Northeast Catholic High School

History

Northeast Catholic High School for Boys was opened in September 1926 as the fourth Diocesan High School in Philadelphia. The site for the school was purchased from the Pennsylvania Railroad Company for $150,000. The new students were welcomed at the first assembly, held in the gym, by the Rev. Joseph Butler, OSFS, the Principal and Superior. On September 28, the first classes were held.

The Falcon was chosen as a symbol of the school for three reasons: It is "a bird of prey that never lets go of what it has captured; it is completely faithful to its trainer; and it is the fastest of God's creatures". The students also chose Cardinal Red and White as the school colors: Cardinal Red in appreciation of Dennis Cardinal Dougherty's sponsorship of the school, and White for purity and fidelity. In 1928, the school newspaper, The Good News, was born followed by the founding of The Falcon, the North Catholic Yearbook in 1929.

Early years

In September 1927, North Catholic entered inter-scholastic competition with a football schedule of eight games. Their first win was over LaSalle 7-6 at the old Frankford Stadium.

October 5, 1928, marked the first of the traditional neighborhood rivalry game between "North & Frankford". Frankford won the game 20-7. In 1930 the game against Frankford would be played on Thanksgiving morning and continue on uninterrupted for 80 years until the final game in 2009 with North prevailing 26-22 on a last second TD.

June 12, 1929, marked the first commencement of the school. Bishop Gerald O'Hara presented the diplomas to the 98 "Class of 1929" graduates.

The 1929 Basketball team would win the school its first Catholic League Championship. The Falcons also won in 1932 & 1935. The 1929 soccer team (class of '30) won the City Title in soccer (soccer was not a PCL sport at this time).

By the fall of 1935, North's enrollment had climbed to 2,300 students. The school was originally built to accommodate 1,500. To solve the problem of needed space, a freshman annex was opened at the Visitation Parish School in Bridesburg

From 1934 to 1937 North's football team, Coached by Si Simendinger featuring players like future NFL stars Frank Reagan & Bucko Kilroy, won 4 straight League Championships.

World War II

Shortly after the bombing of Pearl Harbor, the U.S. Government sought men for the armed forces who had some knowledge of engineering and technical skills. A night school was established at North, and instructors from nearby colleges and universities conducted the classes. These courses continued until the end of World War Two.

The school year of 1942 opened with an enrollment of 3,159 students. On November 23, 1942, an Open House attracted over 5,000 people to visit the displays marking the achievements of North Catholic. By this time, over 1,200 alumni were serving in the armed forces. Among the graduates of 1942 who served in World War II was Joseph Francis Kuhn who would return to Philadelphia and launch a successful music composing career.

While many high schools were forced to cancel their Spring Sports programs due to the large number of students working part-time in the War industries, North was able to field championship teams in baseball, track and crew.

On September 4, 1945, 1,186 freshmen reported to North, and the total enrollment was 3,503. Since North was the only Catholic High School in the entire Northeast and suburbs at this time, students travelled from neighborhoods like North Philadelphia, Germantown, Mount Airy, Logan, Olney, & Wayne Junction as well as Mayfair, Tacony and the entire Far Northeast. This was due to the school's access to Frankford Station including trolleys, buses and the "El" to many parts of town and beyond. Some students even took the rail lines and buses and came to North from suburban areas such as Bristol, Jenkintown, Willow Grove, Glenside and Bensalem, PA. After the 1950s and the building of several new Catholic High Schools, the traditional nearby Parishes in Neighborhoods such as Frankford, Fishtown, Port Richmond, Bridesburg, Wissinoming & Kensington remained the core of NC students.

Post World War II

1946 found North filled beyond capacity. Enrollment was up to 4,050, and additional freshman annexes were opened at St Anne, St Bartholomew, St Adalbert, St Helena and other grade schools.

The Alumni Association undertook the task of designing and constructing a shrine to honor those alumni who gave their lives in World War II. On June 5, 1949, the shrine of Our Lady of Fatima was dedicated as a memorial to the 183 North Catholic alumni who paid the supreme sacrifice. Since 1949 that total has risen to 265 Alumni who have died for their country.

By 1948, the student population had grown to over 4,300 students. Due to the overcrowding at North the Archdiocese took some students from traditional feeder parishes like Visitation BVM in Kensington and sent them across town on the "El" to attend West Catholic during the early 1950s. These students sometimes referred to themselves as "The lost boys of North" since their male family members before and after them usually attended North. This was ended once Father Judge and Cardinal Dougherty were built in the mid-1950s.

September 1953 saw Northeast Catholic recognized as the world's largest Catholic high school for boys. The population of 4,726 students from 98 parishes was served by 109 Oblates, 9 nuns, and 14 laymen.

