Cardinal Gibbons School
Encyclopedia
The Cardinal Gibbons School, also referred to as Cardinal Gibbons, CG and most commonly as Gibbons, was a Roman Catholic high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....

 and middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...

 for boys in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.A. A private
Private school
Private schools, also known as independent schools or nonstate schools, are not administered by local, state or national governments; thus, they retain the right to select their students and are funded in whole or in part by charging their students' tuition, rather than relying on mandatory...

 institution for grades 6-12, Gibbons drew its enrollment from the neighborhoods of southwest Baltimore and the surrounding areas and counties, including as far as Carroll
Carroll County, Maryland
Carroll County is a county located in the U.S. state of Maryland. In 2010, its population was 167,134. It was named for Charles Carroll of Carrollton , signer of the American Declaration of Independence. Its county seat is Westminster....

 and Frederick
Frederick County, Maryland
Frederick County is a county located in the western part of the U.S. state of Maryland, bordering the southern border of Pennsylvania and the northeastern border of Virginia. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 233,385....

 counties.

Named in honor of Baltimore's most distinguished churchman, James Cardinal Gibbons
James Cardinal Gibbons
James Gibbons was an American Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Richmond from 1872 to 1877, and as Archbishop of Baltimore from 1877 until his death in 1921...

, the school was established in 1962 by the Archdiocese of Baltimore. Gibbons occupied the former site of St. Mary’s Industrial School, a reform school for boys, the alma mater of baseball hall of famer George Herman “Babe” Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...

. Following extensive renovations of the old St. Mary’s campus in the early 1960s, the Cardinal Gibbons School opened. The school grew to its peak enrollment of just over 1,000 students in the mid 1970s. In 1988, the school expanded its academic programs with the addition of a Middle School. The middle school program ceased operation following the 2009 academic school year. Due to economic strains on the Archdiocese, in addition to declining enrollment at Gibbons, it was announced the school would close following the conclusion of the 2009-2010 school year.

Gibbons was a college preparatory school, with core curriculum
Core Curriculum
The Core Curriculum was originally developed as the main curriculum used by Columbia University's Columbia College. It began in 1919 with "Contemporary Civilization," about the origins of western civilization. It became the framework for many similar educational models throughout the United States...

 courses in literature, religious studies, mathematics, laboratory science, social sciences and history, fine arts, physical education, technology, and foreign language. Gibbons offered a variety of Advanced Placement courses, including joint courses with neighboring all-girls high school Seton Keough
Seton Keough High School
Seton Keough High School is an all-girls college preparatory private, Roman Catholic high school in Baltimore, Maryland. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore, at 1201 Caton Avenue just inside the city line of Baltimore...

. Gibbons also offered dual enrollment
Dual enrollment
In education, dual enrollment involved students being enrolled in two separate, academically related institutions. It may also refer to any individual who is participating in two related programs, but such a general form of usage is uncommon....

 courses with the Community College of Baltimore County
Community College of Baltimore County
The Community College of Baltimore County is an accredited community college located in Baltimore County, Maryland in the United States with three main campuses and two extension centers.- Programs and enrollment :...

. All students at Gibbons were held to academic integrity through the use of an honor code
Honor code
An honour code or honour system is a set of rules or principles governing a community based on a set of rules or ideals that define what constitutes honorable behavior within that community. The use of an honor code depends on the idea that people can be trusted to act honorably...

.

A long standing rivalry existed between Cardinal Gibbons and Mount Saint Joseph
Mount Saint Joseph College
Mount Saint Joseph High School, is a private, Catholic high school located in Baltimore, Maryland in the community of Irvington. The campus consists of four academic buildings, an athletic field house, and housing for the school's chaplains. It was founded by the Xaverian Brothers in November 1876...

, due to close proximity and frequent meetings in playoffs and tournaments in basketball. The rivalry grew to include other sports and academics as well.

Currently, organizations have been established to attempt to reopen the school, but the status of the school still remains closed. The grounds are still unutilized for academics, with local schools and sport programs using the athletic facilities.

History

Saint Mary's Industrial School for Boys (1866-1950)

Saint Mary’s Industrial School for Boys was opened in Baltimore City in 1866 by the Archdiocese of Baltimore. The school served as both an orphanage
Orphanage
An orphanage is a residential institution devoted to the care of orphans – children whose parents are deceased or otherwise unable or unwilling to care for them...

 and boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...

 for boys, teaching them life and labor skills. Archbishop Martin Spalding called for the need of such a school, and enlisted the aid of the Xaverian Brothers
Xaverian Brothers
The Xaverian Brothers or Congregation of St. Francis Xavier are a religious order founded by Theodore James Ryken in Bruges, Belgium in 1839 and named after Saint Francis Xavier...

 to assist in running the school. As attendance at the school grew, the large original granite building was constructed and in use by 1868.

