Philadelphia High School
Baseball
A Look at
Rich Papirio's 31-Year
Coaching
Career At Ryan (1978-86) and Egan/Conwell-Egan (1988-09)
This
page includes stories, special lists, record breakdown, recaps of wins in
championship games and the names of All-City/All-Catholic honorees during Coach
Papirio's 31 seasons. . . . To provide
additions/corrections: .
Thanks!
| On the left is star outfielder Dan Cataline,
after Archbishop Ryan won the 1980 Catholic League championship . . . In the
center of the pic on the right, after Conwell-Egan won the 2006 crown, are
stars Brian Herman (pitcher) and John Malloy (outfielder, black shirt).
Rich Papirio Coach Papirio's Daily News
All-City
Players: Ryan, 1978-86 Egan/C-E, 1988-09 FIRST TEAM Dan Cataline OF 1979 Dan Cataline OF 1980 Don Bradley INF 1980 Scott Haws C 1990 Joe McEwing OF 1990 Brian Herman P 2006 John Malloy OF 2006 SECOND TEAM John Lorenzo INF 1980 Brian Oliver DH 1979 Ed Hughes P 1979 Jim Pawloski 1B 1980 Ron D'Ambrosio OF 1984 Earle Masciulli INF 1986 Chuck Coleman P 1989 Gary Stricker INF 2002 Tim Carroll OF 2003 Tim Carroll INF 2004 Matt Burns OF 2005 Ryan Geiss P 2005 Ryan Terry INF 2006 John McDonald INF 2007 THIRD TEAM Bob Senske DH 1983 Joe Jenkins INF 1984 Dan Crowley OF 1985 Ted Smith P 1985 Jim Carr 1B 1989 Scott Sheplock INF 1988 Joe McEwing OF 1989 Mike Blaszczak 1B 1989 Shawn Smith 1B 1995 Tim Slater INF 1996 Sean Haines OF 1996 Phil Papirio OF 1999 Chad Harvey INF 2000 Phil Brazil OF 2001 Nick Natriello INF 2003 Matt Fischer C 2004 Chris David P 2005 Rich Dupell C 2006 Ben Keller OF 2009 | FIRST TEAM | | | Dan Cataline | OF | 1979 | Dan Cataline | OF | 1980 | Don Bradley | INF | 1980 | Scott Haws | C | 1990 | Joe McEwing | OF | 1990 | Brian Herman | P | 2006 | John Malloy | OF | 2006 | SECOND TEAM | | | John Lorenzo | INF | 1980 | Brian Oliver | DH | 1979 | Ed Hughes | P | 1979 | Jim Pawloski | 1B | 1980 | Ron D'Ambrosio | OF | 1984 | Earle Masciulli | INF | 1986 | Chuck Coleman | P | 1989 | Gary Stricker | INF | 2002 | Tim Carroll | OF | 2003 | Tim Carroll | INF | 2004 | Matt Burns | OF | 2005 | Ryan Geiss | P | 2005 | Ryan Terry | INF | 2006 | John McDonald | INF | 2007 | THIRD TEAM | | | Bob Senske | DH | 1983 | Joe Jenkins | INF | 1984 | Dan Crowley | OF | 1985 | Ted Smith | P | 1985 | Jim Carr | 1B | 1989 | Scott Sheplock | INF | 1988 | Joe McEwing | OF | 1989 | Mike Blaszczak | 1B | 1989 | Shawn Smith | 1B | 1995 | Tim Slater | INF | 1996 | Sean Haines | OF | 1996 | Phil Papirio | OF | 1999 | Chad Harvey | INF | 2000 | Phil Brazil | OF | 2001 | Nick Natriello | INF | 2003 | Matt Fischer | C | 2004 | Chris David | P | 2005 | Rich Dupell | C | 2006 | Ben Keller | OF | 2009 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Rich Papirio Tribute Page Rich Papirio coached baseball at Archbishop Ryan (1978-86) and Bishop
Egan/Conwell-Egan (1988-2009) for 31 seasons, winning 287 Catholic League
regular season games and three championships. His 1980 title team is
considered one of the best in Catholic League history . . . By Ted
Silary To
illustrate the desperate nature of the situation, a set crew from Hollywood
should have been summoned to the baseball field at Textile yesterday, where
the lords of the Catholic League staged their once-delayed championship
