Jesuit High School (New Orleans)

History

Founding and early history

The College of the Immaculate Conception was founded in 1847 and opened in 1849. It functioned as both a secondary school and a college. The two institutions were located in the Faubourg Ste. Marie neighborhood of New Orleans (now the New Orleans Central Business District), a block upriver from the French Quarter, at the corner of Baronne and Common Streets. The delayed start of the school's first year was due to the spread of Yellow Fever. The school's founder, Jean Baptiste Maisonabe, S.J., himself fell victim to the disease. Maisonabe was succeeded by John Cambiaso, S.J., who was responsible for the design of the Church of the Immaculate Conception.

The Church of the Immaculate Conception remains on the original campus and plays an active role in the Jesuit High School community today.

Move to Carrollton & Banks

In 1911, the high school and college divisions were split, and the college division relocated to St. Charles Avenue, eventually becoming Loyola University New Orleans. The high school remained on Baronne Street until 1926, when it was moved to its current location at 4133 Banks Street in Mid-City.

Since 1926, several additions have been made to the campus. In 1953, a wing was added along Palmyra Street; the addition included an auditorium, the Chapel of the North American Martyrs, a cafeteria, a library, several classrooms, and a band room. A recreation center and gym were built across Banks Street in 1957 to support athletic teams and physical education programs.

A resource center featuring a school library, additional classrooms, and science facilities was built in 1974. The area was upgraded again in 2001, when the Student Commons was constructed on the first floor beneath the Resource Center. Further renovations were made to the school after Hurricane Katrina.

In 2012, John Ryan Stadium, a baseball and multi-purpose sports stadium, was constructed at 100 Blue Jay Way in Metairie, LA, marking the school's expansion into Jefferson Parish.

Recent leadership

In recent times, Fr. Raymond Fitzgerald, S.J., (Class of 1976) served as school president and was succeeded by 1966 graduate Fr. Anthony McGinn, S.J. In May 2015, it was announced that Fr. Chris Fronk, S.J., on active duty as a U.S. Navy chaplain, would serve as the school's 30th president, and he assumed office in November 2016. In January 2020, Fr. Chris Fronk, S.J., stepped down as school president. Fr. John Brown, S.J., the current school president, took over the role in 2020, becoming the school's 31st president.

The current principal is Jeremy Reuther (Class of 2001).

Mascot, colors, and logo

The mascot is a Blue Jay posed with his fists raised, designed by cartoonist Walt Kelly of Pogo fame. A contest among students was held to name the mascot in 1954, and the name "Jayson" won.

The school's colors are blue and white to honor the Virgin Mary. Student athletes wear a white sweater with a blue letter "J" on it and were referred to as the "Blue Js"—hence the eventual selection of the mascot. As with many Jesuit schools, the school's motto is Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam ("For the Greater Glory of God").

Athletics

Jesuit athletics competes in the LHSAA.

Athletic history

Since 1933, Jesuit has won various state championships in football, basketball, baseball, wrestling, and soccer. The 1946 athletic year yielded undefeated state champions in baseball, basketball, track and field, and football—all coached by G. Gernon Brown. It has been said that Jesuit had "All the Tricks in '46."

In the 2004–2005 school year, Jesuit won state championships in baseball, cross country, soccer, tennis, wrestling, rugby, and swimming, and went to the state playoffs in football with an undefeated regular season. In 2012, Jesuit built Ryan Stadium, a facility accommodating football, baseball, and soccer on a field covered entirely with artificial turf.

Baseball

From 2007 to 2009, Jesuit made it to the state tournament three times, and twice to the American Legion playoffs winning one championship. In August 2012, Jesuit's baseball team won the American Legion World Series. Jesuit's American Legion teams also won the national championship in 1946 and 1960. Jesuit won the Louisiana State High School Athletic Association Division I state championship in 2021{{Cite web|url=https://www.nola.com/sports/high_schools/article_4c30132e-b5cc-11eb-9874-0302c321b475.html

Basketball

In the 1965, 1966, and 1967 seasons, Jesuit won three state championships in succession.

