Lou Adderley had played some tennis prior to arriving at Saint John's University as a freshman from The Bahamas in 1951.
He hadn't wrestled at all.
But Adderley managed to master both sports during his time in Collegeville, going on to win conference championships in each over the course of his collegiate career.
"I was always so impressed with his work ethic," recalls Patrick Wangen '58, a tennis teammate during Adderley's senior season in 1955 when he was not only a star player, but the team's head coach.
"We only had outdoor courts back then, but in the winter, he used to practice on the handball courts at Saint John's. He turned himself into the top player in the conference. He was very good. I think he could compete against a lot of the players today."
Indeed, after falling in the MIAC singles championship match in the spring of 1952, Adderley went on to win the conference title the next three seasons.
"When you saw Lou Adderley passing out laundry or waking up late sleepers on the second floor of St. Benet's Hall, you'd hardly expect him to be any kind of an athlete," wrote future U.S. Senator Dave Durenberger in a feature story on Adderley in The Record (the SJU student newspaper) in 1955. "Standing 5-foot-6, he weighs only around 130 pounds.
"But in the sports world, he was rated A-plus by the many competitors who were affected both by his quiet personableness and his ability to take advantage of their mistakes."
Those traits proved advantageous on the wrestling mat as well where Adderley was the 1953-54 MIAC champion at 130 pounds and might have repeated as a senior the following year had he not been dealing with a back injury.
"He was always in amazing shape," Wangen said. "He was just a great all-around athlete."
Adderley's daughter Daria said her father's time at SJU had a huge impact on him.
"He and his family felt it was an extreme privilege for him to be at Saint John's and he never took that for granted," she said. "The Benedictines inspired him. They showed him he had worth. They backed him and supported him in everything he wanted to do. And I think he really wanted to help provide some of the support he has been given to others."
He did that by passing his skills and knowledge down to future generations as a longtime coach, principal and director of athletics at Saint Augustine's College, a secondary school for grades 7-12.
There, Adderley, who died in 2003, had a profound impact on not only some of the top athletes in the nation's history, but on some of the country's future leaders as well.
That group included Cynthia Pratt, who went on to become Deputy Prime Minister and is now the Governor-General of The Bahamas.
"Some educators come into the lives of children and leave such an impact on them that they are never forgotten," wrote Felicity Darville in a May, 2002 article for Tribune Media in The Bahamas. "Deacon Leviticus Louis Joseph Adderley was one of them.
"As the beloved principal of St. Augustine's College for many years, he impacted the lives of countless SAC students, molding nation leaders and global influencers. Deacon Adderley was affectionately called 'Dad,' 'Uncle Lou,' 'Uncle' and 'Deac' by those who knew and loved him. He was a mentor to many and a friend to thousands."
Another athlete he worked with, Ed Smith, moved to the U.S. in high school, then went on to become the first athlete from The Bahamas to play in the NFL when he was drafted by the Denver Broncos in 1973.
"He was a father figure to so many students there," recalls Smith, whose son Alex had a long NFL career of his own and is now the assistant director of pro scouting for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. "And with that came a lot of respect.
"So many of the people he worked with went on to become doctors and lawyers, or were successful in other careers. He was a no-nonsense guy who wanted the best for everyone. He loved what he did and he passed that enthusiasm on to others."
Adderley also remained actively involved in athletics himself. He was the player-coach of the first volleyball team to represent The Bahamas in the Pan-American Games in 1967.
In addition, he served as a longtime deacon in the Catholic Church.
"Never a day went by that he didn't go to mass every morning," recalls Daria Adderley, the youngest of Lou and his wife Floridell's three children. "And every afternoon, he found time for daily meditation. In so many of the things he was able to achieve, he was guided by a service and love of God."
Daria Adderley has built on her father' sizeable legacy in The Bahamas as a physical education instructor at St. Augustine's for the past 22 years. A standout athlete herself, she is now the head coach of the Bahamian national beach soccer team and the vice president of the Bahamas Football Association dealing with the women's development portfolio.
"His philosophy, his way of coaching and his mentorship has inspired me," she said of her father. "It's where I get my drive from."
