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COVID-19 claims one of Chicago’s ‘Fighting O’Shea Brothers’
Tom O’Shea taught his students to love Hemingway and Gwendolyn Brooks and also how to deliver a good left hook.
As a young man, he fought in the same tournaments as Muhammad Ali. He went on to be a high school English teacher and boxing coach who sent the students he called his “Matadors” on to the Olympics, Hollywood and productive lives.
He was one of Chicago’s “Fighting O’Shea Brothers.” Back when the city’s Golden Gloves boxing finals were one of the nation’s hottest tickets, the four Irish immigrant siblings were some of its most popular pugilists. This was an era long before people had hundreds of TV channels, streaming and video games.
All four O’Sheas — Brian, Michael, Rory and Tom — fought in national Golden Gloves competitions in the early 1960s. Brian, Rory and Tom won at the national level — Tom in 1961, according to the book “Chicago Amateur Boxing.”
After tearing a groin muscle in a fall, Mr. O’Shea, who had Lewy body dementia, entered a North Side rehabilitation facility. But when his daughters learned another patient there had tested positive for COVID-19, “We pulled him out immediately,” she said.
They moved Mr. O’Shea back to his Lincoln Square home, but he, too, developed the coronavirus and died April 16.
Read the full story from Maureen O’Donnell here.
News
8:54 a.m. CDC extends US ban on cruise ships through September
WASHINGTON — Federal health officials are extending the U.S. ban on cruise ships through the end September as coronavirus infections rise in most U.S. states, including Florida.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday that it was extending a no-sail order that had been scheduled to expire July 24.
Major cruise lines that belong to an industry trade group had already canceled cruises until Sept. 15 because of ongoing discussions with federal officials over how to restart operations safely.
Coronavirus infections are rising in 40 states, and daily deaths have climbed more than 20% from a week ago. Florida, where many cruises begin and end, reported nearly 14,000 new virus cases and set a single-day record of 156 deaths reported on Thursday, beating the previous high of 132 deaths reported Tuesday.
7:53 a.m. List of national retail chains requiring face masks keeps expanding
NEW YORK — Two major retailers on Thursday joined the growing list of national chains that will require customers to wear face masks regardless of where cities or states stand on the issue.
Target’s mandatory face mask policy will go into effect Aug. 1, and all CVS stores will begin requiring them on Monday.
More than 80% of Target’s 1,800 stores already require customers to wear masks due to local and state regulations. Target will hand out masks at entrances to those who need them.
The announcements come one day after the nation’s largest retailer, Walmart, said that it would mandate face shields for all customers starting Monday.
Starbucks, Best Buy, Kohl’s and Kroger Co. have also announced mandatory masks nationwide.
New cases
- Another 1,257 people have tested positive for COVID-19 in Illinois, as cases of the deadly disease keep trending slowly but steadily back upward, officials said Thursday.The Illinois Department of Public Health also announced an additional 25 deaths have been attributed to the coronavirus, raising the state’s pandemic death toll to 7,251.
- The new cases were detected among a record-high batch of 43,006 test results received by the state, good for a testing positivity rate of 2.9% for the day.
- Boxer Tom O’Shea, a beloved Chicago high school teacher and coach who sent three boxers to the 1996 Olympics, has died of COVID-19. He was 81.
Analysis & Commentary
8:25 a.m. Once kids go back to school, it’s mask up or go home
At the moment, it makes sense to open Illinois schools.
As long as coronavirus cases don’t spiral upward dramatically, schools should open in August or September if they can keep students distanced in classrooms, hallways and cafeterias.
That could mean schools with larger enrollments will have to resort to hybrid models for attendance, with students alternating between going to school and participating in remote learning from home.
Schools also will need sufficient staffing, including nurses and janitors.
Beside distancing, wearing facial coverings will be a must. It will be up to school administrators to enforce the mask rule when unruly students and parents defy it.
And some will defy it. You can count on it. I’m not talking about those who will accidentally let a facial covering slip below their nose before lifting it up again. I’m talking about defiant teens who want to push boundaries, or think the virus is a hoax, and class cut-ups looking for laughs.
The solution is simple: Send them home. They can learn remotely.
