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St. Patrick High School is an all-boys college preparatory Catholic high school located in the Belmont-Cragin neighborhood on the northwest side of Chicago, Illinois. Opened in 1861, it is among the oldest continuously open high schools in the Chicago area.

History

The original school, St. Patrick Academy, was opened by the Christian Brothers 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.

Academics

St. Patrick offers three levels of education to its students: the Phoenix Program for students who need additional academic support, the College Prep Program, and the Honors Program.

Student life

Non-athletic activities

The school also has an academic team, a chess team, band, FIRST Robotics Competition, and dance. The chess team finished second in the IHSA state chess tournament in 1977 and tied for third in 2008. The chess team has had multiple state tournament appearances, and has developed a friendly rivalry with St. Ignatius College Prep.

The cheerleading 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 student play in the winter, one musical in the spring, and one miscellaneous play in the summer as part of its Community Theater Initiative. The school's theatre, the Stahl Family Theatre, is partnered with the Chicago Kids Theatre Company for it being one of the most technologically advanced theaters in the Chicago area.

Athletics

St. Patrick's athletic teams are named the Shamrocks. The school participates in the East Suburban Catholic Conference (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:

• Baseball: 2nd (2005–2006)
• Water Polo: 2nd (2002–2003)
• Volleyball: 4th (2008–2009)
• Soccer: 4th (2017-2018)
• Soccer: 4th (2019-2020)
• Bowling: 4th (2019-2020)

Basketball

In 1932 St. Patrick (at the time called St. Patrick Academy) won the National Catholic Interscholastic Basketball Tournament. The tournament was hosted by Loyola University, and it invited high schools from across the country, including top teams in New York, Texas, and Indiana, all of which were considered powerhouse states for basketball at the high school level. St. Patrick was originally not invited to play in the tournament, but was called in last minute as a substitute when an originally schedule team could not make the tournament.

The national champion Shamrocks defeated the now closed St. Mel (Chicago) Knights 22-20. A young Ray Meyer, famous DePaul University men's basketball coach, lead the Shamrocks with 12 points.

In 1949 St. Patrick captured the Chicago City Championship crown, which had the Chicago Public League champion against the Chicago Catholic League champion.

St. Patrick defeated Leo High School 47-35 securing them their first Chicago Catholic League title. St. Patrick had to play Tilden High School, the Chicago Public League champion, for the City Championship. At Chicago Stadium the Shamrocks upset Tilden 54-53. The Shamrocks trailed throughout the majority of the game, but were able to take the lead in the final minute, and completed the historic upset.

Water polo

The 90's and early 2000's treated the Shamrocks well in terms of water polo. The team won multiple competitions, with dominate winning seasons. The Shamrocks had multiple state finals appearances, and one state title. The water polo team won the ISA (Illinois Swimming Association) 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.

Notable alumni and attendees

• Xavier Pinson (2014-2017) is a college basketball player for Louisiana State University. He previously played for the University of Missouri.
• Bill Keating (1963), trial attorney and former defensive tackle and guard for the Denver Broncos and Miami Dolphins
• Raymond J. Leopold, Ph.D. (1963) Retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel; Former Motorola Vice President and Chief Technical Officer; and MIT Professor of Aerospace Systems. Holder of 27 patents, he served on a team of three engineers who conceived, developed and implemented the Iridium Satellite-Based Telecommunications System, honored in an exhibit in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum.
• Tim McGarigle (2002) Former NFL Player for the St. Louis Rams. Former linebacker for the Northwestern Wildcats
• Ray Meyer (1933) was DePaul men's basketball coach (1942–84) and 1979 inductee to the Basketball Hall of Fame
• John G. Mulroe (1977), lawyer and Democratic Party Illinois state senator
• Joe Rau, international level Greco-Roman wrestler
• New Colony Six (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 Santucci (2002) is a former offensive lineman for the Cincinnati Bengals. Former offensive lineman for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Current school president (2021-Present)
• Jacob Zachar (2004) is an actor (Rusty on the TV series Greek).
• Brian Wheeler (1979) is a former Chicago radio announcer and former NBA announcer, mostly with Portland Trail Blazers until health problems made him retire in 2019.

Notable faculty

• Robert Halperin coached football at St. Patrick. He was an 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.

References

1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on February 24, 2012. Retrieved March 21, 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
2. NCA-CASI. "NCA-Council on Accreditation and School Improvement". Archived from districts/school_district_listings/? the original on April 29, 2009. Retrieved July 28, 2009. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help)
3. ^ History of St. Patrick HS Archived October 6, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
4. ^ "IHSA record page for St. Patrick HS". Ihsa.org. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
5. St. Patrick Cheerleading Archived September 20, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
6. List of athletic teams Archived May 14, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
7. Pruter, Robert. "Catholic High School Basketball Tournaments in Illinois". IHSA.org. Illinois High School Association.
8. Bell, Taylor. "What a season for St. Pat's". Chicago Sun Times – via PressReader.
9. "Boys Water Polo Records Menu". October 25, 2017.
10. 1964 Michigan Football Roster Archived January 16, 2016, at the Wayback Machine at fanbase.com, accessed September 2, 2011
11. "50 Years of the Space Age Ι Motorola Satellite for Iridium". airandspace.si.edu. Archived from the original on April 20, 2009. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
12. http://www.linkedin.com/pub/raymond-j-leopold/8/a80/6b2
13. Goldstein, Richard (March 18, 2006). "Ray Meyer, Former DePaul Coach, Dies at 92". The New York Times. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
14. John G. Mulroe - 10th District Archived August 18, 2011, at the Wayback Machine at ilsenatedems.org, accessed September 2, 2011
15. Band members inducted into Hall of Fame (p. 14-15)
16. "Dan Santucci stats and bio @nfl.com". Nfl.com. Retrieved July 26, 2011.
17. "American Superstar interview with Jacob Zachar". Archived from the original on October 11, 2008. Retrieved July 26, 2011.

External links

• St. Patrick High School (official site)
• IHSFW.com's St. Patrick's football page (news website)

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