In 1874, the purpose of the school took on a new role, as juveniles convicted of a crime could be sentenced to attend St. Mary’s for reform
Reform school
A reform school in the United States was a term used to define, often somewhat euphemistically, what was often essentially a penal institution for boys, generally teenagers.-History:...

. The school continued to grow and enroll more young boys, fostering and building them into men. The curriculum consisted of academic classes, religious education, sports periods, and work in industrial areas. Some areas of instruction included basket-making, bottle-covering, baking, gardening, tailoring, and farming.

In 1902, a young boy named George Ruth
Babe Ruth
George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...

, later known as “the Babe,” was enrolled at St. Mary’s. He would become one of St. Mary’s most notable alumni, learning the game of baseball at St. Mary’s under the tutelage of Brother Matthias. Shortly after Babe left the school, a fire in 1919 destroyed much of the campus. After Ruth had joined the New York Yankees
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are a professional baseball team based in the The Bronx, New York. They compete in Major League Baseball in the American League's East Division...

, he took the St. Mary’s band to play at major league ballparks to raise money to replace the main school building, which had been destroyed in the fire.

The school continued to serve the community until it ceased operations in 1950. St. Mary’s has become known as “the House that built Ruth.” Although much of the original St. Mary’s campus was destroyed, one building remains from the original structure and another from the reconstruction after the 1919 fire. Both buildings were utilized by the Cardinal Gibbons School. The field that Babe learned to play baseball on was used by the Gibbons baseball teams since 1962 until closing, affectionately calling the baseball diamond, “Babe Ruth Field.”

Cardinal Gibbons High School (1962-1988)

When Cardinal Gibbons School opened in September, 1962, it was not totally unfamiliar to Baltimore as some new institutions are to their community. On the corner of Wilkens and Caton Avenues, where the school once was, another Catholic institution, St. Mary's Industrial School had performed almost a century of service for the community.

In 1959, Archbishop Francis Keough chose the ground of the vacant St. Mary's for a high school campus, with room for athletic fields and religious community housing. Archbishop Keough contacted the Marianists, who previously taught at several grammar schools. The Marianists agreed to return to Baltimore and take charge of the new high school. Brother Matthew Betz, S.M., was appointed the first principal of the new school.

In September, 1962, the school was operating with a working faculty of nine, including a secretary, janitor, and 150 freshmen. On September 8, 1963, Archbishop Lawrence Shehan presided over the sealing of the main building's cornerstone and the dedication of the school to Baltimore's most distinguished churchman, James Cardinal Gibbons
James Cardinal Gibbons
James Gibbons was an American Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Richmond from 1872 to 1877, and as Archbishop of Baltimore from 1877 until his death in 1921...

.

Over the years, the Cardinal Gibbons School continued to grow and develop. During the 1968-1969 school year, the Crusaders made sport headlines with the championship play of both the varsity basketball and baseball teams. Coach O. Ray Mullis established a Baltimore Catholic League
Baltimore Catholic League
The Baltimore Catholic League , locally known as the Catholic League is a competitive basketball association composed of private Catholic high schools in the Baltimore, Maryland geographic area.- History :...

 (BCL) dynasty at Gibbons over the next decade. Gibbons would go on to make a name for itself as a powerhouse for academic and athletics in the southwest Baltimore region.

The Cardinal Gibbons School (1988-2010)

In 1988, the Cardinal Gibbons School added a Middle School Program, enrolling students in grades 6 through 8. Formerly known as Cardinal Gibbons High School, the school adopted its last name, the Cardinal Gibbons School. That program continued successfully until the end of the 2009 school year, after which the middle school program ended, and the eighth grade finished out the following year. Due to decreased enrollment and financial strains on both the Archdiocese of Baltimore and the surrounding communities, Gibbons headed toward closing its doors.

In 2001, the Cardinal Gibbons School switched to the President-Principal model, naming Brother Kevin Strong, F.S.C. the first President of the school. That year, the school also joined the LaSallian Network of Schools.

School Closing

On March 3, 2010, the Archdiocese of Baltimore announced it would close Gibbons at the end of the 2009-2010 school year, as part of a broader consolidation of twelve other Baltimore parochial schools in the face of declining enrollment and reports of Archdiocesan financial losses. Members of the Cardinal Gibbons board, alumni, students and staff expressed distress at the decision and, in April, explored possible ways to buy the property and continue the school independently, but were ultimately unsuccessful. Although rumors abound (many relating to possible sale of the property to the hospital next door, St. Agnes
St. Agnes Hospital (Baltimore)
St. Agnes Hospital in Baltimore, Maryland is a full service teaching hospital located at 900 S. Caton Avenue.It is licensed and accredited with a Gold Seal of Approval from the JCAHO, is designated as an American Society for Bariatric Surgery Bariatric Surgery Center of Excellence and is a Level...