game. By mixing the right amount of plywood, tools, paint and hard workers to
handle them, the construction would have started by the middle of batting
practice and ended just in time for the cry of "Play Ball." Of course, the players and coaches from Archbishop Carroll High might not
have liked it too much if they had turned their heads toward the extra-high
fence 30 feet behind home plate, designed to stop foul balls. Attached to the fence, a replica of a musty Western saloon named "Last
Chance" would not have looked too cool . . . as apropos as it would have
been for most of the players on Archbishop Ryan. Nine of the 20 players on the Raiders' rosters, including all infield
starters, performed last fall for the football team, which posted a
school-best record of 10-1, yet was paying for its tickets by title tme in
early December. To boot, two of the infield starters, identical twins Jim (first base)
and Ken (shortstop) Pawloski, had suffered a double dose of disappointment,
starting at small forward and guard, respectively, for the basketball team, which swept the regular season title and was bumped in the playoffs. Subs Jeff Wiedecke and Steve Phares had also come close to a title. As
members of the hockey team, their hopes for a chance at the first- ever Flyers' Cup were dashed in the semis by none other than . . . Archbishop
Carroll. And you can bet that no one on any of those teams had forgotten. With
constant reminders about various flops, how could they? "The idea all season," noted pitcher Dan Gillespie, also a backup
quarterback, "was for everyone to get rid of their frustrations. Some of us
went real far in other sports, yet didn't go all the way. "Right from the beginning, we dedicated the season to this year's
football and basketball teams and last year's baseball team." LEST WE FORGET, the '79 Raiders swept 15 of 16 games during the regular
season then belly-flopped against Father Judge in the Northern Division
final. This crew, though, swaggered through the playoffs like barroom brawlers. First to go was La Salle, which last week was tossed through the swinging
doors, 8-0. Second to go was Carroll, which was chucked over the bar and
merely shattered a fancy mirror, 12-4. For Ryan, which began league competition with the basketball season of
'67-68, the title was only the second in one of the three major sports (baseball '74). "You can see how happy I am, but I'd imagine that some of these guys feel
even better," said centerfielder Steve Pindyski, the only junior starter. "They hung tough in their sports to the very end, but always seemed to
falter. "Now, they finally came out on top. They talked championship all spring
and it happened. What a way to go out." "We just missed in football, we just missed in basketball," said Ken
Pawloski, speaking for Jim and himself. "Now, this is it . It feels super.
We have a lot of football players on the team and it really means a lot
