Daniel B. McGrath - Leo High School President

Daniel B. McGrath ( Leo '68) signed the contract and will assume the duties of President for Institutional Advancement.

Leo High School is blessed to have Dan McGrath lead fund-raising and capacity building for Leo High School. One of the best prose craftsmen in America, Mr. McGrath was Chicago Tribune Sports Editor and contributor for thirteen years. Recently, his fine work graced the pages of the New York Times- Chicago News Cooperative:

Before joining the Tribune, McGrath worked for newspapers in Freeport, Ill.; Reno, Nev.; Sacramento, Calif.; San Francisco; Philadelphia; and New York. While he has worked most of his career in sports, he also has been a media critic, national correspondent, metro columnist and book reviewer.

Sports sections McGrath edited have won more than a dozen top-10 awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors Association. He was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for spot news coverage in 1992 and for commentary in 1993. A Chicago native, he is the co-author or editor of five books on the city’s sports teams, including the best-selling Out of the Blue on the 2003 Chicago Cubs.

More importantly,Mr. McGrath is the husband of Jo-Anna and the father of Megan and Matthew McGrath, as well as the author of "Believe It: The Story of the 2005 World Championship White Sox."

Some years ago, Dan wrote a beautiful piece ( click my post title for this touching story) about a beautiful young man - actually two wonderful young men - Eric Ersery and Cecil McCulre. In 1999, Eric Ersery was weeks away from graduation when he was murdered by gang-bangers as he tried to protect a young girl, Shamika Ingram, like Eric 17 years old. Cecil McClure was Dan's pal while both studied at Leo High School. Cecil was murdered by gang-bangers in 1967.

In tribute to both men, good men martyred to gang violence, Dan McGrath developed the Cecil McCulre Scholarship and put together the late Bill Gleason, Mike Mulligan, Terry Armour, Bill Jaus, Lester Munson, Phil Rogers, and Fred Mitchell for a "Sports Writers Q & A" at Corrigan's Pub and the old Beverly Arts Center.

Dan McGrath brings people together to help people who can use leg up. Leo High School is blessed to have Daniel B. McGraths heart and hands getting the young men of Leo High School one great education.

The signing of Dan McGrath marks a new beginning for a proud old Catholic high school.