St. Patrick High School (Chicago)
Encyclopedia
St. Patrick High School is an all male college preparatory Catholic high school located in the Portage Park
neighborhood on the northwest side of Chicago, Illinois
. Opened in 1861, it is among the oldest continuously open high schools in the Chicago area. The school is the oldest Catholic school in Chicago.
near Adams Street and Des Plaines. In 1953, the school moved to its current site, on Belmont and Austin avenues. The student population was bigger than anticipated, which required almost immediate addition to the new structure; a construction project completed for the 1956—57 school year.
In 1991, one floor of the school was redeveloped as a computer center. After a long term fundraising effort, further addition and remodeling took place with the addition of an atrium, theater, music facilities, media center, and a second smaller gymnasium.
(ESCC) for most of their sports, which include baseball
, basketball
, bowling, cross country
, football
, golf
, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis
, track & field, volleyball
, water polo, and wrestling
. The school also sponsors teams in bowling
, swimming
& diving
, and water polo
which are not sponsored by the ESCC. All of these sports have state tournaments sponsored by the Illinois High School Association
(IHSA).
The following teams have placed in the top four of their respective IHSA sponsored state championship tournaments:
The water polo team won the IHSA state title in 1997, going 28–0. This was not an IHSA sponsored title, as water polo only became an IHSA sponsored sport in 2001.
, a chess
team, band, FIRST
robotics
, and dance. The chess team finished second in the IHSA state chess tournament in 1977 and tied for third in 2008.
The cheerleading
squad is composed of girls from nearby all-girls schools who choose to try out.
Portage Park, Chicago
Portage Park is located on the northwest side of the City of Chicago, Illinois and is one of 77 officially designated Chicago community areas. Portage Park is bordered by the community areas of Jefferson Park and Forest Glen to the north, Dunning and the suburb of Harwood Heights to the west,...
neighborhood on the northwest side of Chicago, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. Opened in 1861, it is among the oldest continuously open high schools in the Chicago area. The school is the oldest Catholic school in Chicago.
History
The original school was opened by the Christian BrothersInstitute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools
The Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools is a Roman Catholic religious teaching congregation, founded in France by Saint Jean-Baptiste de la Salle and now based in Rome...
near Adams Street and Des Plaines. In 1953, the school moved to its current site, on Belmont and Austin avenues. The student population was bigger than anticipated, which required almost immediate addition to the new structure; a construction project completed for the 1956—57 school year.
In 1991, one floor of the school was redeveloped as a computer center. After a long term fundraising effort, further addition and remodeling took place with the addition of an atrium, theater, music facilities, media center, and a second smaller gymnasium.
Drug Testing Program
In 2004, St. Patrick High School initiated a mandatory drug testing policy for all students. The policy calls for each student to be tested through hair samples at least once each year. Because of the random nature of the testing, some students may get tested more than once. Students who test positive are given the opportunity to work with the school to determine the best counseling route, but must submit to another test within 100 days, at the student's expense.Athletics
St. Patrick's athletic teams are named the Shamrocks. The school participates in the East Suburban Catholic ConferenceEast Suburban Catholic Conference
The East Suburban Catholic Conference is an athletic conference consisting of 13 Catholic high schools in the suburbs of Chicago, Illinois . The conference became independent in 1974....
(ESCC) for most of their sports, which include baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
, bowling, cross country
Cross country running
Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...
, football
High school football
High school football, in North America, refers to the game of football as it is played in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular interscholastic sports in both of these nations....
, golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
, soccer, swimming & diving, tennis
Tennis
Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...
, track & field, volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
, water polo, and wrestling
Wrestling
Wrestling is a form of grappling type techniques such as clinch fighting, throws and takedowns, joint locks, pins and other grappling holds. A wrestling bout is a physical competition, between two competitors or sparring partners, who attempt to gain and maintain a superior position...
. The school also sponsors teams in bowling
Bowling
Bowling Bowling Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule Bowling (1375–1425; late Middle English bowle, variant of boule...
, swimming
Swimming (sport)
Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...
& diving
Diving
Diving is the sport of jumping or falling into water from a platform or springboard, sometimes while performing acrobatics. Diving is an internationally-recognized sport that is part of the Olympic Games. In addition, unstructured and non-competitive diving is a recreational pastime.Diving is one...
, and water polo
Water polo
Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...
which are not sponsored by the ESCC. All of these sports have state tournaments sponsored by the Illinois High School Association
Illinois High School Association
The Illinois High School Association is one of 521 state high school associations in the United States, designed to regulate competition in most interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level. It is a charter member of the National Federation of State High...
(IHSA).
The following teams have placed in the top four of their respective IHSA sponsored state championship tournaments:
- Baseball: 2nd (2005–06)
- Water Polo: 2nd (2002–03)
- Volleyball: 4th (2008–2009)
The water polo team won the IHSA state title in 1997, going 28–0. This was not an IHSA sponsored title, as water polo only became an IHSA sponsored sport in 2001.
Non-athletic activities
The school also has an academic teamQuizbowl
Quiz bowl is a family of games of questions and answers on all topics of human knowledge that is commonly played by students enrolled in high school or college, although some participants begin in middle or even elementary school...
