Morning Bytes | Looking back on great city stars of past

0 Comments | Philadelphia Inquirer, The, February, 2007 | by Frank Fitzpatrick

This Philadelphia February, filled with flops, failures, fraternal felonies and foot problems, possesses little to cheer the sporting soul.

So what better way to pass the time than to go online and peruse the all-Catholic and all-Public boys basketball teams of the last 65 years.

Here's what I learned:

In the Catholic League, it's tough to pick a best-ever all-star team. There always seemed to be a Tom Gola or a Larry Foust or a Hank Siemiontkowski or a Joe Bryant on each squad, but no one unit that shone from top to bottom.

Still, my favorites were 1969, which included future NBA players Mike Bantom (Roman) and Tom Inglesby (O'Hara); 1959, which had Jimmy Lynam (West), Billy Hoy (St. Tommy More) and Frank Corace (Bonner - to an old O'Hara boy, by...