because we thought we had a good chance to win. For Jimmy and me, with basketball, it means more." continued right below . . . | SEASON BY SEASON Catholic League Archbishop Ryan 1978: 6-10 1979: 15-1 1980: 15-1 1981: 8-8 1982: 8-8 1983: 11-5 1984: 13-3 1985: 10-6 1986: 11-5 1987: Inactive Egan/C-E 1988: 11-5 1989: 9-7 1990: 8-8 1991: 1-15 1992: 4-12 1993: 3-13 1994: 7-7 1995: 8-6 1996: 9-5 1997: 5-13 1998: 6-12 1999: 9-9 2000: 9-9 2001: 8-10 2002: 9-9 2003: 10-8 2004: 14-4 2005: 12-2 2006: 14-0 2007: 11-10 2008: 12-2 2009: 11-5 Ryan: 97-47 Egan/C-E: 190-171 Total: 287-218 --- CATHOLIC LEAGUE TITLES 1980 1984 2006 Playoff Appearances Ended in . . . FINALS 1980, 1984, 2005, 2006 SEMIFINALS 1979, 1983, 1986, 2003, 2004 -- LINEUPS FOR CL CHAMPS 1980, Ryan Steve Pindyski, cf Jim Pawloski, 1b Bruce Voell, rf Dan Cataline, 1b Don Bradley, 3b Nick Russo, 2b Ken Pawloski, ss Jim Vanderslice, c Joe Cohill, p 1984 Ryan Ron D’Antonio, cf Joe Jenkins, 2b Tim Brydges, 1b Joe Wagner, rf Rich Schonewolf, p John Cucinotta, lf John Purr, c Nick Chichilitti, ss Ron James, 3b 2006,
Conwell-Egan Rich Dupell, c Brian Herman, p Ryan Terry, 3b John Malloy, cf Ryan Buch, rf John McDonald, ss Mike Rugghia, 1b Jim Slemmer, dh Ed Barry, 2b Joe Marziano, lf | LINEUPS FOR CL CHAMPS | 1980, Ryan | Steve Pindyski, cf | Jim Pawloski, 1b | Bruce Voell, rf | Dan Cataline, 1b | Don Bradley, 3b | Nick Russo, 2b | Ken Pawloski, ss | Jim Vanderslice, c | Joe Cohill, p | 1984 Ryan | Ron D’Antonio, cf | Joe Jenkins, 2b | Tim Brydges, 1b | Joe Wagner, rf | Rich Schonewolf, p | John Cucinotta, lf | John Purr, c | Nick Chichilitti, ss | Ron James, 3b | 2006,
Conwell-Egan | Rich Dupell, c | Brian Herman, p | Ryan Terry, 3b | John Malloy, cf | Ryan Buch, rf | John McDonald, ss | Mike Rugghia, 1b | Jim Slemmer, dh | Ed Barry, 2b | Joe Marziano, lf
FIRST TEAM | |
Dan Cataline | OF | 1979
Dan Cataline | OF | 1980
Don Bradley | INF | 1980
Scott Haws | C | 1990
Joe McEwing | OF | 1990
Brian Herman | P | 2006
John Malloy | OF | 2006
SECOND TEAM | |
John Lorenzo | INF | 1980
Brian Oliver | DH | 1979
Ed Hughes | P | 1979
Jim Pawloski | 1B | 1980
Ron D'Ambrosio | OF | 1984
Earle Masciulli | INF | 1986
Chuck Coleman | P | 1989
Gary Stricker | INF | 2002
Tim Carroll | OF | 2003
Tim Carroll | INF | 2004
Matt Burns | OF | 2005
Ryan Geiss | P | 2005
Ryan Terry | INF | 2006
John McDonald | INF | 2007
THIRD TEAM | |
Bob Senske | DH | 1983
Joe Jenkins | INF | 1984
Dan Crowley | OF | 1985
Ted Smith | P | 1985
Jim Carr | 1B | 1989
Scott Sheplock | INF | 1988
Joe McEwing | OF | 1989
Mike Blaszczak | 1B | 1989
Shawn Smith | 1B | 1995
Tim Slater | INF | 1996
Sean Haines | OF | 1996
Phil Papirio | OF | 1999
Chad Harvey | INF | 2000
Phil Brazil | OF | 2001
Nick Natriello | INF | 2003
Matt Fischer | C | 2004
Chris David | P | 2005
Rich Dupell | C | 2006
Ben Keller | OF | 2009
LINEUPS FOR CL CHAMPS
1980, Ryan
Steve Pindyski, cf
Jim Pawloski, 1b
Bruce Voell, rf
Dan Cataline, 1b
Don Bradley, 3b
Nick Russo, 2b
Ken Pawloski, ss
Jim Vanderslice, c
Joe Cohill, p
1984 Ryan
Ron D’Antonio, cf
Joe Jenkins, 2b
Tim Brydges, 1b
Joe Wagner, rf
Rich Schonewolf, p
John Cucinotta, lf
John Purr, c
Nick Chichilitti, ss
Ron James, 3b
2006,
Conwell-Egan
Rich Dupell, c
Brian Herman, p
Ryan Terry, 3b
John Malloy, cf
Ryan Buch, rf
John McDonald, ss
Mike Rugghia, 1b
Jim Slemmer, dh
Ed Barry, 2b
Joe Marziano, lf
RYAN SEALED the Patriots'
fate with four-run outbursts in the third and fourth innings against
lefthander Mike Sohmer, who had made short work of the Southern Division in the regular season,
going 8-0 with eight complete games. Mike, however, struggled in the division clincher over Cardinal O'Hara