Cross-Country

In 2005, Jesuit became the first 5A school in Louisiana to win three state championships in a row in the sport of cross country. In 2006, they continued with a 4th cross country state championship.

Football

In football, the rivalry between Jesuit High School and Holy Cross High School is the oldest continuous high school rivalry in Louisiana and one of the oldest continuous high school football rivalries in the United States. The teams first met in 1922, when Jesuit won 52–0. They have played every year since.

The schools met twice in both 1963 and 2023. In 1963, they played once during the regular season and again in the state championship game, which Holy Cross won. In 2023, the teams met during the regular season and later in the regional round of the state playoffs, also won by Holy Cross. Jesuit teams are known as the Blue Jays, while Holy Cross teams are known as the Tigers.

Jesuit has won eight state football championships, in 1933, 1940, 1941, 1943, 1946, 1953, 1960, and 2014. The 2014 title marked the program’s first championship appearance since 1978.

In the 2014 championship game, Jesuit defeated John Curtis 17–14 to win the Division I state title. Running back Charles Jackson was named the game’s most valuable player.

Golf

Jesuit won the state championship twice in the late 1990s.

Lacrosse

In 2014, Jesuit New Orleans won the 2014 Allstate Sugar Bowl Lacrosse Classic, with 14 schools competing from Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, and Alabama. In 2021, the Lacrosse team won the Louisiana High School Lacrosse state championship after completing an undefeated season.

Rugby

In the 2007–2008 season, the rugby team won the State Championship for the sixth consecutive year with an undefeated season, only allowing 12 points while scoring over 300. Because of a conflict with the senior prom, the team was forced to play in the more difficult multi-school division at the Southern Regionals in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. After success in regionals, the team moved on to become 8th in the country in the multi-school division at the USA Rugby Boys High School National Championship. In 2017, the Blue Jays reclaimed the State Championship, winning the title for the first time since 2011, with an overtime victory over the Bayou Hurricanes, 25–22. In 2018, the Blue Jays remained the State Champions with a victory over the Brother Martin Crusaders, 22–12.

Soccer

In the 1998–1999 season, 2006–2007 season, 2008–2009 season, and also the 2009–2010 season, Jesuit fielded one of the most successful soccer teams in the nation, winning the Louisiana state title and, in all four cases, ending the season undefeated. This record earned the Jesuit team high national rankings: #3 in 1998–99, #2 in 2006–2007, #1 in 2008–2009, and #3 in 2009–2010. In the three seasons from 2009–2011, the soccer team had a 94-game unbeaten streak, which is the fourth longest unbeaten streak in the country. Jesuit won additional soccer state championships in 2018 and 2024.

Swimming

Jesuit Swimming holds the LHSAA record for most consecutive state championships in any sport, with 18 straight championships. As of November 20, 2010, Jesuit Swimming had captured 36 state championships. The streak was broken in 2005 when the team, still feeling the effects of Hurricane Katrina, was only able to field 12 swimmers, yet managed to take second place, only a few points out of first. In 2006, however, the team was able to recapture the state championship.

Wrestling

In wrestling within the state of Louisiana, Jesuit's rival Holy Cross was the perennial state champs under Br. Melchior Polowy in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. Then in 1969, Jesuit hired Surachai "Sam" Harnsongkram as its new wrestling coach. In 1972, the Jesuit High School Blue Jays won the first of 18 State Championships under Coach Sam, including 11 in a row from 1988–1998. Before the 1972 win, Jesuit's only state championship was in 1951. And since that string-of-11 (ending in 1998), Jesuit has won 4 more state wrestling championships, with the last being in 2009. High School wrestling in Louisiana became much more visible starting in the 1990s, resulting in other schools developing programs to challenge the "leaders." From 1999–2015, Jesuit won 4 more state championships and was runner-up in all other years. Jesuit won the Louisiana Division I wrestling championship in 2024.

