St Mary's CBC To Celebrate
Centenary Of Proud Tradition
As well
as providing education for more than 900 students, St Mary’s
Catholic Boys’ College Toowoomba boasts a grand tradition in
schoolboy rugby league.
Many past students have gone on to wear a maroon jersey,
while a distinguished group have represented their country.
Taking pride of place is Tom Gorman, a St Mary’s old boy who
reached the pinnacle of the code when he captained the Kangaroos
in the late 1920s. Names like Joe Doyle, “Ripper” Doyle
and Des McGovern have gone down in league folklore.
Since the 1950s dozens more have served the state and district
with distinction. In the last few years more than fifteen old
boys have been contracted to major clubs from Brisbane to London,
and many NRL clubs in between.
However it is not necessarily the distinguished players which the
school holds dearest in its sporting memory. It is the thousands
who have worn the blue and white ‘butcher stripes’ with
the same spirit, self-esteem and good sportsmanship as the
greats. These past players often recall that the lessons learnt
on the field of play have been applied in making them better
people in everyday life.
St Mary’s CBC also has participated in all the modern
competitions that schoolboy rugby league has to offer.
In recent years the College has met with great success, at state
level collecting three Commonwealth Bank Cups, two Coca Cola Cups
(U16), the Sprite Cup (U14), and three Confraternity Shields.
Other sides have been finalists in all these competitions, as
well as the Bob Lindner Trophy. In 1984, 1990 and 1995 St
Mary’s teams made the semi-finals of the Commonwealth Bank
Cup. It is anyone’s guess how far the teams of ‘68 and
’74 would have progressed if a national competition had been
available to them.
Another interesting feat for the school was winning the
premiership in every grade (twelve sides) in the Darling Downs
competition in 1978.
This year the College celebrates its centenary, including 98
years under the guidance of the Christian Brothers.
It is envisaged that, come the May ‘99 long weekend, many
hundreds of past students will be reliving their time on the
football fields of St Mary’s, as the ‘Brothers’ of
Toowoomba.