and was not in top form again. What made things worse was the third-inning mandate from Ryan Coach Rich Papirio to his
hitters. "Coming in, we knew that Mike Sohmer was not an overpowering pitcher,"
Papirio said. "But he's such a smart pitcher, he had us waving at his curves and making us swing late at his fastballs for
awhile. So, we called a little meeting there and I told the kids, 'Mike Sohmer has had his way so far. Let's start laying on the
fastball and not worry too much about the curves.' "And that's what we did. The kids attacked Mike's fastball." Ken Pawloski lashed a two-run single and catcher Jim Vanderslice followed
with a two-run double to account for the third-inning runs. Pindyski tripled to open the fourth and promptly scored
on a wild pitch. Later, Ryan added unearned runs on Don Bradley's RBI single and Nick Russo's two-run double. Meanwhile, Ryan's Joe Cohill was catching his spurs in the wood and
risking an occasional pratfall. AFTER SCORING unearned runs in the second and third, Carroll bunched a
walk to Holt Parke, an RBI triple by Dan Clancy, an RBI single by Pete Savini and a hit to shortstop by Paul Adelizzi
to chase Cohill with none out in the fourth. On came Gillespie, who fanned Dan Mostardi on a rising fastball, retired
Scott Chamness on a line drive to right and sweated bullets as Sohmer flied way out to right-center, sub rightfielder
Kevin Duffy making a nifty running catch. Gillespie worked two more scoreless innings and Jim Hanuscin got the
chance to pitch the seventh, as Papirio made sure to clear his bench. Speaking of clearing something, slugger supreme Dan Cataline did just
that one out into the sixth. And this home run was a dwarf compared to some of them. The ball entered a tree perhaps 30 feet
above field level in dead left. It traveled "only" 330 feet. Vanderslice dabbed on some icing with a two-run single and Gillespie
added the lettering, lofting a sacrifice fly. "You line up any team against our team, there's no way that anyone is
better," Gillespie said. "That's the way we looked at it. We didn't get too many guys on first team All-Catholic (J. Pawloski and
Cataline), but it's awful hard to find a guy on any other team who's better than the guy on our team. "Looking at it like that, we came in nice and loose. We knew we'd win. We
knew we had the best team." In a last-chance situation, who could ask for anything more? EXTRA BASES: Ryan finished 22-1- 1, losing to La Salle in the
regular season, tying Woodrow Wilson (Pa.) in eight innings on a day four infield starters were involved with practice for the City
All-Star Football Game . . . Soph sub Rick Sellitsch made the play of the game in the seventh inning, diving to his right from first
base and flipping to pitcher Jim Hanuscin for the out . . . Scott Chamness , who will attend Canterbury Prep in Connecticut for
hockey, lined two hits . . . Don Bradley will attend Santa Ana (Calif.) JC, where he could play football and baseball . . . Dan
Cataline finished the year with 11 homers and 44 RBI . . . Carroll Coach Paul McGeehan: "I watched Cat in batting practice.
Of the four swings I saw, only one looked good. I figured we might be OK. Well, then the game started."
This story was written after Rich
guided the Raiders to the 1984 championship . . .
