Steve Grady was the secondary coach for Loyola’s 1975 football team that went 13-0, won the Southern Section AAAA championship and was recognized as mythical national champions. He’d later become head coach.
But that 1975 season produced perfection. He and players from that team were honored Friday night during a 50-year reunion at the Loyola-St. Francis game.
The head coach was Martin Shaugnessy, who was hired after an 0-9 season in 1972. The rest is history. He turned around the program in three years. The Cubs beat Shaugnessy’s alma mater, St. Paul, in the 1975 final at the Coliseum.
Grady took over as head coach in 1976 after Shaugnessy moved to Long Beach City College and went 269-77-6.
It was a night to remember because Loyola pulled out a 9-3 overtime win over St. Francis. Kane Casani had a 30-yard touchdown run to end the game after an interception by sophomore Malique Pollard.
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