DePaul University Athletics
A Father and Son Story to Warm Your Heart
6/9/2016 12:00:00 AM | MEN'S BASKETBALL
CHICAGO - A wistful smile creeps across Rick Skrodzki's face as he remembers those fun and exciting childhood outings to Alumni Hall with his father, former Blue Demon basketball player Jim Skrodzki.
Jim and his wife Mickey along with Rick's siblings Tom, Jane and David would pile into the family car and make all kinds of noise in Lincoln Park as legendary coach Ray Meyer built the Blue Demons into one of the best college basketball teams in the nation.
The kids were familiar with the stories of how mom and dad met while students at DePaul in the late 1930s where Mickey was a homecoming queen and first-generation college graduate. Jim played two seasons with his brother Ted including 1939-40 when DePaul went 22-6 and advanced to the NIT semifinals.
"Dad's years at DePaul were so special," Rick Skrodzki said. "He talked about the time he guarded Jackie Robinson when he played for UCLA and said he was proud of the way he handled that challenge. My parents got married in 1942 and right after graduation, he enlisted in the Army.
"He was first stationed at Fort Grant in southern Illinois and played basketball his first year in the service. He played with a guy named Mickey Rottner who was an All-American at Loyola, and they never lost a game. My mom went down there with him and lived near the base. Then, he was sent to the Pacific Theatre and fought in New Guinea."
Jim Skrodzki's passion for sports had him watching games all the time while recording others. He passed his love for athletics onto his three boys who would drive their mom crazy either watching sports on TV or playing their own games outside.
"Mom always thought we should be doing a little more reading," Rick said with a chuckle. "Some of my best memories were going to games at Alumni Hall and sitting on those bench seats. I saw Mark Aguirre, Terry Cummings, Clyde Bradshaw, Gary Garland and all the rest. I remember a big game when we beat a highly ranked LSU team.
"There was Aguirre's freshman season when that team really put us on the map going to the Final Four. I always had a good time going to the Marquette games and watching Al McGuire coach against Ray."
Although none of the Skrodzki kids attended DePaul, their life-long connection to the university reached a new level in 2005.
"I'll always remember my dad being honored as DePaul brought back some of the alumni players and legends of the program," Rick said. "Kevin Edwards was also being honored that day. We went to the Champions Club room where the former players signed autographs and then were invited to a box at Allstate Arena to watch the game.
"That was the biggest thing that ever happened to my dad.
"Because of that and what DePaul did for my dad, I have made donations for different things at DePaul. When I saw the information on the new arena and the opportunity to name a locker, I brought up the idea with my sister and two brothers and we did it."
When the state-of-the-art Event Center at McCormick Square opens up in 2017, it will also usher in the latest chapter in the Skrodzki family history at DePaul.
"He would have been absolutely thrilled about it," Rick said about his dad who passed away in 2006 at the age of 87. "Coming back to the city and recreating a college environment with a loud student section brings back memories of sitting in those Alumni Hall bench seats four rows behind the scorer's table.
"I can hardly wait until season tickets go on sale. DePaul plays such a great schedule and in such a tremendous conference. The chance to see the locker with my dad's name---it can't come soon enough. I'm sure my brothers and sister and all their families will come out. It will be nice to meet the player using that locker and tell him a little about my dad."
There is an undeniable bond between a father and his son where sometimes a simple expression or a gesture is more than enough to connect one generation to the next. A dad looks upon his son in hopes that he has raised a more-improved version of himself. It's a legacy built on love and kindness.
"The first time I walk into the new locker room and see my dad's locker, I'll be swept up in a lot of emotions," Rick said. "When a parent passes away, it hits you really hard. You find yourself all of a sudden thinking about him. Every March 25th on my dad's birthday, the four of us kids send e-mails back and forth reminiscing about dad and sharing our memories.
"When I walk into that locker room, I'll be thinking how wonderful it would be if he could see this for himself. I'm sure he'll be watching from somewhere."
Rick Skrodzki is a partner in the Goldstine, Skrodzki, Russian, Nemec and Hoff Ltd. law firm in suburban Burr Ridge. He has been an attorney there for nearly 40 years.
Jim and Mickey first began raising their family while living with Mickey's parents at Chicago Avenue and Throop Street before moving to an apartment above a tavern on the West Side. They bought a home in Franklin Park and Rick attended Quigley North High School.
Then came another DePaul connection. While attending seminary school at Niles College, Rick played on a basketball team coached by former Blue Demon player Larry Nomellini.
"My dad loved to golf, and I would caddy for him at places like White Pines," Rick said. "He used to play with Father John Murphy from DePaul, and Father Murphy would come over to our house for dinner afterwards."
To this day, Rick Skrodzki is still amazed at the DePaul presence in his dad's circle of life. Jim Skrodzki played on the eighth-grade basketball team at St. Agatha Parish that went on to capture the C.Y.O. title in 1934.
The volunteer coach of that team was a college student named Ray Meyer.
In their twilight years, Jim and Mickey moved into the Addolorata Villa senior community in Wheeling. Mickey, who was battling dementia and Alzheimer's disease, passed away in 2002.
Several years later, Addolorata had a new resident, and his name was Ray Meyer.
"Ray took over the DePaul program the year after my dad graduated," Rick said. "They just missed each other, but they remained good friends through the years. They were reunited at Villa Addolorata for a year and dad used to go up and visit Ray in his room. They spent a lot of time together."
Their journeys came to an end almost at the same time. Meyer passed away in March of 2006 and Jim Skrodzki in July.
Rick Skrodzki tries his best to view life just like his dad.
"He was a super nice person who never had a bad word to say about anybody," Rick said. "He was very humble and never talked about his accomplishments. He and mom went to mass virtually every day.
"My dad taught me the importance of caring about other people because that is what you were put on this Earth to do---get outside yourself and help others. In athletics, he taught me to compete hard but always respect your opponent.
"He was a class act and a gentleman."