By Ted Silary Archbishop Ryan's baseball team did not merely win the Catholic League
championship in 1980. It staged an occupation. The Raiders went 15-1 during Northern Division play, then swept past La
Salle, 8-0, and Archbishop Carroll, 12-4, to complete a 22-1 season that also included a non-league tie. No reporter was idiotic enough Saturday at Erny Field to ask coach Rich
Papirio to compare the teams after Ryan bumped Monsignor Bonner, 8-3, to take its third title in 11 years. Upon request,
however, Papirio was more than willing to compare the feelings. "It was my first in 1980 and you can never replace those feelings,"
Papirio said. "But this is so much more special. "Egan and North were viewed as the probable favorites this season and
people certainly expected Judge and Dougherty to be up there. The word on us was, 'Ryan's had two nice JV teams, maybe
they'll be a contender.' Well, we proved to be more than a contender. "It's more rewarding when you do it this way - come up the side lane
instead of leading from the start." If the teams were somehow melded into one, it's doubtful any of 1980's
everyday starters would be dislodged in favor of a Class of '84 representative. The fact that the current Raiders soon
will prance through the streets of the Far Northeast (and probably Wildwood, N.J.) in championship jackets says something about
the merits of having mettle. When a guy the size of second baseman Joe "Spanky" Jenkins tries out for
a team, the coach usually introduces him to the joys of keeping the scorebook. All Jenkins did Saturday was pepper the scorebook with five hits, two
runs and three RBI. Admittedly, one hit was a borderline gift (botched roller to short that he may have beaten out anyway)
and another was a misjudged pop to right. Jenkins collected a three-run homer and four RBI as Ryan topped Egan in
the final game of the regular season, making both teams 13-3 but giving the Raiders the division crown because they had
twice beaten Egan. It also was Jenkins who last week contributed an RBI single to the 9-6, division-clinching playoff
win over North Catholic. He had to watch the last three innings, though, having been ejected for
going out of his way to bump into North's catcher following a forceout. "I wasn't thinking on that one," he said sheepishly. "I was trying to
break up the doubleplay, even though he never went to throw it. Yesterday in school, the guys were kidding me. At least four
times someone said to me, 'Just make sure you don't get thrown out of the game.' "This is a great feeling. It's good to have your best game in the middle
of the season, but it's even better to have it in the championship game." "When Joe Jenkins came up with men on base, I knew he was going to
deliver," Papirio said. "There was never a doubt." In 1980, Jenkins did not get to see any of Ryan's baseball heroics. Of
course, at that time he was having trouble seeing his shoe tops. "I got nicknamed 'Spanky' because I used to look like him," Jenkins said
laughing, in reference to the character in "Spanky & Our Gang." "I was short and fat. Not fat - stocky. Shouldn't say fat. I tried
fighting (the nickname), but I lost. I like it now. It's been with me four or five years." Retiring coach Bob Stratton had been with Bonner for 19 years. He went
out a loser because righthander Sean Harding was unable to duplicate his six-hit, nine-strikeout performance in the South
final against West Catholic; also because of shaky fielding (three errors) and lack of pop (four hits, none with runners
in scoring position). Only Ryan fans left saying the game was great. Actually, it was afflicted
by a bad case of the blahs, although Dennis Hennelly's solo, fifth-inning homer did pull Bonner within 4-3. Rightfielder Joe Wagner followed Jenkins's single and Tim Brydges's
double with a two-run double in the visiting sixth for a 6-3 lead and Jim Doherty, who relieved winner Rich Schonewolf after
five, ended all suspense in the bottom half by retiring Hennelly on a two-out, bases-loaded popup to shortstop Nick
Chichilitti. "If Hennelly hits another one," Papirio said, "Bonner's on its way to the
championship." Instead, the winner was Ryan, which fielded a team that never will be
memorialized. That's all right. All these guys ever wanted to do was take home the plaque. EXTRA BASES: Bob Stratton coached Bonner to Catholic and City
championships in 1970 . . . Ryan's 1980 everyday eight: Steve Pindyski, cf; Jim Pawloski, 1b; Bruce Voell, rf; Dan Cataline,
lf; Don Bradley, 3b; Nick Russo, 2b; Ken Pawloski, ss; Jim Vanderslice, c . . . The Rev. Richard Olszewski, Ryan's
moderator, had his nose bloodied in a celebration pileup at the mound after the game.
This story was written in 2006 after
Rich broke the lengthy title drought at Egan/C-E . . .