), the Archdiocese of Baltimore currently has not announced plans relating to use of the buildings after the 2009-2010 school year closes and faculty members empty their materials from the premises. Linda Ruth Tosetti, Ruth's granddaughter, lamented the possible loss of another of the places important in her grandfather's history, on the heels of the replacement of the old "House that Ruth Built" Yankee Stadium in 2009. At present, the school still sits vacant, with its athletic facilities being utilized by schools in the area. In response to the closing, alumni and supporters of Gibbons formed Gibbons Educational Services (G.E.S.), a non-profit organization devoted to reopening Cardinal Gibbons.

Babe Ruth Field

Babe Ruth Field was home to the Gibbons baseball team. Located on the grounds of the field Babe Ruth learned to play the game on, the field has been home to a storied and successful baseball program for over a century. Ruth Field is unique in that it is an oddly shaped field, with the center field reaching 440 feet. Back when the home plate was in its original spot, in the present day outfield, Babe Ruth hit a home run all the way out to Caton Avenue, almost a 600 foot home run. The field is the center of the campus, and is visible from Caton and Wilkens Avenues.

Fine Arts Building

As the only building to survive the fire of 1919 on campus, the Fine Arts building is part of the original structure of the old St. Mary's Industrial School. It was constructed around the opening of the school, during the mid 1800's. In this building, Babe Ruth spent time working on the various trade requirements of the old school. Before closing, this building housed the fine arts classrooms for Art and Music, and the Justin Fischer Memorial weightroom in the bottom level.

"The Grotto"

"The Grotto" is an area on the Cardinal Gibbons campus that holds special meaning to alumni and the Gibbons community. In 1968, a plane crashed in the mountains of western Maryland. On board were three students and one teacher. All four were part of the Cardinal Gibbons flying club, and were returning from a trip to Ohio to visit the United States Air Force Museum. In "The Grotto" is a statue of Mary and a plaque adorning the statue with the names of those lost in the crash.

Academics

The school required 28 credits to graduate, 15 hours of community service per year, and mandatory attendance in the school's campus ministry program, including retreats and service opportunities. The school, in joint partnership with the Seton Keough High School
Seton Keough High School
Seton Keough High School is an all-girls college preparatory private, Roman Catholic high school in Baltimore, Maryland. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Baltimore, at 1201 Caton Avenue just inside the city line of Baltimore...

, offered dual enrollment courses at the Community College of Baltimore County
Community College of Baltimore County
The Community College of Baltimore County is an accredited community college located in Baltimore County, Maryland in the United States with three main campuses and two extension centers.- Programs and enrollment :...

 and shared special classes between the two schools.

Sport Championships

Varsity Team Championship Year(s) Ref.
Football 1989, 2000
Basketball 1994
Baseball 1982, 1999, 2000
Lacrosse 2008
Track & Field 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, 2009, 2010

Cricket

In 2009, the Cardinal Gibbons Cricket
Cricket
Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

 Club was formed, the first of its kind in any high school in the state of Maryland. Many students expressed interest in the sport, and it began to catch on among students in the school. The club reached membership of almost 100 students playing on intramural teams. A travel team was formed to compete against other teams in the area. That team would go on to play several youth teams in the metropolitan Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....

 area.The director of the Gibbons cricket program, Jamie Harrison, would go on to found the United States Youth Cricket Association
United States Youth Cricket Association
The United States Youth Cricket Association is the largest organization in the United States devoted to the promotion of the game of cricket among young people and is an Associate Member of United States of America Cricket Association. USYCA promotes cricket in America by donating cricket sets...

.

Athletes

  • Norman Black
    Norman Black
    Norman Augustus Black is an American retired professional basketball player in the CBA, NBA, and PBA who has since settled in the Philippines. He is also a former head coach of the San Miguel Beermen, Mobiline Phone Pals, Pop Cola 800s, and Sta. Lucia Realtors...

     - former professional basketball player, NBA
  • Roger Brown
    Roger Brown (defensive back)
    Roger W. Brown, Jr. is a former American football defensive back in the National Football League. He graduated from and played football at the Cardinal Gibbons School. He attended college at Virginia Tech and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the eighth round of the 1990 NFL Draft...

     - former NFL player with the Green Bay Packers & New York Giants
  • Quintin Dailey
    Quintin Dailey
    Quintin "Q" Dailey was an American professional basketball player. A 6'3" guard who played collegiately at the University of San Francisco, he later went on to a career in the NBA, playing for the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers, and Seattle SuperSonics over the course of his 10-year tenure in...

