Loyola Blakefield

History

Archbishop Francis Kenrick asked the Jesuits to oversee the formation of a school for laymen that would incorporate the Jesuit standards of excellence and build new men conscious of a religious purpose. His request was prompted by the 1852 closure of nearby St. Mary's College. Construction of Loyola High School began on Charles Street in Baltimore, Maryland, in early 1852, and on September 15, 1852, the school enrolled its first students.

In the early 1930s the growing and cramped high school began to look toward moving north of the city. In 1933, with the support of the Blake family, Loyola purchased the land known today as Blakefield in Towson, Maryland. In 1941, the students moved to the new campus. Between 1981 and 1988, a Middle School was gradually introduced, and in recognition of the two levels of education, Loyola High School officially became known as Loyola Blakefield.

Physical improvements in recent years have included the construction of Knott Hall which houses the student commons and dining hall, athletic center, and alumni areas, Burk Hall academic wing, renovations to the 60-year-old science laboratories, and construction of an additional section to Wheeler Hall.

Loyola Blakefield has a tradition of honoring alumni from 50 years earlier at its graduation ceremony. "Bring back the men from 50 years before to see a new generation graduate," writes James Maliszewski, whose grandfather died a year before they could have attended together as 1937 and 1987 graduates.

Academics

Among Catholic schools in Baltimore, Loyola Blakefield is highest-ranked in terms of its average graduating SAT scores, number of National Merit Finalists, AP exams taken, and other metrics of achievement. Loyola's students frequently attend leading universities in the United States including Boston College, United States Naval Academy, and Ivy Leagues. Some students received Rhodes Scholarships and other academic honors including membership in the National Honor Society and National Junior Honor Society.

While the curriculum, emphasizing liberal arts and holistic development, is standard for all students, there is increasing flexibility in course selection as one moves from the sixth through twelfth grades. Some extremely popular electives include visual arts, classical languages, history of music, and a wide variety of AP courses.

The Loyola Forensics team, led by English instructor Tom Durkin and later by science teacher Charles Donovan, was the champion of the National Catholic Forensic League in 2005 and 2010. It has also been very successful at the state and district levels, capturing most of the state titles for two decades and the Chesapeake District title in 2011.

Athletics

Loyola Blakefield competes in the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) for all interscholastic sports; in addition to the MIAA, the basketball team is also a member of the Baltimore Catholic League.

The Loyola Blakefield football team also plays every Thanksgiving Day in one of the oldest continual national Catholic high school football rivalries, against cross-town rival Calvert Hall College. The game, known as the Turkey Bowl, is held at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore and broadcast on television and radio by WMAR-TV.

The Loyola lacrosse program is among its most successful. It won eight championships in the 1980s and also won championships in 2001, 2007, 2008, and 2013. In 2007, they defeated Boys' Latin 10-6 in the MIAA championship game. In 2008, they defeated previously undefeated Gilman 12-11 in the championship game at Towson University's Johnny Unitas Stadium before over 8,000 spectators. Loyola has produced numerous players who have continued on to play collegiate lacrosse, including National Lacrosse Hall of Famer John Stewart, and Peter Kimmel. Current teaching staff include recent alumni Matt Pinto and Tim Sullivan.

The soccer program won the Maryland Championship in 2001, 2012, and 2014 and has produced Division I talent. Coach Lee Tschantret, a former longtime player in the Major Indoor Soccer League, won several championships with the Baltimore Blast.

The Loyola basketball program reached regional prominence in the 1970s when it was led by head coach Jerry Savage, who won over 600 games from 1969 to 2003. He produced several Division I players. Savage also coached the 1997 MIAA Championship team, the last championship of any sort for the Dons basketball program. Loyola has been in the most Baltimore Catholic League finals with 13 total and 6 championships. More recently, the program had several disappointing seasons and experienced a four-year period with four different head coaches. Since then Josh Davalli, an All-Metro player at Cardinal Gibbons in the mid-90's, served as varsity head coach while also teaching in the Middle School.

The Loyola Cross country program has had much success, being the first and only team in the MIAA to complete the "Three-peat", then continuing to win six consecutive individual and team titles at the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association championship meet. Under the coaching of Jose Albornoz, the Dons have won 14 MIAA/MSA championships to bring the program's total championships to 15 since its inception.

Loyola was MIAA champions in rugby for three consecutive years from 2008 to 2010, and also in 2013 and 2015.

Notable faculty

Notable alumni