, a chess
Chess
Chess is a two-player board game played on a chessboard, a square-checkered board with 64 squares arranged in an eight-by-eight grid. It is one of the world's most popular games, played by millions of people worldwide at home, in clubs, online, by correspondence, and in tournaments.Each player...
team, band, FIRST
First
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one.First or 1st may also refer to:* First , minor summit below the Schwarzhorn in the Bernese Alps in Switzerland* First , mountain in Bernese Alps in Switzerland...
robotics
Robotics
Robotics is the branch of technology that deals with the design, construction, operation, structural disposition, manufacture and application of robots...
, and dance. The chess team finished second in the IHSA state chess tournament in 1977 and tied for third in 2008.
The cheerleading
Cheerleading
Cheerleading is a physical activity, sometimes a competitive sport, based on organized routines, usually ranging from one to three minutes, which contain the components of tumbling, dance, jumps, cheers, and stunting to direct spectators of events to cheer on sports teams at games or to participate...
squad is composed of girls from nearby all-girls schools who choose to try out.
Theatre Department
The school's Theatre Department stages one play in the fall, one musical in the spring, and one miscellaneous play in the summer as part of its Community Theater Initiative.Notable alumni
- Bill Keating (1963), trial attorney and former defensive tackle and guard for the Denver BroncosDenver BroncosThe Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver, Colorado. They are currently members of the West Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
and Miami DolphinsMiami DolphinsThe Miami Dolphins are a Professional football team based in the Miami metropolitan area in Florida. The team is part of the Eastern Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... - Gene DykerGene DykerGene Dyker was a forward in the National Basketball Association. He was drafted by the Milwaukee Hawks in the 1953 NBA Draft and played with the team that season.-References:...
(1948), a forward for the Milwaukee HawksAtlanta HawksThe Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...
(National Basketball AssociationNational Basketball AssociationThe National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
) - Tim McGarigleTim McGarigle-St. Louis Rams:McGarigle was selected by the St. Louis Rams in the seventh round in the 2006 NFL Draft. He spent the 2006 season as a member of the practice squad. In 2007, McGarigle made the active roster and played 12 games. He was released from the Rams on September 3, 2008 and spent the rest...
(2002) Former NFL Player for the St. Louis RamsSt. Louis RamsThe St. Louis Rams are a professional American football team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are currently members of the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Rams have won three NFL Championships .The Rams began playing in 1936 in Cleveland,...
. Former linebacker for the Florida Tuskers - Ray MeyerRay MeyerRaymond Joseph Meyer was an American men's collegiate basketball coach from Chicago, Illinois. He was well-known for coaching at DePaul University from 1942 to 1984, compiling a 724–354 record...
(1933) was DePaulDePaul UniversityDePaul University is a private institution of higher education and research in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul...
men's basketball coach (1942–84) and 1979 inductee to the Basketball Hall of Fame - John G. MulroeJohn G. MulroeJohn G. Mulroe is a Democratic state senator and lawyer from Chicago, Illinois, he represents the 10th Illinois State Senate District. He was appointed to complete the term of Democrat James DeLeo in August 2010 and elected to a full term in the Illinois State Senate in November 2010...
(1977), lawyer and Democratic PartyDemocratic Party (United States)The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
Illinois state senator - New Colony SixNew Colony SixThe New Colony Six is an American rock band whose height of popularity was from the mid 1960s to the early 1970s. From Chicago, the group placed ten singles on the Billboard Hot 100 between 1966 and 1971. Original members were Ray Graffia , Chick James , Pat McBride , Craig Kemp , Wally Kemp ,...
(1964): 5 of the 6 founding members of the band are 1964 graduates: Chic James (James Chitkowski), Ray Graffia, Wally Kemp, Pat McBride and Gerry Van Kollenberg. - Dan SantucciDan SantucciDan Santucci is an American football center for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals in the seventh round of the 2007 NFL Draft...
(2002) is a former offensive lineman for the Carolina PanthersCarolina PanthersThe Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are currently members of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The Panthers, along with the Jacksonville Jaguars, joined the NFL as expansion...
. - Jacob ZacharJacob ZacharJacob Zachar is an American actor whose roles include Russell "Rusty" Cartwright on the ABC Family TV Series Greek.-Early years and education:...
(2004) is an actor (Rusty on the TV series GreekGreek (TV series)Greek is an American comedy-drama television series, which follows students of the fictional Cyprus-Rhodes University , located in Ohio, who participate in the school's Greek system...
).
Notable faculty
- Robert HalperinRobert HalperinRobert Sherman "Bob" Halperin , nicknamed "Buck", was an American competitive Star class sailor, and Olympic bronze medalist and Pan American Games gold medalist....
, coached football at St. Patrick, Olympic (bronze) and Pan American Games (gold) yachting medalist, Wisconsin and Notre Dame and NFL football player, one of Chicago's most-decorated World War II heroes, and Chairman of Commercial Light Co.
External links
- St. Patrick High School (official site)
- IHSFW.com's St. Patrick's football page (news website)