Long Beach's Greatest Sports Moments:
#15 St. Anthony wins the CIF Title
St. Anthony football star Johnny Olszewski led the Saints to an undefeated season and the CIF title in 1948 at a time when there was only one CIF champion.
St. Anthony College Preparatory High School wins the CIF title behind its great backfield, a terrific accomplishment for a small school in the one-division era of CIF play, L.A. Coliseum, December 1948.
Bruising running back Johnny Olszewski won all-CIF acclaim in 1947 so the Saints were expected to succeed. But in the era where the only CIF divisions were geographical,St. Anthony and its modest enrollment was playing in the same domain as public schools with thousands of students. They won anyway.
Behind coach Jacques Grennier, the Saints rolled into the playoffs, beat Chaffey 28-21 in the semifinals and then, despite Johnny O being sidelined with an injury, won the title game against Santa Barbara. The score was tied 7-7 at game’s end but St. Anthony got the win on the basis of more first downs. Olszewski was chosen player of the year after rushing for 1,662 yards and 27 TDs, and he and the entire Saints backfield enrolled at Cal – quarterback Bill Mais and halfbacks John Peterson and Dean O’Hare. Olszewski, who ran for 2,504 career yards at Cal, was an all-conference pick in 1952 and had a ten-year NFL career.
Thanks to the Long Beach Press-Telegram for permission to use this article published 2/3/2006, Long Beach's Greatest Sports Moments
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