Three-way star

earns notice

BC High's Kiley is a Face in the Crowd

Bill Kiley started on three state Division 1 championship squads for Boston College High School. This year, he's batting .333 as the team's first baseman; in 2007, he along with goalie Joe Cannata (30) and Mike Vasilchuk (22) celebrated the team's victory in the Super 8 championship; last fall, he fired a pass against Taunton. (Robert E. Klein for The Boston Globe)

By Justin A. Rice Globe Correspondent / April 30, 2009

His Facebook profile recently featured a photo of Bill Kiley displaying his prized catch, a large striped bass he hauled in late last summer in Boston Harbor.

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When did the Boston College High School senior from Quincy ever find the time to cast a line? The last three summers, he has shuttled between practices and games with the Quincy American Legion Post 95 baseball team and football practice for the Eagles. And there's also the occasional skate at the Quincy Youth Arena.

In this age of so many young athletes focusing strictly on one sport, and say, becoming the next Tiger Woods, Kiley's versatile talent, and the ability to multi-task, and star, is noteworthy.

And Sports Illustrated has taken notice.

In the April 27 edition, on Page 26, Kiley was featured in the magazine's weekly "Faces in the Crowd" section.

"Bill, a senior at Boston College High," SI wrote, "is the first athlete in school history to start on three state Division I championship teams: hockey (2007), baseball ('08), and football ('08). He was named all-Catholic Conference in baseball (first base) and football (quarterback) for the championship seasons, and this school year he was a captain on all three teams."

Those feats were news to Kiley until BC High AD and football coach John Bartlett approached him after the Eagles beat Brockton, 13-7, in the Division 1 Super Bowl last December.

"It kind of hit me right there," Kiley said. "I was like 'wow, that's incredible.' I didn't even realize it."

"We may not see that again, it's just one of those stats you hardly ever see," Bartlett said.

It didn't take much digging for Bartlett to realize that Kiley was an original.

The school had only won eight state titles in the modern era before Bartlett took over as AD in 2000. They have since won another 17. After some back and forth with Sports Illustrated via e-mail, Bartlett was informed on April 17 that Kiley made the cut.

Swimmer Erick Vendt (class of 1999) and track and field athlete Michael Green ('84) are the only two other Eagle athletes to previously appear in Faces In The Crowd.

But they were recognized for their accomplishments at the University of Southern California and the Naval Academy, respectively.

Kiley has always been adept at juggling a busy schedule, in particular prior to his arrival at BC High, when he also played basketball and lacrosse.

"Especially in light of the level in which he's competed," BC High baseball coach Norm Walsh noted. "It is tough in a place like ours where what you do in the off-season is so important. Generally guys play two sports. He squeezes it in around everything else he does, which is not easy."

Equally as remarkable as his ability is the fact that Kiley never felt pressure to phase out any one sport.

"I've never had a coach come up to me and say 'You have to concentrate on one sport, do this,' " said Kiley, who was hitting .333 for the Eagle baseball team at the beginning of the week.

"No one has said to me 'Oh, you might want to drop this sport and practice this sport.' It's always been know I was going to play three sports at one time and that's how my family conditioned me. I never had any peer pressure."

Even so, Kiley said he felt like he was shortchanging his hockey teammates when he returned to the ice late this past season, unable to participate in the skating sessions during the fall. His hockey coach, Joe McCabe , said the 6-foot-3-inch, 180-pound defenseman made the transition just fine.

"Coming off the football field and putting on a pair of skates, that's difficult for anybody," McCabe said.

Only a handful of McCabe's players over his 21-year tenure have played both football and hockey and McCabe wishes that was not the case.

"I'm not looking for a guy to play hockey 12 months a year, I'd rather see play different sports," he said.

Headed to Bentley University this fall, Kiley will hang up his skates and is likely to put his glove on the hook as well, concentrating on football, at either quarterback or safety.

His three-sport days might be over, but his legacy is well inked in the annals of BC High, and Sports Illustrated.

"It's a world-renowned magazine, everyone reads it and the most respected writers write for the magazine; just to be in that conversation is humbling," said Kiley. "I love sports, they are such a big part of my life."

© Copyright 2009 Globe Newspaper Company.