By Greg Celona
Special to GoHolyCross.com
During halftime of the Oct. 3 football game against Albany, Holy Cross inducted two members into the Crusader Football Legends Ring of Honor. Harry Flaherty (Class of 1984) and Tom Hennessey (Class of 1963) are the individuals who were selected for this year's class. Flaherty and Hennessey will forever be honored at Fitton Field with signs that will be showcased along the top of the grandstand.
Flaherty was the first in a long line of outstanding linebackers developed at Holy Cross during the Carter-Duffner era. A four-year starter for the Crusaders, he served as a tri-captain of the 1983 squad which won the Lambert Cup Championship and advanced to the NCAA Division I-AA playoffs for the first time in school history.
“It's an amazing privilege to be remembered for my four years at Holy Cross,” said Flaherty. “It's very humbling, there were so many good players that I played with. So many of them are deserving of such an honor, so it's completely humbling. I loved my teammates and we had a great experience together.”
With the success the Crusaders football team had while Flaherty was active, there were plenty of fond memories to recount. The alumnus recalled a few key games in his career that stood out as he reflected on his career.
“Beating Army on the road my sophomore year was great,” said Flaherty. “They were a very good football team that year. We were down 13-0 and we won the game 28-13, that was a great experience. Shutting out a good Delaware team 24-0 my senior year was certainly a good experience. We also shut out a very good New Hampshire team 28-0 my junior year. We certainly had a lot of great moments. My senior year, with both teams being undefeated at a sold out Fitton Field, we beat a very good Colgate team 21-18. Some of the players from that team went on to play in the NFL. People were watching that game from I-290, and that was very exciting.”
Flaherty also explained that just being a part of the team was, in essence, a wonderful experience.
“I'm just talking about some games,” said Flaherty. “The camaraderie of the guys and playing for a bunch of great coaches was a great experience in itself.”
Flaherty also has fond memories of his time off the field while at school. The effort that it took to be a successful student-athlete at Holy Cross was demanding, but he liked it that way.
“It was a challenging school academically and I thought that was a great thing,” said Flaherty. “The fact that it was a smaller school made it a tremendous family atmosphere on the campus, and you felt like you really knew a lot of people. At the same time, there were no gimmes academically. If you didn't apply yourself, you would run the risk of hurting your team. There were consequences then, and there are consequences now. You don't want to let your team down.”
Flaherty was named the team's most valuable player in 1983, an honor that was voted on by his own teammates. The former Crusader recalls the award as a special moment in his career, mainly because it was the team that decided the award.
“To be voted the team MVP, when we had such a great cast of players, was an incredible honor because the players voted for that,” said Flaherty. “To be recognized by your teammates, that was a humbling experience and such an honor.”
Hennessey was an outstanding running back and kick returner for the Crusaders from 1960-1962. He passed away in 2012, but his brother, Mike Hennessey (Class of 1964), explains what an honor it is to see Tom recognized for his contributions.
“If you would have asked Tom, I'm sure he would feel very humbled, and very much honored by the induction,” said Mike Hennessey. “When you look at the names of the people who have already received it, he would be honored to have his name be used in conjunction with them. If you were to ask him about this particular award, he would smile and he would give the lion's share of the credit to his linemen and backs that opened the holes for him. The exciting thing about Tom was once he got through those holes, it was all him. He would make moves that would just mesmerize you. If Tommy were here, he would say he was blessed with terrific coaches. Throughout his high school career and also having the distinction of playing for Dr. Eddie Anderson.”
Tom Hennessey had one of the most noteworthy debuts in Crusader history. In the season opener at Harvard in 1960, he made an immediate impact from the first moment he touched the ball.
“Harvard kicked off to them, Tommy got the ball probably around the 20-yard line and he ran it all the way back for a touchdown,” said Mike Hennessey. “It was the first time he touched the ball. The thing I remember about Tom was his speed, and he made some great plays because of that.”
Being an alumnus himself, Mike Hennessey reflected on Holy Cross and how the college made him be the best student he could.
“I think it's a special school,” said Mike Hennessey. “The camaraderie and the challenges presented in the classroom made me, and I'm sure my classmates as well, want to excel and be the best we could. I received a terrific education there, and to this day I'm very proud to call myself a Holy Cross alumnus.”
Tom's impact wasn't exclusively on the football field, as he made a difference in many people's lives around the world after graduating. He spent a year on a Jesuit mission in Baghdad, Iraq, before his lengthy career in the Boston school system, where he took on numerous roles.
“Tom was a great student and a gifted athlete, but he realized that he wanted to give back,” said Mike Hennessey. “With the grace of Father LaBran and Father Dunn, the three of them talked and Tom agreed to spend a year at the mission in Baghdad, Iraq. He always thought that was a terrific experience. The whole family was brought up to give back, but I think even more so with Tom. I think it came through much stronger with him, and he had a very successful career.”
This story appears in the October 3 edition of the Holy Cross Gameday Program, for the contest between the Crusaders and Albany. To purchase a copy of the program, click here.
