I am proud today because at 3:43 pm Chicago time on Friday July 24th, Peter Callahan '09 will make his debut as a professional athlete. He is entered in the London Diamond League Track Meet in the 3000m run. Technically speaking he will act as rabbit for currently the worlds greatest distance runner, Great Britains, Mo Farah.
For you non- track nerds, let me explain what I just wrote.
A rabbit is a term used in track and field to delineate a person assigned to lead a distance race at a certain pace for a certain amount of time. It is universally agreed that leading races takes more energy than following. So race promoters at the biggest race hire rabbits to take the early pace so the most accomplished runners have a chance to run a record. Peter Rabbit takes on a whole new meaning today.
Mo Farah is a double Olympic Gold Medalist and World Champion. So the race is set up for him to have the best chance possible to win and run very fast. Peter has been hired to lead the early parts of the race. Peter should lead the race for at least 3 laps and maybe longer. We will see.
Diamond League Track Meets are the most prestigious meets in the world which do not involve a Regional, World, or Olympic Championship. Sometimes the fields in Diamond League races are even better then Olympic finals because the fields are based on getting the fastest people together and not on global representation.
This event led to some discussion among several long time Raiders as to if Peter will be the first ever North Shore graduate who is a professional athlete. And I thought you might be interested to know our schools relationship with the pros.
There have been other former North Shore students who are or were professional athletes. Andy Rose '08 left North Shore after 8th grade and now plays professional soccer for the Seattle Sounders. Andy's sister Georgia Rose '05 graduated from North Shore, attended Northwestern where she was an All-American tennis player, but we do not believe she played on the professional circuit based on her current bio. (I will correct this, though, if I am wrong). Certainly, one could argue Sammy Gray '10 played as close as one can to a professional field hockey career playing in the Big10 for Michigan. Apparently, Chris Kneifel '79 who finished twice in the top 10 of the Indy 500 attended North Shore for a number of years, but, like Andy Rose, graduated from a different high school. Jim Deuble has a vague memory of Mac McCarty saying once that a former North Shore student played baseball in the minor leagues. But no one knows who that is or if they graduated from the school. (However, we would love to find out.) Jereme Richmond '10 attended North Shore for one year and has played in some developmental basketball leagues for aspiring pros. But that pretty much wraps up those we think are close to combining a North Shore diploma and a professional career as an athlete.
Despite not producing graduates who are professional athletes, we have educated a number of people and family members who are involved in team ownership or front office administration. Bill Bartholomay '46 led a group that moved the Milwaukee Braves to Atlanta and eventually sold the controlling interest in the team to Ted Turner and Turner broadcasting. Michael Reinsdorf '85 current President of the Chicago Bulls is one of several Reinsdorf's to graduate from the school. Andy MacPhail, former General Manager of the Twins and the President of the Cubs, Orioles and the Phillies, sent his son Reid '07 through the high school. Then there is the current Chairman of the Blackhawks, Rocky Wirtz '71 who is among many Wirtz's to attend and graduate from the school. At least one Wirtz, Hilary has even taught and coached here -- but there might've been another who I have not met do the same.
So the school has a strong relationship with many grads whose professional career has involved professional sports.
But I believe Friday will be the first time we have someone actually combine a North Shore diploma and perform as a professional athlete. I think that's kind of cool. If you want to watch what may be our first professional athlete perform or learn about the meet he's participating in, here are several links.
LetsRun.Com Complete Write Up on the London Diamond League Meet
Official Site Of London Diamond League Meet
Information On LiveStream of London DL
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