Hurricane Katrina

When the flooding following the landfall of the Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, Jesuit High School was inundated, five feet (1.5 m) of water ruining the ground floor. When the school announced that it was closed indefinitely, many students enrolled in schools in cities where they had evacuated. The largest concentration of students attended a satellite school at Strake Jesuit College Preparatory in Houston; at one point, approximately 420 displaced students attended classes at night with their own teachers and classmates. In mid-October 2005, Jesuit opened another satellite school at St. Martin's Episcopal School in Metairie in unincorporated Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, where about 500 students attended until Thanksgiving. After Thanksgiving, Jesuit's students and faculty returned to their own campus, becoming the first flooded school in New Orleans to reopen—albeit with an unusable first floor. The school held its annual Thanksgiving Drive for the poor living in the surrounding neighborhoods. On January 23, 2006, 1,285 of the 1,450 students returned to attend Jesuit for the second semester. After the Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico in 2017, Jesuit hosted students from Colegio San Ignacio in Puerto Rico.

History of sexual abuse

There have been several instances of child sexual abuse at the school. Numerous lawsuits accuse priests, employees, and school administrators of sexual harassment, groping, fondling, oral rape, and group rape of young boys on campus. The Jesuit order confirmed that at least fourteen priests assigned to Jesuit High were credibly accused of sexual abuse. Several other priests and employees at the school have also been confirmed by the administration as abusers, and the school has paid undisclosed settlements to the families.

The school has been accused of using alumni donations to cover the payments to sexual abuse victims. The administration also knowingly hired a convicted pedophile as head janitor.

In 2018, the president of Jesuit High School said that he was "horrified" by the sexual abuse at the school dating back to the "disgusting time in our history" of the 1970s.

Notable alumni

In 1978, James K. Glassman in The Atlantic wrote that "Practically every white Orleanian of note went to Jesuit”.

In chronological order:

