Joe Galliera remembers the 1973 state championship game vividly. Lou Marshall has fond memories of beating Bishop Eustace last spring. With 100 years to choose from, the Camden Catholic High School baseball program could talk for days about the great times out on the diamond.
On March 3, those stories will be swapped as the school will celebrate its 100th anniversary of its high school baseball program and acknowledge stars of the past with an alumni gathering in the school’s dining hall.
Marshall, a 1979 graduate and the team’s current baseball coach, took the lead in organizing the event by doing some extensive research with the help of a few former coaches.
“We looked at it as an opportunity to get the alumni involved again,” Marshall said. “We got together and thumbed through every yearbook that was available and pulled out some players. We did our best to get a nice cross reference of players who gave great contributions to the program over the years. We’re just hoping to build a strong alumni and get this program back on the same level as all the other sports at Camden Catholic.”
Marshall admits there’s not much information on the teams that first suited up for the Irish in the 1920s and 30s. But the pinnacle of the program arrived in 1973 when Camden Catholic captured its only state championship by beating Seton Hall Prep, 2-1, in extra innings behind the superb pitching of lefty Dan Potts. This spring represents the 50th anniversary of that championship team.
“We scored in the [ninth inning] to go ahead,” said Galliera, who coached from 1972-1976. “In the bottom of that inning, [Seton Hall Prep] led off with a triple. Danny Potts strikes out the next two guys and picks the kid off at third base for the win. I couldn’t believe it. It happened in a blur and all of the sudden, we’re out on the field celebrating.”
It was even more special for Galliera, who was 28 at the time. The Parochial A and B championships were played simultaneously at Princeton that day. His college roommate, Jimmy Carr, was coaching Gloucester Catholic in the Parochial B championship on an adjacent field. The Rams wrapped up their state title and came over to cheer on the Irish in the Parochial A championship in extra innings.
“When we won, they all came over the fence onto the field to celebrate with us. It was really cool. We won state championship games about 10 minutes apart,” Galliera said.
The next year, Camden Catholic won the first ever South Jersey Diamond Classic tournament, but it was never able to capture another state title despite getting to the final in 1978 and 1996. Galliera thought for sure there would be more to come. He still marvels over that one championship season each time he peeks up at the rafters while volunteering to work the game clock at Camden Catholic basketball games.
“When I go into the gym, I look up at that banner and there’s only one year on that banner – 1973,” he said. “I was 28 when we won. You think, boy, it’s only my second year as a head coach, this is going to be easy. But they haven’t been back since.”
It’s what makes high school baseball so special. It’s tough to win. Marshall knows it after taking over a program that had seen some tough years in a tough conference. The 2021 team had just three wins, but last year, the Irish put 10 in the win column in the Olympic Conference. One game particularly stands out.
“We had some big wins against Olympic Conference teams and our biggest was against Bishop Eustace,” Marshall said. “We took them to extra innings, and we were able to score from third when the catcher dropped the ball. I had a stud pitcher ready to go and he shut them down in the bottom of the inning. It was such a big win that I actually had tears in my eyes.”
Camden Catholic will honor a wide range of former players at the 100th anniversary dinner in March. They will also unveil new uniforms for the 2023 season. Tickets are $40 and can be purchased at camdencatholic.org/o/cchs/page/100-years-of-cchs-baseball.
The goal is to amp up the excitement for the 101st year of baseball at the school. So far, things look promising, Marshall said.
“We’ve had a lot of great accomplishments, and we played in the toughest division in South Jersey,” Marshall said. “A lot of times, we take that David role and defeat Goliath. Every year, these fresh faces show up and they are ready to go.”
“I just think the greatness of the people that came before me have really helped to lay the foundation. I’m just trying to get it back to where I think it should be,” he continued.
“Over 100 years, there will be peaks and valleys, and right now I believe we are at a peak and keep building and get it to a point where we are amongst the better programs in South Jersey in terms of wins and losses. If you ask me, we are the best program in South Jersey as far as dedication and the support that we get. I just want to get the support even stronger from the former players that came through the program.”
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