The school year beginning September 1954, marked the first decrease in enrollment in a decade because of the newly opened Father Judge High School.

September 1955 was remarkable in that for the first time in 16 years, freshmen attended classes in the Main Building. On June 8, 1956, 1,103 seniors graduated - the largest class ever.

The North Catholic Football Team under Head Coach Jack Gillepie won League titles in '49 '50 '52 & '56 and City Titles in 3 of those 4 years. The basketball team returned to its glory days of the 1930s by winning back to back PCL championships in 1956 & 1957. They also won the 1956 City Title.

In the 50's three NC graduates, Frank Fendler '52, Tom Keifer '53, and Jack Meehan '53, were appointed to and graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy.

The 60s forward

The 1958 academic year showed an enrollment below 3000 for the first time in 20 years. In September 1960, Rev. Edward Conlin replaced Fr. Tocik as Rector of Northeast Catholic. In September 1962, Rev. Edward Corcoran, Class of 1932 replaced Fr. Conlin as Rector; the first time an alumnus headed the school.

The fall of 1963 marked the seventh consecutive Catholic League title for the soccer team, and they repeated in 1964. They also won City Titles in 1959 & 1962.

North Catholic's Drama Department became well known in the city for producing top-notch shows. The department's "golden years" between 1967 and 1973, produced some of the best shows in the school's history. For many of those years, the school did a comedy in the fall, a drama in the winter and a musical in the spring. The school's impressive band, featured in its own concerts, was among the highlights of the spring musical.

The 1967 Basketball team led by Hank Siemiontkowski took the PCL and City Championships But it was the 1968 basketball season that brought national recognition to Northeast Catholic. On the day of the 1st round of the Catholic League playoffs, Jack Friel, Hon. 1970, Head coach and school disciplinarian, chose to suspend the entire varsity team due to a violation of team rules. Instead the junior varsity team took the floor at the Palestra and defeated Bishop McDevitt High. The incredible story made national news.

The 1971 school year was marked by the Model U.N. Debating team, coached by Rev. John J.Hurley, OSFS, winning a first-place award at the Harvard University Model UN with an all junior lineup. For the third consecutive year, in 1973, North captured first-place awards at the Harvard Model UN Championship.

In 1974, the Model U.N. Debating team, under the coaching of Rev. John J.Hurley, OSFS, won the first national championship in the school's history. President Richard M. Nixon invited the team to the White House Rose Garden for a recognition ceremony. Nixon's resignation in August 1974 derailed the ceremony and it was never held. The Debate team continued its streak by taking the National Championships in Washington, DC, in 1975 and the bicentennial year, 1976.

In the fall of 1977 the school year opened with 2,384 students. North Catholic Baseball won the PCL & City Titles in the Spring of 1977. 1978 marked the 50th Anniversary of the North-Frankford football rivalry. A large crowd of over 20,000 was present at Vet Stadium to see North win 21-14.

The Soccer team won the PCL title in 1974 and both the Catholic League & City Titles in 1970, 1975, 1977, 1978 & 1979. The City Title was discontinued in 1980. When it was reinstated by PIAA in 2008 North again took the PCL & City titles. The 1981 & 1986 Falcons won 2 more PCL Baseball crowns.

In the winter of 1989 there were 1,172 students, including 11 black persons. Around that time there were two fights between black and white students. By December 26 every black student in the 12th grade (senior class) had left the school: one student who had involvement in two fights was expelled and four others voluntarily changed schools. One white student was expelled, and that student and two others received criminal charges for ethnic intimidation, comspiracy, simple assault, and recklessly endangering another person.

2001–present

In 1989, under the guidance of Rev. John Hurley OSFS, The Model U.N. Debating team began another rise towards national recognition, taking second place in the North American Invitational Model U.N. (NAIMUN), then the largest Model U.N. event in the world. This was followed by a first places wins at NAIMUM in 1990 and 1991. In May 2006, 2007, and 2008, Northeast Catholic High School, in cooperation with Father Judge High School and Salesianum School, won the UNA-USA World Championships, which were held in the United Nations in New York City.

The NC baseball team won its 11th PCL crown in 1995. Soccer continued to be a playoff contender every season with PCL titles coming in 1990, 1999, 2001, 2002 and 2008. When the City Championship series was reinstated by the PIAA in 2008, North again took the city soccer title. The wrestling team, which was begun in the mid-1970s, became the most dominant sport at North from 1990 forward. From 1991 until its closing in 2010, the NC wrestling team won a league-best 13 PCL team titles in 20 years. The bowling team also won the PCL title three years in a row (2005, 2006 and 2007).

