Leo Honors Legendary Coach Mike Holmes Saturday on Lions' New Field

Former players, teammates, coaches and students will rally at Leo High School’s new practice field Saturday afternoon to salute Mike Holmes, the long-time Lions coach putting down the clipboard and hanging up his whistle.

Coach Holmes will be honored at an outdoor reception at 7901 South Sangamon following the Senior Day regular-season finale against Rich Township on Saturday, October 22 at St. Rita’s Cronin Field.

The game at St. Rita begins at 1 p.m. and the reception back at Leo is expected to begin at 4:30 p.m. All are welcome.

Holmes is Leo High School Chicago’s fifth recipient of the Leo Lions Legacy Award, which recognizes exceptional service to Leo High School and the greater Chicago community.

Holmes, a 1976 Leo graduate and one of the most decorated athletes in school history, announced in August the current season would be his last.

“Through two tours as head football coach, along with his contributions as a classroom teacher, school administrator, admissions director and vice president for advancement, no one has done more to embody the spirit of Leo than Coach Holmes, and we thank him for 30-plus years of tireless effort and commitment,” wrote Leo President Dan McGrath in a letter to alumni.

“Michael Holmes has been an influential figure in my life since I played football for him back in the early ‘90s,” said Leo principal Shaka Rawls, a 1993 Leo graduate. “He’s the main reason why I’m working at Leo. I’m not sure where I’d be in life, much less working at Leo, had it not been for the investment he made in my life.”

Holmes is one of the most decorated athletes in Leo history, a High School All-American in football, an All-Catholic League performer in baseball and a varsity participant in basketball. He won the Tony Lawless Award as Chicago Catholic League Player of the Year for football in 1975, an honor his son Aamir duplicated at Leo 41 years later.

Holmes flourished in football at the University of Illinois, where he led the Illini in rushing for two seasons and achieved All-Big Ten recognition as a running back, after transferring in from the University of Colorado.His pro prospects dimmed by a chronic knee injury, he kept on the academic track; he earned a master’s degree in urban planning and public policy and went to work for the City of Chicago’s Planning Department, only to be drawn back to Leo, where he spent 30 years as a highly regarded teacher, coach and administrator.

A member of the Leo Hall of Fame, the Chicago Catholic League Hall of Fame and the Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame, Holmes was Leo Alumni Association Man of the Year in 2017. He’s also a two-time winner of the Lawless Award as Catholic League Coach of the Year.

Holmes remained the Lions’ head football coach this year and serves as a consultant to the Leo administration, most recently overseeing renovation projects involving the revitalization of 79th Street and the school’s gym, auditorium and courtyard. He also works as Vice President of Administrative Services at Chicago State University.Inside the Leo family, Holmes’ greatest impact has come as a father figure---he is known for his “stubborn refusal to give up on a kid.”

In addition to helping dozens of his athletes earn college scholarships, he has selflessly assisted hundreds of young Leo men with their development into responsible, productive, caring citizens.

“I’m one of them,” Principal Rawls said. “Coach has been an important figure in my life since I was a Leo student and I still draw inspiration from him to this day.”

Holmes’s wife Patricia Brown Holmes is one of the most influential leaders in Chicago’s legal community, a former Cook County Circuit Court judge who is now managing partner of the Chicago law practice Riley Safer Holmes & Cancilla, LLP. Pat and Mike met at the University of Illinois, and they have been married nearly 40 years. They have “dipped into their own pockets countless times” to assist young Leo men in time of need, according to McGrath.

“This journey has never been about recognition - it’s about helping kids,” said Holmes. “And I’m blessed to have been able to do that at Leo because it’s the greatest investment, and I’m proud to be part of it.”