After Chris Gallagher fell in love with basketball in third grade, he was forced to overcome major obstacles to become a high school and college star, and last Thursday, an inductee in the Bronx Basketball Hall of Fame.
Gallagher’s neighborhood in the Bronx had eight basketball courts where he could indulge his childhood passion. By the time he’d reached sixth grade, Gallagher suffered from vision loss. While it could be corrected with glasses, Gallagher could not wear them while playing, and until he he was able to switch to contacts, he was considered a visually impaired player. In ninth grade, he suffered an accident that stopped him from playing basketball.
“My accident impacted me greatly, because the injuries I encountered from a dirty play in touch football were severe,” said Gallagher, a 48-year resident of Pelham. “I was temporarily paralyzed. I lost two teeth. I took a six-week break from school. However, the accident made me get focused more on accomplishing what I wanted to accomplish in life and not be distracted. I said to myself then, ‘I’m gonna be number one in my class and I’m gonna be a top basketball player.’”
Gallagher joined the junior varsity team at Monsignor Scanlon High School in the Bronx when he’d recovered. A career full of honors was just getting started.
“Have resilience, and don’t give up,” said Gallagher. “Enjoy life and practice happiness.”
In 11th grade with contacts correcting his vision, Gallagher made varsity and became the mainstay of the powerhouse 1964 and 1965 Monsignor Scanlan teams. He was a unanimous First Team CHSAA All New York City and All City CHSAA Championship Tournament selection, one of the heaviest recruited players to come out of the Bronx and ranked as the best player in the New York metro area behind Kareem Abdul Jabbar.
Gallagher graduated top of his class—reaching the other goal he set after his injuries—and attended Harvard University from 1965 to 1969. He played hoops for the Crimson, winning All-Ivy and All-New England basketball player honors and induction into the Harvard Basketball Hall of Fame and the New England Basketball Hall of Fame.
After earning a law degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1972 and a job at top firm Skadden Arps, Gallagher still had hoop dreams. He left to extend his career in the pros, playing for a division one team in Switzerland.
He eventually returned to Skadden Arps and then started his own merchant banking firm because, he said, “I was looking at long-term careers and also the uncertainties of having a long-time basketball career on a professional level.”
Gallagher’s work life took another big turn into volunteering when he heard Monsignor Scanlon High School planned to shut down in 2010. He started a campaign to keep the school open
“I felt that many children in the Bronx would be denied a chance for quality education, and I wasn’t going to let this happen,” Gallagher said.
Two years later, he found himself putting together a board of trustees for Monsignor Scanlon with his friend Joe Solimine Sr., who became vice chairman. Through the work Gallagher and his team did, the high school’s graduation rate climbed from 50% to 100%, with 98% of students attending college. He said 98% of Monsignor Scanlon’s students are minority teenagers living in financially challenged households.
Gallagher went on to revitalize the Catholic Youth Organization in the Archdiocese of New York as chairman of the CYO board. He also gave his time to the lawyers’ division of the Inner City Scholarship Fund, which provides students with funding to attend Catholic schools.
“Heavy-duty volunteering is a lot of time and money, but it is so rewarding,” said Gallagher.
