Cardinal Dougherty High School
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Cardinal Dougherty High School | |
Location | |
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Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | |
Information | |
Affiliation(s) | Roman Catholic |
Enrollment |
approx. 958 |
School type | High school |
Campus | Rural/Urban |
Motto | CRUCIS IN SIGNO VINCES (CONQUER IN THE SIGN OF THE CROSS) |
Mascot | Cardinals |
Color(s) | Garnet and Gold |
Founded | 1956 |
Homepage | http://www.cardinaldougherty.org/ |
Cardinal Dougherty High School is a private, Roman Catholic high school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia. It is the only Archdiocesan high school to offer Intensive Scheduling, a medical careers health academy curriculum, and a Catholic school teachers academy program.
Contents |
[edit] Background
Cardinal Dougherty was established in 1956 in the Olney section of Philadelphia. The school is named after Cardinal Dennis Joseph Dougherty, archbishop of the Philadelphia diocese from 1918 to 1951. At one point in the 1960's it was the largest Catholic High School in the world, having over 6000 students enrolled.[citation needed] The class of 1968 had over 1200 graduates. The school has over 40,000 total graduates. Enrollment has shrunk over the years. Tuition was approaching $4000 a year a few years ago. In the 1960's it was $200 or less with half of the tuition being paid by the Parish of the student.[1]
[edit] Alumni
Cuttino Mobley, and Kyle Lowry whom are both in the NBA. Harry Swayne (class of 1983 and Rutgers University graduate) played 15 years in the NFL notably earning Super Bowl championship rings with both the Denver Broncos and Baltimore Ravens.
Michael J. Crescenz (Class of 1966) was the only Philadelphian to win the Medal of Honor in Viet Nam. The decoration - the highest U. S. Military award - was posthumously bestowed on for his actions on November 20, 1968.
[edit] Other Notables
Alex Ely, former teacher and soccer coach who played soccer for the USA, is a member of the USA Soccer Hall of fame and even played with Pele. Jack St. Clair, former track and cross country coach he led CD to eight Philadelphia Catholic League and City Cross Country Championships. He was a president of the Intercollegiate Association of Amateur Athletes in America Track and Field Association, and was inducted into the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.
Eddie Polec, a former student, and Philadelphia teenager who was made famous in 1994 by his tragic death when he was brutally beaten and left to die on the front steps of his own church. It was particularly brutal because the perpetrators were teenagers, that Eddie and his friends had done nothing to deserve or incite the violence and also the way in which he was chased down and beaten by baseball bats added to the pain felt by the community. In the aftermath of his murder, Eddie's father, John Polec coped by immersing himself in the issue of 911 reform, which garnered as much publicity as the murder, since more than 20 calls were made to 911 in the 40 minutes before Eddie was attacked, but no police were dispatched. Rather than sue the city, the Polecs made a more fitting tribute to a son's memory by instigating an overhaul of Philadelphia's flawed 911 system. Although it ultimately resulted in positive changes, at first the 911 issue incited racial tensions (because all six 911 operators who were dismissed were black.) There was a book written by Bryn Freedman, and William Knoedelseder about Eddie's death and the trials that ensued for his family and the city. In Eddie's Name: One Family's Triumph over Tragedy that details the intimate moments surrounding his murder and his community, his school, and his friends and family's literal triumph over tragedy.
[edit] The Phantom of Cardinal Dougherty High School
Kevin St. Jude Woczynski, Class of 1973, was a student at Cardinal Dougherty from 1966 to 1973. Due to the Vietnam War, the military draft was started up in 1969, the middle of his Senior year. Realizing he did not have the grades to get into college and he had a low draft number, he deliberately flunked the 2nd semester to avoid graduating. His parents talked to school into letting him repeat his Senior year and he once again received a C average in the 1st Semester and deliberately flunked the 2nd semester. He did this one more year and was allowed "one last" chance, his 4th, to pass his Senior year. The draft was abolished in the spring of 1973 and Kevin suddenly received straight A's for that final semester and received his diploma.[2] '(This is a work of fiction and should not be viewd as fact)'
[edit] External links
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[edit] Notes and references
- ^ CDHS. School History. Cardinal Dougherty High School website. Retrieved on 2007-05-11.
- ^ Dan Leo. Kevin St. Jude Woczynski: The Draft Dodging Phantom of Cardinal Dougherty High School. Retrieved on 2007-05-11.