By Raymond Hebert
Thomas More University
This is one of an occasional series on the sports figures who distinguished themselves at VMC/TMC/TMU.
In Sr. Irmina Saelinger’s early history of Villa Madonna College/Thomas More College from 1921–1971 (Retrospect and Vista), she stated that in 1945–1946, “the ratio of men to women was 1 to 4 but this changed rapidly within the next several years,” adding that by 1970–1971, the ratio would change so that it was “3 men to 2 women” (Saelinger, p. 27).
The key point here is that the changing demographics dictated the need for additional extracurriculars for men, including competitive sports and intramurals. As one example, she had mentioned that in 1947 alone, with the availability of the GI Bill for Veterans, “twenty-nine veterans enrolled at Villa Madonna College as freshmen” (Saelinger, p. 28).
The first athletic “hire” was Gerald Orosz, a graduate of Notre Dame University who, besides teaching Biology, could also teach Physical Education. He began an intramural program and even started a basketball program in 1947, though it had to be dropped in 1951 as the result of the Korean War. According to Sr. Irmina, basketball was resumed in 1954 along with golf. Interestingly, the athletic director for several of those early years (when the records are slim) was a History and Economics professor named Rev. Anthony Deye, who later served as Academic Dean on two occasions (1950–1951 VMC Press Guide, TMU Archives).
It was in 1954, when VMC’s intercollegiate athletic program was revived, that the brilliant decision was made to hire Charles Wolf as Head Coach of the Men’s Basketball Team. While he only coached at VMC from 1954 until 1960, his legacy would be a lasting one.
As noted in his TMU Hall of Fame biographical sketch, “he deserves special recognition for not only being the first ‘real’ coach in the institution’s history, but also because of what else he accomplished in the sport of basketball. His record was 81 wins and 67 losses over six seasons, but he had two 19-win seasons in 1957 and 1960 and in 1959–1960, the team won the KIAC championship and advanced to the NAIA national tournament in Kansas City.
In a remarkable follow-up, that local success became a catalyst for his then becoming Head Coach of the Cincinnati Royals of the National Basketball Association in 1960 (Thomas More Hall of Fame information provided by Michael Pagano, Sports Information Co-Director, hereafter to be referred to in this article and future ones as “TMU Hall of Fame Bio”).
For the sake of this article, the most important result of Charlie Wolf’s success was the emergence of three outstanding players: Larry Staverman and Dan Tieman (who played later for the NBA Cincinnati Royals), and Jim Weyer, who along with Tieman later coached the VMC/TMC Men’s Basketball Team for close to two decades.
The best-known player from those early years was Larry Staverman. During his distinguished VMC career, from 1954 until 1958 (shared with his point guard, Jim Weyer, who later became the VMC/TMC Head Coach after Charlie Wolf, for almost two decades), Staverman played in 85 games, scoring 1,673 points and collecting 1,114 rebounds. His cumulative shooting percentages averaged over .575 with the .609 of his senior year being his best. At the foul line, he averaged .742 over four years with .787 in his senior year as his most accurate (statistics from Michael Pagano, TMU Sports Information Co-Director.) As noted in the Thomas More Centennial History, when looking back at the Staverman/Weyer duo, they were the two most prolific players from the years the team was coached by Charlie Wolf.
Staverman was the Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the 1954–1955 season and Jim Weyer in the 1955–1956 season (Villa Madonna College Press Guide – Rebels 1956–1957, p. 15). Each was MVP twice in their four years together and, as noted by Mrs. Joann Weyer, were inseparable on and off the court (Ray Hebert, conversation with Joann Weyer, the late Coach Jim Weyer’s wife, January 26, 2023).
Larry Staverman played basketball (and baseball) for VMC from 1954 to 1958 and, when he graduated, was the all-time leader in points with 1,673 and rebounds with 1,114. Through the years, he has been “one of only two players in school history with at least 1000 points and 1000 rebounds.” Beyond Villa Madonna College, he was drafted by the Cincinnati Royals and had a five-year playing career “with the Royals, Kansas City Steers, Chicago Zephyrs, Baltimore Bullets, and Detroit Pistons, averaging 4.7 points and 3.8 rebounds.” Afterwards, his first coaching position was with the Indiana Pacers of the American Basketball Association (ABA) and later he also added a coaching stint with the New York Knicks in 1977–1978, posting an 18-27 season” (TMU Hall of Fame Bio, “Larry Staverman”).
Dr. Raymond G. Hebert is Professor of History and Executive Director of the William T. Robinson III Institute for Religious Liberty at Thomas More University. He is the leading author of Thomas More University at 100: Purpose, People, and Pathways to Student Success (2023). The book can be purchased by contacting the Thomas More University Bookstore at 859-344-3335. Dr. Hebert can be contacted at hebertr@thomasmore.edu.
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