• Larry Gilbert (Class of 1910), MLB player (Boston Braves)
• Felix Edward Hebert (Class of 1920), U.S. Congressman (1940–1976)
• Robert B. Landry (Class of 1927), United States military officer
• Hap Glaudi
• Charlie Gilbert (Class of 1937), MLB player (Brooklyn Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies)
• Fats Dantonio (Class of 1938), MLB player (Brooklyn Dodgers)
• Connie Ryan (Class of 1938), MLB player and MLB manager
• Jimmy Fitzmorris (Class of 1939), Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana (1972–1980)
• Ray Coates (Class of 1944), MVP 1947 Cotton Bowl, member of LSU’s 1946 Southeastern Conference championship baseball team
• Adrian G. Duplantier (Class of 1945), United States federal judge
• Putsy Caballero (Class of 1946), MLB player (Philadelphia Phillies)
• Tookie Gilbert (Class of 1947), MLB player (New York Giants)
• John Petitbon (Class of 1947), Notre Dame and National Football League player
• Donald Wetzel (Class of 1947), inventor of the modern, networked Automated Teller Machine (ATM)
• Buddy Diliberto (Class of 1948), Hall of Fame television and radio sportscaster.
• Moon Landrieu (Class of 1948), Mayor of New Orleans (1970–1978) and Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
• John Grenier (Class of 1948), Alabama attorney and Republican Party figure
• Clyde F. Bel, Jr. (Class of 1951), businessman and state representative for Orleans Parish, 1964–1972 and 1975–1980
• John R. Bourgeois (Class of 1951), served as the 25th director of The President’s Own Marine Band for 17 years.
• Marv Breeding (Class of 1952), MLB player (Baltimore Orioles, Washington Senators, Los Angeles Dodgers)
• John Favalora (Class of 1954), Archbishop of Miami, Florida (1994–2010)
• John Volz (Class of 1954), attorney for United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana
• A. J. McNamara (Class of 1954), member of Louisiana House of Representatives, 1976–1980; judge for U.S. District Court, 1982–2001
• Richie Petitbon (Class of 1955), Tulane University and National Football League player, Washington Redskins head coach
• Rusty Staub (Class of 1961), Major League Baseball player, 6-time All-Star, New York Mets Hall of Fame
• Pat Screen (Class of 1961), state champion 1960, LSU quarterback, Mayor-President of East Baton Rouge Parish (1981–1988)
• Jim Donelon (Class of 1962), Louisiana insurance commissioner
• Jay Thomas (Class of 1966), actor (Eddie LeBec of Cheers, Murphy Brown) and radio personality (Sirius Satellite Radio, Channel 104 M-TH, Channel 101 F)
• Jason Berry (Class of 1967), investigative journalist, book author, and historian
• Jay Zainey (Class of 1969), Federal District Court judge, appointed by President George W. Bush
• Paul Schott Stevens (Class of 1970), attorney, serving on the National Security Council under President Ronald Reagan
• Steve Foley (Class of 1971), NFL player (Denver Broncos)
• Jim Gaudet (Class of 1973), MLB player (Kansas City Royals)
• Christopher Drew (Class of 1974), journalist and book author
• Michael T. Dugan (Class of 1975), educator and accounting scholar
• Ellis Henican (Class of 1976), journalist and voice actor
• Christian LeBlanc (Class of 1976), actor (Michael Baldwin of The Young and the Restless)
• Marc Morial (Class of 1976), Mayor of New Orleans (1994–2002)
• Brett Giroir (Class of 1978), Physician Scientist, Assistant Secretary for Health (2018-2021), former four-star admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps
• Mitch Landrieu (Class of 1978), Mayor of New Orleans and Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana
• Dan Clancy (Class of 1981), technologist and computer scientist for NASA & Google, CEO of Twitch
• Fred LeBlanc (Class of 1981), drummer and singer in rock band Cowboy Mouth
• Will Clark (Class of 1982), Major League Baseball player, 6-time All-Star, Gold Glove winner
• Fred Weller (Class of 1984), Broadway and television actor
• Harry Connick, Jr. (Class of 1985), musician, recording artist, actor and television personality
• Michael Smith (Class of 1989), former NFL wide receiver
• Jay Duplass (Class of 1991), filmmaker
• Cameron Henry (Class of 1992), business analyst and Louisiana state legislator
• David Guas (Class of 1993), celebrity chef, TV personality, restaurateur and cookbook author
• Mark Duplass (Class of 1995), filmmaker, actor
• Michael White (Class of 1995), men's head basketball coach at the University of Georgia
• Brandon Long (Class of 1995), federal judge for the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, former FBI deputy chief of staff
• Walt Leger III (Class of 1996), attorney and state legislator, former Speaker Pro Tempore, Louisiana House of Representatives
• Christian N. Weiler (Class of 1997), tax lawyer
• Corey Hilliard (Class of 2003), football player
• Johnny Giavotella (Class of 2005), second baseman for Kansas City Royals
• Ryan Adams (Class of 2006), MLB player (Baltimore Orioles)
• Ruby (Suicideboys) (Class of 2008) Musical Artist
• Patrick Mullins (Class of 2010), professional soccer player
• Kyle Keller, (Class of 2011), MLB player, currently (Miami Marlins)
• Deion Jones (Class of 2012), linebacker for LSU,
• Tanner Lee (Class of 2013), quarterback for Jacksonville Jaguars
• Foster Moreau (Class of 2015), tight end for LSU, selected in the fourth round (137th pick overall) in the 2019 NFL draft by the Oakland Raiders

Notable students (attended but did not graduate)

• Edward Douglass White (Class of 1865), Chief Justice of the United States
• Malcolm John Rebennack, Jr., known by his stage name Dr. John
• Louis Prima (transferred to Warren Easton High School in 1926)
• Alois "Al" Hirt ‘39, trumpeter and entertainer
• Stephen Stills, guitar player with Buffalo Springfield and Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young.

References

References

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