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La Salle BasketballSince 1919–20

History

Eight Catholic League championships, a century of Explorers, and every season since 1919–20.

The Program

A Charter Member

La Salle was a charter member of the Philadelphia Catholic League in 1919–20. The Explorers sat out the 1921–22 and 1922–23 seasons and again from 1928–29 through 1933–34, then came back for good.

The school moved from its campus at 20th and Olney in Philadelphia to Wyndmoor in the early 1960s. Eight Catholic League championships span both campuses. That ties La Salle for third all-time behind Roman Catholic and Neumann-Goretti.

Philadelphia Catholic League seal
Charter Member · 1919–20Philadelphia Catholic LeagueOne of the league’s original members, with eight championships.
Charter member of the Catholic League
1919–20
Catholic League championships
8
Titles under Obie O'Brien
6
Career points by Tom Gola, first on the all-time list
1,392
Catholic League Champions

Eight Banners

Every Philadelphia Catholic League championship in program history. Tap a banner to see that season.

In the Title Game

19 appearances · 7 won · plus the 1936 regular-season title

Championship Coaches

On the Bench

6

Catholic League titles

Obie O'Brien

Six Catholic League championships across four decades, from 1936 to 1963.

193619371946194819501963

1

Catholic League title

Joe Meehan

Led the 1941–42 team to a 15–1 league record and 25–2 overall.

1942

1

Catholic League title

Bill Michuda

Led the 1980–81 team to a 14–2 league record and 23–8 overall.

1981

Every Head Coach

La Salle head coaches and their records
CoachSeasonsLeagueOverall
Joe Dougherty1920–212–14—
Al Voeglin19241–9—
Tom Donleavy19252–8—
Bill Parnell1926–277–17—
Mike Saxe192810–4—
Obie O'Brien1935–41, 1944–70321–167541–248
Joe Meehan1942–4321–11—
Mike Osborne1971–7775–37122–65
Dave "Lefty" Ervin1978–7911–2116–34
Bill Michuda1980–8126–637–22
Les Burke1982–8660–2076–49
Marty Jackson1987–91, 1994–2001, 2003–04153–67256–139
Bernie Fitzgerald1992–93, 200220–2631–44
Joe Dempsey2005–18106–82208–147
Mike McKee2019–2231–2360–29

Years are the year each season ended. League records cover Catholic League regular-season games; overall records are listed only where the source has them.

Scoring Records

The Record Book

Catholic League games, 1938–39 through 2021–22. Years are a player’s senior season.

Career Catholic League points, top 15
#PlayerLeague+ Playoffs
1Craig Conlin ’85815935
2Tom Gola ’51707771
3Chip Greenberg ’82692748
4Amar Stukes ’13582653
5Joe Meade ’97576671
6Mark Fitzgerald ’89569627
7Steve Wiley ’71568568
8Ted Gutowicz ’74567606
9Chris O'Brien ’81561606
10Matt Mihalich ’76545626
11Brendan O'Neill ’94524543
12Ernie Koschineg ’91516597
13Eddie Mitchell ’11504580
14Kevin Olender ’93494513
15Sam Brown ’22483—
Season by Season

Every Season

Records, finishes, coaches and leading scorers for every Catholic League season. Open a decade, then tap a season for its full story: playoffs, All-Catholics and every player’s points.

Have a yearbook photo?

Team photos from the Blue and Gold yearbook are being added year by year. Alumni with scans can send them to the program.

1920s7 seasons22–52 in the league
1930s5 seasons57–15 in the league2 Catholic League titles ’36, ’37
1940s10 seasons100–50 in the league3 Catholic League titles ’42, ’46, ’48
1950s10 seasons98–42 in the leagueCatholic League champions ’50
1960s10 seasons84–58 in the leagueCatholic League champions ’63
1970s10 seasons89–71 in the league
1980s10 seasons116–44 in the leagueCatholic League champions ’81
1990s10 seasons98–50 in the league
2000s10 seasons73–67 in the league
2010s10 seasons90–42 in the league
2020s7 seasons19–21 in the league1 photo
Results & Rosters

Season Archive

In Memory

Records courtesy of Ted Silary

Ted Silary covered Philadelphia high school sports for the Daily News for decades and kept the city’s records long after. He died in 2023. Much of La Salle basketball’s history would be lost without his work, and this page is built on it.

Championships, standings, records, coaches, honors, playoff results and scoring on these pages come from TedSilary.com, Ted Silary’s archive of Philadelphia high school sports. Standings from 1919–20 and scoring from 1938–39, through 2021–22.