Doyle was the face of Rummel athletics for 48 years

   
    When Archbishop Rummel opened its doors to become Metairie’s flagship Catholic high school for boys in 1962, the key figures in its initial coaching staff had established their capabilities at Redemptorist High in New Orleans’ Irish Channel.
    The two men most responsible for the dawn of “Raider Pride” were Joe Galliano and Ronnie Doyle.
    Galliano, who led Redemptorist to Catholic League football championships in 1956 and 1957, laid the groundwork for future Rummel coaches. He left the school after 10 years.
    Doyle, who was one of Redemptorist’s great two-way linemen during the Rams’ brief glory days of the ’50s, joined Galliano in 1963 and remained at Rummel until his death in 2011 at the age of 71.
    Ronnie Doyle gave Rummel athletics the same love and devotion he had for Redemptorist as a student, as  a coach and athletic director, and later as director of donor relations.
    As coaches came and went over the decades, Doyle remained the face of Rummel athletics. And that face will remain permanently on the north facade of the school’s athletic facility, which was dedicated last Friday as the Ronald J. Doyle Field House.
    He had four loves that I know of during his remarkable lifetime: for his childhood sweetheart and wife, Agnes, and his family; for the school he served for 48 years; for cigars and for golf.
    On a few occasions, I took my clubs to be re-gripped at Ronnie’s private repair shop under the school gymnasium.
    His 1982 track and field team won the school’s only state Class 4A championship, scoring just 42 points, still a record for fewest points for a first-place team.
    Over the span of 30 years, Doyle built Rummel’s track program into a perennial powerhouse in the district, and he continued to work with the school’s subsequent track squads long after he was no longer the head coach.
    During that time, Doyle was one of the founders of the Louisiana Track and Field Coaches Association. He also was instrumental in the foundation and administration of the Southern Track and Field Officials Association and was one of the mainstays on the local track and field high school meet circuit.    
    Ronnie inspired countless athletes under his guidance as a coach to strive for perfection, knowing perfection is an unreachable summit. But they gave their best for him because he gave them the spark to excel.
    But more so, he was a brilliant teacher. In testimonials, some of his students in the advanced-placement American Government class he taught praised Doyle for his ability to paint a vivid picture of historical events.
    And he knew how to reach into the student and pull out his best qualities, as former student Olin Kropog recalled in a testimonial:
    “Coach Doyle was always willing to talk and help anyone in need or just listen. He was tireless and knew how to get the best from everyone.
    “He is sitting in heaven with his chair and straw hat cajoling the angels about their form and effort; he will get the best from them also.”
    Ronnie Doyle’s image will remain the face of Rummel athletics as future Raiders file into the field house to prepare their minds in the film room and bodies in the weight room.
    Ron Brocato may be reached at [email protected].