Old friends excited for Quade

Kevin Kelley went to Wrigley Field in late September to see an old Prospect High School baseball teammate.

And Kelley saw that nothing was different about Mike Quade even though he was more than a month into his first big-league managing job with the Cubs.

“He was just basically having a great time, said Kelley, an assistant baseball coach at Hersey and a teacher at Niles North, of the two Cubs games against the Giants he attended.

“You could see in his face he was having a fun time.

“He was so easygoing, like it was another day at the office. It was like he was doing it for 30 years.

On Tuesday, the Cubs announced that Quade, a 1975 Prospect graduate, received a two-year contract to continue making the Wrigley Field manager's office his professional home.

And that was the best news for friends of Quade such as Kelley and retired Prospect head baseball coach Larry Pohlman and his wife, Vicki.

Pohlman, who was Prospect's head coach from 1968-96, received the good news early Tuesday from Quade's brother Scott.

“It's fantastic, Pohlman said. “I'm so delighted.

“He's always been one of my favorites. We're close to his family and his brother as well so it's been a great ride.

Quade, who starred in football, baseball and basketball at Prospect, has been a frequent visitor to the Pohlmans' winter home in Florida.

“We're so happy for him, Vicki Pohlman said. “He's down to earth and he never forgets where he came from. I think his background had a lot to do with it.

A background in which Quade had 17 successful years of minor-league managing. The Cubs went 24-13 under Quade after Lou Piniella resigned to be with his ailing mother.

“I knew he was going to do well and get a lot out of the guys who played for him, said Kelley, a standout pitcher at Prospect who graduated a year ahead of Quade. “He's going to do great.

“One thing about Mike is he'll manage to the team he has and not his own style. If he has a bunch of young kids, he'll manage a group of young kids. If he has a group of veterans he'll manage that.

Pohlman said he believes Quade will manage just fine in his new longer-term job with the Cubs.

“He has a great intellect, in a lot of other areas outside of baseball as well, Pohlman said. “That's what separates him from a lot of other people. He knows what he's doing and he puts a lot of thought into it.