In more recent years, North Catholic added a brand new computer lab and Information Technology Academy. Students achieved certification in various Microsoft applications. In addition to computer courses, there was a computer workshop where students learned how to actually repair computers and see the inner workings of the hard drive and monitor. North had a three to one student to computer ratio which was the highest in the city at that time. I.T. certification and computer literacy courses were included in the students tuition at no extra cost. Adults could also take computer courses in the evening at a greatly reduced cost.

NC also developed a Cartoonist Society and Journalism course to help prepare students for a variety of careers as they enter the new millennium. North's 15 to 1 student to teacher ratio was also the best in the archdiocese. Entering the new millennium, North Catholic teachers were among the longest tenured in the archdiocese.

Prior to closing, the Language Department offered Latin, Spanish, German and French. In 2009, the school also offered Chinese and Italian. The Language Department also offered a Greek language course in the summer for students who excel in Latin and other languages. In June 2008, eight students traveled to the Yucatán peninsula in Mexico with the Spanish Club. North Catholic has had several recent graduates accepted into the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School for Business. NC also sent many graduates to Penn State University as well as all of the Big 5 universities and Drexel University. North has a particularly strong connection with St Joseph's, LaSalle and Temple Universities. Many North Catholic Graduates are members of the Philadelphia Police and Fire Departments as well as strongly represented in the area labor unions.

Closing

On October 8, 2009, Cardinal Justin Rigali announced at a press conference, held at the unusual time of 7 P.M. during a Phillies playoff game, that the school would be closing, effective the end of the 2009-2010 school year, along with Cardinal Dougherty High School. Enrollment had dropped 29% in the last decade and was forecast to decline by an additional 24 percent in the next three years, leading to the decision to close. There are several opinions that the Cardinal chose these two schools due to their surrounding neighborhoods. Fifteen months after its closure, the building that housed North Catholic High School for 84 years was sold to a charter school.

In September, 2011, The Marianna Bracetti Academy Charter School purchased the North Catholic building and campus at 1842 Torresdale Ave. from the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia for $3.5 million. Bracetti originally opened in 2000 and serves 1,155 students in grades six to 12. Its former location was at 2501 Kensington Ave., 2.3 miles away. MBA Charter welcomed students to the North Catholic building site to begin the 2013/14 school year.

Due to the closing, the head of the board of the Friends of Northeast Catholic High School (FONECHS), Jason Marquess, said that because the archdiocese closed his school, he would no longer give money to the archdiocese.

Academics

All NC students had to complete four years of English and theology, three years of mathematics, science and social studies, one year of physical education/health and a half year in word processing and service. Electives were available in foreign languages (French, German, Latin and Spanish), television production, computer science, business/accounting, journalism, art and music.

Online AP Classes

A new AP ON-Line program began in September 2007.

Several students chose AP courses offered in conjunction with College Board and Keystone Virtual.

In addition to the AP classes offered in school (Literature, Language, and Calculus), the following AP courses were offered on-line: European History, US History, US Government, and Psychology.

Clubs

Athletics

North Catholic participated in the Philadelphia Catholic League (PCL) since 1926 as well as the PIAA since 2008 in the following sports: baseball, basketball, bowling, crew, cross country, football, indoor track, golf, lacrosse, outdoor track, soccer, and wrestling. Swimming & Tennis also had teams which were discontinued before the school closed. North also skated an Ice Hockey Club Team & had a Rugby Club Team. Even though the school was closed, the hockey team played for one final season with both a varsity and a junior varsity teams . Among those coaching the team were Timothy McCrane, class of 82, Art Myers, class of 81 and Michael Gorey, class of 78. Michael also played for Norths first hockey team in 77-78 and had a part in starting that first team. There was also an archery club team in 77-78. During World War II & Korean Conflict, North had an Aviation Club which helped prepare graduates for Service in the US Armed forces.

The "NC Soccer Hall of Fame" can be found by visiting the website dedicated to their sport: www.northcatholicsoccer.com

LIST OF NORTH CATHOLIC FALCONS PHILADELPHIA CATHOLIC LEAGUE CHAMPIONS

Rectors/Principals of Northeast Catholic High

Thanksgiving Day Football Game - North Catholic vs Frankford HS

From 1930 to 2009, This annual football game was traditionally played on Thanksgiving morning at 9:45AM - making it the first game played in America each Thanksgiving Day. In the 82 games played during the series North led the rivalry 42-34-4. The games have been played at Temple U Stadium, Franklin Field, Shibe Park, Frankford Memorial Stadium & Veteran's Stadium (for the 50th Anniversary game). Crowds for some of the games was more than 20,000.

Year by Year results in North Catholic vs Frankford series, North 42 wins -FKD 34 wins -Ties 4

Trivia

Notable alumni