It was an honor George Heisler never expected.
Heisler was one of three former Helias Crusaders to have their jersey numbers retired Friday night as part of a ceremony to honor the beginning years of the football program.
“Any athlete who has this kind of an honor, high school or college or professional, it means you must have been a pretty good athlete in the midst of a group of pretty good athletes,” Heisler said.
“I was quite amused. I kept saying, my mother, probably 50 years ago, was saying they should have retired my jersey.”
Heisler, along with Leon DeLassus and Tom Bacon, had their numbers retired as the trio earned All-America honors in their time at Helias.
“I went to all the games and they were all pretty good,” said retired Helias football head coach Ray Hentges, a 1956 graduate of St. Peters High School. “For a small high school at the time, they were outstanding.
“This is a great idea to honor these guys.”
Heisler first heard about the ceremony about six weeks ago through an email from Helias director of alumni relations Ron Vossen.
“I laughed and I thought, what an extraordinary thing,” Heisler said.
“This was the very beginning of Helias football and it’s an honor for me to even help put some of this together,” Vossen, a 1974 graduate of Helias, said. “We are all pretty blessed to be able to get to do something like this.”
Heisler was a running back for the Crusaders, earning all-state honors as well as being selected as a Sporting News Prep All-American and a Catholic All-American.
In his time at Helias, Heisler was part of three undefeated seasons, as the team posted a school-record 32 consecutive victories from 1957-60.
“Here we were, this tiny school, playing schools every weekend that were bigger than we were,” Heisler said. “But we would go out and slap them around for the most part.
“It was an important time for the school, that streak really put us on the map. It developed a sense of identity for the students with the school.”
Jack Schnieders was the head coach of the Crusaders.
“I’ve thought a lot about him through the years and most of what I learned about leadership and discipline and hard work and the payoffs from those characteristics, I learned from Schnieders,” Heisler said.
A couple of things stood out about Schnieders’ coaching style.
“He had a capacity to pull, to extract extraordinary contributions from ordinary people,” Heisler said. “If you wanted to play football, you didn’t try out, you played football. He gave you some pads and you played. These weren’t athletically gifted kids, but they had talents that Schnieders saw and eventually the player saw.
“He got a commitment and an understanding on their part they could make a real contribution and they had a talent they could use effectively. I never saw him berate anyone. That created a lot of loyalty and the willingness to work hard.”
Schnieders, who finished with a record of 70-19-1 in his 10 seasons at Helias and was named the National Prep Football Coach of the Year in 1960, had the ability to install confidence in his players, no matter the situation.
“This little high school with ordinary players playing very well, somehow, Schnieders created this sense of confidence that we would win,” Heisler said. “There was no fear, no concern we were going to get beat. We knew that we would go out and run the other team off the field and in most cases, we did.
“Ordinary athletes who perform together can achieve extraordinary things.”
James Rackers, who went on to serve as principal at Helias, served as Schnieders’ assistant.
“There was no jealousy between the two, they functioned well together,” Heisler said. “Jim was an amazing guy, a pleasant guy to play for.”
Heisler’s best friend at Helias was DeLassus, who was a wide receiver for the Crusaders. DeLassus also was a sprinter in track and played basketball at Helias.
“I don’t think he ever realized just how talented he was,” Heisler said. “He was probably the best true athlete we had. He was fast, he had great hands, he could jump, he had great hands and he was tough.”
DeLassus, who was a Sporting News and Catholic All-American in 1960 for the Crusaders, passed away 10 years ago.
“I miss him to this day,” Heisler said.
Bacon, who was unable to attend Friday, was in the graduating class behind Heisler and DeLassus. He was a Sporting News Prep All-American for the Crusaders.
“Tom was a great athlete and a great player,” Hentges said.
Heisler was a four-sport athlete at Helias. He played basketball, was a sprinter and threw the shot in track, and was on the golf team. Heisler also was the valedictorian in his class.
Heisler received a full scholarship to play football at the University of Missouri. He played two years under coach Dan Devine and was on track to graduate in three years.
“I probably was going to play my fourth and fifth years, but I decided to transfer,” he said.
Heiser went to Harvard, graduating Magna Cum Laude in English history. He then graduated from Harvard Law School before moving to Chicago to practice law in the summer of 1968.
Heisler, 79, practiced law for 50 years in Chicago. He currently lives the Fort Myers, Fla., area.
He credited his education at Helias for shaping him when it came to his academic career.
“We had some wonderful brothers,” Heisler said. “Brother George taught me how to write. If one is going to be a lawyer, if one is going to do well in the humanities in college, you need to know how to write.
“Brother George was a very strong influence on my life. Someone once said of the five most important people in your life, outside of your family, three of the five are going to be high school coaches or teachers. Not college, not grammar college, but high school. And he definitely was one of those for me.”
Heisler also noted Brother James and Brother Sebastian for their contributions during his time at Helias.
“The Christian brothers were most definitely in control of the boys side of the school,” Heisler said. “There was a strong, earnest academic environment, there was no fooling around. If they were in school, they were committed. The discipline was good, it was almost instinctive for the school.”
In addition to the jersey retirements, players from the 1957-60 seasons were honored before the game.
“It’s a real tribute for Jack,” Heisler said. “I don’t think he ever realized how important he was and what an influence he was on all of us.”
And the influence Helias had on their lives.
“It’s great to bring people back and reminds us of the importance of this place,” Heisler said. “We are all reminded about the importance of this high school and the importance of the education we all received. Something like this is a catalyst for us to remember that.”
DeLassus wore No. 58, while Bacon wore No. 62 and Heisler sported No. 34. The three jerseys will be placed in the trophy case outside Rackers Fieldhouse, along with the other 11 players who earned All-America honors for the Crusaders.
It will be the second No. 34 in the trophy case. Chris Hentges, an All-American in 1983, wore that number during his career at Helias.