ANTHONY (TONY) STOLTZ ‘65
Holy Cross Football and School Archivist
Like many alums in the Holy Cross School Family, Tony’s Holy Cross School roots run deep. Since the 1940s, there has been a long line of relatives from the Stoltz, Horn, Turner, Galatas and Alleman families that are Holy Cross Men. As a student, Tony was a member of the Crossmen spirit group, an officer on the Yearbook staff, and a sports columnist for The Bulletin. He has been an active member of the Holy Cross Alumni Association and many school activities.
The Stoltz family relatives are avid sport enthusiasts. Tony’s Dad, Maxie Stoltz, managed the Stoltz Meat Market and Grocery sponsored softball team. Many weekends were spent attending softball games in City Park and other N.O. diamonds. Though Tony’s Dad passed away in 1951, the family’s interest in sports carried on and sparked Tony’s interest.
Since 1879, the Holy Cross priests staffed Sacred Heart Church Parish in Mid-City and from 1849 the Holy Cross brothers have provided youth education in the Ninth Ward. Tony and many of his relatives have attended Sacred Heart School. Tony’s knowledge of Holy Cross School was nurtured through family, including cousins Catherine Horn, Mike Stoltz, Jr. ’45, Eddie Stoltz ’49 and Charles Horn ‘55, campus visits and attending many Tiger football games during the 1950s. Having witnessed several exciting moments at Tigers’ gridiron games during their 1954 City Championship football season, the feats of All-Stater Earl Schneider remain etched in his memory
The families’ sports interest and the cumulative effect of attending and playing youth football sparked an interest in collecting sports memorabilia and tracking players’ sports achievements as well as interest in Holy Cross School history. Being close friends with classmates, Victor, Arthur and Maurice Hattier, encouraged Tony during his junior year to join them on The Tiger Yearbook Staff and help compile and enter info for the annual yearbook.
Through the years, Tony continued to attend Tiger school and sports events and collect memorabilia. But, a feature in the 1985 HC football programs was the impetus to further expand his HC sports files. That year’s program provided a listing of game results dating back to 1922, the inaugural football season, championships and coaches’ records. Through attendance at Tiger football games and newspaper accounts, Tony has continued to compile season results to date and other related info. He has researched records of past seasons to dig out more details of seasons during the 1920s-1950s. With the destruction of school athletic records by Hurricane Katrina, Tony’s info has been helpful in rebuilding Holy Cross football records.
Tony’s knowledge of HC football history further deepened when Eric Rebaudo, HC football Coach (2014-2017), asked him to work with Shelly Raynal of the HC PR staff to prepare a football alum profile or feature on a past team or player in the weekly game program. This resulted in Tony’s recognition at the 2016 Tigers-Blue Jays football game for his service as an archivist for Holy Cross football and helping to preserve the records of the Holy Cross-Jesuit rivalry. In 2022, Ron Gravois, one of the originators of the BlueJays-Tigers.com website, transferred to Tony the management of the website.
Tony has been blessed with nearly 54 years of marriage to wife, Ann. They have three children and six grandchildren.
