the people here
tonight, those with character and
integrity. If you don’t associate
with really good people, you
don’t become a really good
person. You may not recognize
what’s happening within you at the
time but it measures throughout
your life.” DeGeorge said. “It’s just
fabulous what’s happening at St.
Thomas. There needs to be more
St. Thomas’s out there.”
Mike Mulvihill ’56 echoed the very
same sentiment.
“I love this place, set my whole life
up,” Mulvihill said. “Mentors like
Fr. Wilson and Tom Driscoll. So
much more than coaches. When
I was offered big bonus money to
leave Oklahoma State, Fr. Wilson
encouraged me to stay in school,
Smith ’88 with twin sons Carson and Connor
Pizzitola ’60, Raley ’65, Steve Tyrell ’63
and DeGeorge ’63