By Ted Silary SNAKEBITTEN no more. The baseball-playing Eagles of Conwell-Egan High proved so yesterday, but
they knew so a day earlier. Face your fear. That's what people say, right? So after Tuesday's practice, four prime-time performers, mindful of their
school's long history of gut-wrenching playoff disasters, came up with this brainstorm: We'll go to the Delaware
River in Morrisville and catch a snake. After C-E, nee Bishop Egan, rolled past St. Joseph's Prep, 8-3, in
sweltering weather at Widener University to win its second-ever diamond title and first since 1968, coach Rich Papirio, a
backup on that long-ago squad, noted that many of his players all season had maintained a refuse-to-lose approach. He added: "I've been so relaxed as a coach this season. With my son
[Phil] serving in Iraq, I realize wholeheartedly that this is just a game." Papirio then laughed and readdressed the was-his-program-snakebitten
issue. "You know what? Talk to these guys," he said, gesturing toward his
players. "They play with snakes every day." He then turned and hollered: "Where's Ryan Buch?! Where's the video of the
snake?! Go get it! Show it to 'em! . . . Wait till you see it. It's bigger than Ryan Buch. I get scared looking at
it." Buch, a senior transfer from Pennsbury, is C-E's rightfielder, and his
circus catch of Tom Elliott's liner ended the ballgame. Following orders, he trotted into the dugout and came out with his cell
phone. And there it was - the hunt, and capture, of a 4-foot snake (let's be conservative here) by Buch, third
baseman Ryan Terry, centerfielder John Malloy and catcher Rich Dupell. If past Eagles had tried this, somehow the snake would have been filled
with venom. Someone would have disappeared in quicksand. The franchise player would have stepped on a huge
nail or large piece of glass. This time? Nothing went wrong. Snakebitten no more. Not even literally. "It was a little hard catching it," Buch said. "But we got it, and had it
in a bucket. Then we put it back in the river." Said Malloy: "We missed it the first time. Then I was standing in the
water and it came swimmin' right at me, with its mouth open! I had a little stick in my hand, and swung it. Then I ran.
Ryan Terry eventually caught it." Pause. Big smile. "That was the most fun I ever had at a river." Most fun ever at a ballpark? Had to be yesterday. For all of them. C-E won a pregame coin flip and chose to bat last, of course, but the
Prep scored once in the first on a two-out ground-ball bobble (every C-E loyalist, bar none, had to be thinking, "Not
this again") and Matt Tiagwad's RBI double to right-center. But check this out: The Eagles committed no other miscues en route to
finishing 16-0 against CL opposition (14-0, two playoffs). And they had to make plays, too, because senior righthander
Brian Herman, a Rider signee coming off a complete-game win in the semis over Monsignor Bonner, struck out a
low-for-him five. Dupell, for one, knew about C-E's long-standing miseries. Thought about
them, too, as much as he tried to avoid that. "All you can do," he said, "is make sure you don't make mistakes, and
hope the other guys don't, either. If so, you stay supportive and pick each other up." Even in the seventh, with a five-run lead, C-E's fans were somewhat
subdued. They watched and hoped and undoubtedly kept muttering under their breath: "No messups. Please, no
messups. I can't take it." When it was over, the Eagles rejoiced in several areas, then posed for
pictures at home plate. Malloy, finally yielding to sustained begging, then carried the plaque to where the joyous students
stood, at the front of bleachers. He moved left to right in front of them, allowing those in front to reach through
netting and briefly touch the plaque. "This is awesome," he said. "It means so much to do this. We knew we had
the skill. We only needed the execution. Except for that one early error, we were flawless." C-E was assuredly challenged. The 1-0 deficit disappeared in the third.