     - former professional basketball player, NBA
  • Bob Flynn - former basketball coach for Gibbons and McDaniel College
    McDaniel College
    McDaniel College is a private four-year liberal arts college in Westminster, Maryland, located 30 miles northwest of Baltimore. The college also has a satellite campus located in Budapest, Hungary. Until July 2002, it was known as Western Maryland College...

  • Jean Fugett
    Jean Fugett
    Jean Schloss Fugett, Jr. is a former professional American football tight end in the National Football League. A 6'3", 225 lbs...

     - former NFL player with the Dallas Cowboys & Washington Redskins was also selected to the Pro Bowl after the 1977 season
  • Kenny Hasbrouck
    Kenny Hasbrouck
    Kenny Hasbrouck is an American basketball player who currently plays for EWE Baskets Oldenburg in Germany. He formerly played at Siena College. The six-foot-three Hasbrouck played point guard, shooting guard, and small forward for the Saints. He was named a co-captain at the start of his junior...

     - professional basketball player, ACB and NBA
  • Vaughn Hebron
    Vaughn Hebron
    Vaughn Harlen Hebron is a former American football running back in the National Football League for the Philadelphia Eagles and Denver Broncos.-Early life:...

     - former NFL player with the Philadelphia Eagles & Denver Broncos
  • Gerrick McPhearson
    Gerrick McPhearson
    Gerrick McPhearson Jr was an American football cornerback. He is 5 foot 10 inches tall and weighs 197 pounds. He was on the New York Giants practice squad in 2006 mostly before being activated to the active roster in the latter part of the season...

     - professional NFL player with the Giants
  • Babe Ruth
    Babe Ruth
    George Herman Ruth, Jr. , best known as "Babe" Ruth and nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Sultan of Swat", was an American Major League baseball player from 1914–1935...

     - Hall of Fame baseball player, St Mary's Industrial School Alumnus
  • Steve Wojciechowski
    Steve Wojciechowski
    Steve "Wojo" Wojciechowski is an American basketball coach and former player. He played at Duke University from 1994 until 1998 where he was the team's point guard. He currently is an associate head coach at Duke under head coach Mike Krzyzewski...

     - former Duke University basketball player and current assistant men's basketball coach at Duke


Military

  • Mark E. Ferguson III
    Mark E. Ferguson III
    Mark E. Ferguson III is a United States Navy four-star admiral who currently serves as the 37th Vice Chief of Naval Operations. He previously served as the 55th Chief of Naval Personnel which he also concurrently serves as the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations from April 16, 2008 to August 5, 2011...

     - Admiral, US Navy, the current Vice Chief of Naval Operations
  • Patrick Finnegan - Brigadier General, US Army (Ret.), Past Dean of Academics, United States Military Academy, current President, Longwood University
    Longwood University
    Longwood University is a four-year public, liberal-arts university located in Farmville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1839 and became a university on July 1, 2002...


Politics

  • James E. Malone, Jr.
    James E. Malone, Jr.
    James E. Malone, Jr. is an American politician from Maryland and a member of the Democratic Party. He is currently serving in his 4th term in the Maryland House of Delegates, representing Maryland's District 12A in Baltimore and Howard Counties. Malone is currently serving as Vice-Chair of the...

     - Delegate, District 12A, Maryland House of Delegates
  • Brian K. McHale
    Brian K. McHale
    Brian K. McHale is an American politician who represents the 46th legislative district in the Maryland House of Delegates.-Background:Brian McHale was born in Baltimore, Maryland on December 9, 1954. He attended Cardinal Gibbons High School, the Community College of Baltimore, Catonsville Community...

     - Delegate, District 46, Maryland House of Delegates

Others

  • George F. Johnson, IV
    George F. Johnson, IV
    George F. Johnson IV is the current superintendent of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police, appointed by Governor Martin O'Malley in 2007.-Education:...

     - current superintendent of the Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police
  • Al Jolson
    Al Jolson
    Al Jolson was an American singer, comedian and actor. In his heyday, he was dubbed "The World's Greatest Entertainer"....

    - singer, comedian, actor, St. Mary's Industrial school Alumnus

Past Principals

Principal Years
Bro. Matthew Betz, S.M. 1962–1964
Bro. Anthony Ipsaro, S.M. 1964–1966
Bro. William Abel, S.M. 1966–1969
Bro. Frank O'Donnell, S.M. 1969–1976
William Hartman 1976–1991
Donald DelCiello 1991–1994
James Lamar 1994–1995
Leo Johnson 1995–1997
Gary Meyerl 1997–2002
John O'Brien 2002–2004
Philip Forte 2004–2007
David Brown 2007–2010

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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