Indeed a giant. An inspiration, a mentor, a friend to so many.
Though my dad was a diehard McDonogh alum and BD member, he allowed me to go Gilman with 22 others from my Calvert School class of 24...because of his admiration for Reddy and what he was doing in every aspect of the educational process. He would not have allowed me to go the Gilman prior to the Finney era as he saw it overly blue-blood, etc. Given his own social pedigree, and personal accomplishments, Reddy was perhaps uniquely positioned to lead, even drag, the old Gilman into a more diverse, forward leaning school educating many of the brightest from the region regardless of socio-economic, racial or religious background.
He embodied integrity and character, exemplifying what it meant to be a 'man' in the best sense of sacrificing for others, 'doing the little things', whether bending over to pick up a piece of trash as he walked the campus, reaching out to the family in need.
He was my 9th grade Religion teacher, to which I in large part attribute to my own passion for interfaith dialogue with the ICJS, The Institute for Christian and Jewish Studies, now the Institute for Islamic, Christian & Jewish Studies.
www.ices.org of which Reddy was an early proponent/founder.
On his own sports accomplishments, the obit says he was the captain of the wrestling team (and AA in both football and lacrosse) it doesn't mention that he would have also been an AA in wresting as a heavyweight had he not been behind the undefeated NCAA champion each of those years. They apparently had epic battles in practice, 2-1 affairs, with Reddy being his toughest competition!
By my era, Reddy was no longer coaching directly, but he was certainly an ever present force on many a sideline. He was an intensely competitive man and you felt his presence at nearly every contest. While his (and Gilman's) chief passions of that era were football, wrestling, and lacrosse, which were my sports as well, my buddies on the soccer, basketball, baseball, tennis, X-country, track teams felt his support as well.
If you ever had the experience of sitting in the stands with him as an alum or as a parent, which I did frequently over the years, you knew to stay just out of reach of his massive hands as he would grab the person next to him in his passion for what was happening on the field or mat or court, oblivious to the force of his grip.
Terrific man, he will be greatly missed.