Dupell worked a two-out walk, Herman drove in the courtesy runner, Jim Love, with a double to right-center, and Ryan
Terry followed with a two-run homer off the foul pole in the short leftfield corner (300 feet). The lead disappeared quickly. Aaron Haas responded with his own two-out
hit, a single, and Matt Leddy imitated Ryan Howard with an inside-out, two-run homer a few feet inside the
rightfield foul pole (309 feet). Ed Barry (double) and Dupell (single) ripped hits for RBI in the bottom
half. Leddy replaced lefty Doug DiSandro for the fifth and two more runs appeared, thanks to hits by John McDonald
(single) and Mike Rugghia (double). Tiagwad surrendered an unearned run in the seventh. The Prep committed four errors and several other times were guilty of
"almosts." "All credit goes to Conwell-Egan," coach Chris Rupertus said. "They don't
strike out much. They force you to make plays. The pressure's always on. Seemed like they got a lot of big two-out
hits, too. Well, so did we. But they got more, because they had eight runs and we had three." Rupertus' hunch was correct. All 11 runs were scored with two away. Papirio said the Eagles finally got rolling because they made adjustments
the second time through the lineup, moving up in the box to reduce the effectiveness of DiSandro's curve and tailing
fastball. Also, he and the players gave major credit to pitching coach Dante Cefalone, mostly for what he did after last
year's loss to La Salle in the final. "He made sure we stood there and watched them celebrate," Terry said. "He
told us to remember what it felt like. He kept saying, 'That's going to be us next year.' " Herman, the coaches' Northern Division MVP, allowed five hits and walked
none. He did plunk a batter. Herman said he knew immediately after Saturday's semi that he wanted to
pitch in the final. All he could do was hope he'd receive permission. That came Tuesday after a bullpen session of
15 to 20 pitches for Cefalone. "I was a little tight," Herman said. "That's to be expected. Overall I
felt fine." Said Dupell: "He focuses on what he wants, then gets it. He knows how to
do the job. I know he's going to be something in baseball. I'll be able to say, 'Yeah, I caught that kid in high
school.' " Along with a snake that served as an omen. Title tidbits: Egan's worst misery came in '83, when it fell to O'Hara in
the title game after having a three-run lead in the seventh with two out, nobody on and an 0-2 count on Joe Romano . . .
Rich Papirio also coached Ryan to championships in '80 and '84 in a nine-season stint ending in '86. He was
out of coaching in '87. This was his 19th Egan/C-E season . . . Six Eagles had RBI . . . In '68, Egan won the City
Title, 1-0, over Southern in 11 innings on a bases-loaded walk. Egan's Dennis Yesenosky (20) and Southern's Willie Jones
combined for 36 strikeouts.
Below are
the players who earned first or second team Coaches' All-Catholic honors during Rich Papirio's 31 seasons as the coach at Ryan (1978-86) and Egan/C-E
