“February 2018 saw the playing of the Super Bowl 52. At that time, the St. Mary’s Grade School received a gold football from the NFL. The football was inscribed- SAINT MARY SCHOOL, COLUMBUS, OH, MIKE MONTLER, PART OF SUPER BOWL HISTORY XII. The principal and staff were bewildered. Who was Mike Montler and why did St. Mary’s receive the football? As part of the Super Bowl 50 celebration the NFL sent a gold football to EVERY high school that had a student who had played in any Super Bowl. The gold football is currently in the St. Mary Museum. 

Yes, St. Mary’s once had a High School and yes, one of the students played in a Super Bowl. Mike Montler, (St. Lads.) Saint Mary’s class of 1961 was the first diocesan graduate to play in a Super Bowl, number 12, thus the XII on the ball. Mike’s Denver Broncos beat the Dallas Cowboys that year. In his high school days at St. Mary’s Montler starred in both football and basketball. After graduation, he served for four in the Marine Corps where he played in the Leatherneck Bowl. He was to meet Woody Hayes at that years Rose Bowl, Ohio State lost, Woody left in a huff, without meeting with Mike. Mike then signed with the University of Colorado where he was an All-American.  In the NFL he earned All-Pro honors and is part of display in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a part of the best offensive line in the first fifty years of the NFL. Mike passed away December 13, 2018, in Grand Junction, Colorado. You were a great friend, and we miss you. Semper Fi, Mike.” - Ed Quickert