Lou Ghecas

Lou GhecasLou Ghecas
(Football, 1937)


Lou Ghecas has the honor of having played professional sports in not one but two sports. As a Danbury High School graduate in 1937 Lou finished a career where he was a three sport star and, in a rare feat, was captain of all three sports (baseball, football, basketball). He also ran track and played golf. While he was one of the finest all around athletes to come out of Danbury it was on the gridiron under Coach Gid Roy that Lou stood out most clearly. In addition to his athletic accomplishments he was a school leader and was vice-president of his class for four years. After graduation from DHS Lou entered Georgetown University on an athletic scholarship and it was there that Lou's talents became more evident. He was a three year varsity letterman in baseball where he hit over .400 all three seasons. While at Georgetown he played minor league baseball in the New York Yankee organization. As a football player he was also a three year letterman and led the Hoyas in scoring all three years. He made Honorable Mention All America and played in the Orange Bowl in 1941. Lou captained both the baseball and football teams in his senior year. After graduation from Georgetown he was drafted by the New York Giants Football Team but chose instead to play for the Philadelphia Eagles. His playing career was cut short by World War II and Lou served in the army for three years in the Pacific theatre. After the war Lou taught and coached at the Jesse Lee Academy in Redding but in 1951 he joined the FBI and stayed there for twenty six years until his retirement. While in the FBI Lou used is athleticism and became an expert in the art of self defense and trained law enforcement officers in such tactics. Additionally he trained the security personnel for the Philadelphia Eagles and Philadelphia Phillies in the same self defense tactics. In addition to his induction into the Danbury Hall of Fame Lou has also been honored by the Danbury Old Timers Association in 1979 by being inducted into their Hall of Fame and in 1982 he was inducted into the Georgetown University Hall of Fame. Lou passed away in 1997.