(1988-09). FIRST TEAM SS John Lorenzo 1979 OF Dan Cataline 1979 P Ed Hughes 1979 1B Jim Pawloski 1980 OF Dan Cataline 1980 1B Joe Slane 1983 P Shawn Dillon 1983 1B Tim Brydges 1984 OF Ron D'Antonio 1984 C Jim Smith 1985 OF Dan Crowley 1985 P Ted Smith 1985 OF Tom Stehr 1986 1B Jim Carr 1988 OF Joe McEwing 1989 P Chuck Coleman 1989 C Scott Haws 1990 OF Joe McEwing 1990 IF Tim Slater 1994 OF Jim Gindele 1994 INF Tim Slater 1996 C Mike Murphy 1996 1B Mike Comerford 1996 OF Chris Carter 1998 INF Chad Harvey 2000 INF Gary Stricker 2002 IF Nick Natriello 2003 OF Tim Carroll 2003 1B Gene Stricker 2004 OF Tim Carroll 2004 OF Matt Burns 2005 P Ryan Geiss 2005 DH Ryan Terry 2005 INF Ryan Terry 2006 INF Brian Herman 2006 OF John Malloy 2006 P *Brian Herman 2006 INF John McDonald 2007 P Andrew Sinon 2008 OF Ben Keller 2009 P Kevin Cahill 2009 SECOND TEAM OF Pat Doherty 1978 P Jack Senske 1978 2B Mike Retter 1979 P Jack Senske 1979 3B Don Bradley 1980 P Joe Cohill 1980 1B Mark Bartlett 1981 C Dave Palmer 1981 OF Phil Abendroth 1981 OF Chris Pfendner 1982 OF Joe Reynolds 1983 2B Joe Jenkins 1984 3B Rich Schonewolf 1984 C John Purr 1984 P Jim Doherty 1984 P Rich Schonewolf 1984 SS Earle Masciulli 1986 OF Dan Crowley 1986 P Bob Valach 1986 2B Scott Sheplock 1988 3B Mike Olshavsky 1988 SS Tom Riley 1988 P Chuck Coleman 1988 DH Scott Haws 1989 1B Mike Blaszczak 1990 P Carl Roder 1994 1B Shawn Smith 1995 IF Tim Slater 1995 P Mike Moran 1995 P Shawn Smith 1995 OF Sean Haines 1996 P Matt Potalivo 1996 OF Mike Lamina 1997 OF Tom Terry 1998 OF Phil Papirio 1999 P Brian Delahanty 1999 P Gavin Beier 2000 OF Phil Brazil 2001 P Todd Puzycki 2001 OF Jim Coon 2002 P Mike Kane 2002 1B Matt Brazil 2003 P Chris David 2004 OF Kurt Bruehl 2004 C Matt Fischer 2004 P Brian Herman 2004 INF Brian Herman 2005 OF John Malloy 2005 P Chris David 2005 1B Mike Rugghia 2006 OF Ryan Buch 2006 C Rich Dupell 2006 P Mike Rodda 2006 OF Joe McAnany 2007 P Travis Hughes 2007 1B Rick Horn 2008 OF Ben Keller 2008 C Pat Sevick 2008 P Kevin Cahill 2008 INF Joe Tretter 2009 C Pat Sevick 2009 -- Recaps of Wins in Catholic League Championship Games 1980 At Phila. Textile Ryan 12, Carroll 4 The Raiders posted four-spots in the
third, fourth and sixth to storm to the title. Dan Cataline hit a solo
homer (his 11th of the season) two days before becoming the Cubs'
second-round draftee. Jim Vanderslice went 2-for-4 with four RBI and
Nick Russo and Ken Pawloski had two RBI apiece. Joe Cohill, winner Dan
Gillespie and Jim Hanuscin did the pitching. Ryan finished 21-1-1
overall. For Carroll, Paul Adelizzi, Scott Chamness and Dan Clancy
(triple) had two hits apiece. 1984 At Temple's Erny Field Ryan 8, Bonner 3 Joe "Spanky" Jenkins went 5-for-5 with a double, three RBI
and two runs scored for the Raiders, who broke open a tight game with
two apiece in the sixth (on Joe Wagner's double) and seventh. Tim
Brydges went 3-for-3 and scored a run. Rich Schonewolf allowed three
hits in five innings and Jim Doherty finished. Bonner's Dennis Hennelly
hit a solo homer. 2006 At Widener University Conwell-Egan 8, SJ Prep 3 These teams had combined for only one league championship, and
C-E's drought had lasted since 1968, when the school was known as Bishop
Egan and coach Rich Papirio was a substitute. Brian Herman, as he'd done
in the semis, went the distance (five hits, five Ks) as C-E finished
16-0 against CL opposition. He also hammered a run-scoring double. C-E's
Ryan Terry (leftfield) and Prep's Matt Leddy (rightfield) both poled
two-run homers that barely left the stadium down short lines (300 to LF,
309 to RF). Leddy's homer created a 3-3 tie, then Ed Barry (double) and
Rich Dupell (single) collected RBI in the home fourth before John
McDonald (single) and Mike Rugghia (double) did likewise in the fifth.
The Eagles added an unearned run in the sixth. All 11 runs were scored
with two away. The title was Papirio's third, ending a 22-year wait
(also '80 and '84 at Ryan.) --
Author
Published
March 5, 2026
Updated
March 5, 2026