School History
St. Anthony High School – Our Story
"Whether we will it or not, we cannot journey without leaving footprints,
and others will follow where we go because we have marked the way."
With those words, Sister Mary Gabriel of the Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary opened wide the doors of the only Catholic secondary school in Long Beach in 1920.
Who would have predicted the long legacy of St. Anthony High School back in 1920, when a rudimentary two-story frame building housed a handful of Catholic teenagers and a small faculty sought an alternative to Long Beach's public education system?
The Beginnings
In reality, the story of the St. Anthony High School of 1920 can be traced to a time much earlier, starting with the founding of the parish. In 1916, Fr. Reardon, pastor of St. Anthony parish, asked four Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary to come to Long Beach. They taught at the second St. Anthony's elementary school building that was dedicated in 1919. It was a single-story frame building with six rooms and no halls or cloakrooms. The entry into each room was from the exterior porches, or through connector doors in each classroom. 125 pupils attended school that fall of 1919. By the end of that first school year, four boys and eight girls received their eighth-grade diplomas. During the summer of 1920, Fr. Reardon had a second story added to the grade school, and this provided the rooms for the first St. Anthony High School. By September 1920, the nucleus of the founding high school students started at St. Anthony, with Sister Gabriel, IHM, as founding principal. The building was located behind the church, facing Sixth Street (approximately where Errion Gym is now).
In 1922, St. Anthony High School received full accreditation from the University of California at Berkeley, entitling graduates to enter any university without examination.
That same year – 1922 – marked a turning point for the parish and school grounds. Fr. Hegarty (the pastor appointed after Fr. Reardon) was concerned with the increasingly crowded southeast corner of Sixth and Olive. The Elementary and High Schools, the Church, the Sisters' Convent and playgrounds were all situated on one quarter block. Acquiring more property on this same block looked grim until one of the building and advisory committee members traded some flats he owned across the street, deeding them over to the church. This was to be the location of the new school. The Convent was moved across Sixth Street, so the sisters could be closer to the new school site and room was made near the church for a new rectory.
Paralleling the growth of the Catholic school population was the population of Long Beach in general. The discovery of oil on Signal Hill, along with the ease of mobility afforded by the railroads, the Pacific Electric car, and the automobile, caused a population boom throughout the Southland. Public schools were bursting at the seams and new Catholic parishes were being planned throughout the city. But, St. Anthony was still the first parish in Long Beach and the hub.
In late 1926, Fr. Hegarty started his building program, calling for a two and a half story grammar school with a rooftop playground and a basement for club and parish activities located on Olive just north of Sixth, together with a one-story high school located adjacent to the church. These school buildings were designed in the popular Collegiate Gothic style of the day. They were finally dedicated in May 1927 at an outdoor ceremony officiated by Bishop Cantwell attended by 20 priests and 5000 people.
Earthquake, Recovery, and Growth
Fr. Robert E. Lucey succeeded Fr. Hegarty as pastor in 1929. The Long Beach Earthquake of March 10, 1933 focused Fr. Lucey's attention to the physical needs of the parish and school. The two-story grammar school (where the high school is located today) had sustained earthquake damage, but it could be shored up and reinforced with concrete pillars both inside and out. It was re-dedicated in October 1939. The high school across the street and next to the church was not so lucky. Although only one-story, a second earthquake on October 2, 1933 brought this building to the point of no return. The Church suffered the same fate.
At the same time, the 1933 earthquake set into motion a building program that would bring St. Anthony High School to its current situation. The Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary continued to teach all grades through high school, using the two-story grammar school building where the high school is located today. Children were crammed in every square inch of the school.
Despite the tight quarters, the Saints launched a tradition of athletic prowess winning their first league championship in football in 1935. The first publication of the yearbook, The Anthonian, occurred in 1935. The year 1938 saw the appointment of Monsignor Bernard J. Dolan as pastor of St. Anthony Church, a place he lovingly and generously served for the next 30 years until his death in 1968.
Separate Boys and Girls High Schools
Monsignor Dolan, recognizing the burgeoning need for Catholic education, took on the challenge of establishing a separate boys' high school. In April 1941, he purchased additional land on Olive and Seventh Street and in June of that same year the foundation for the boys' building was laid. Around this same time, Msgr. Dolan with Fr. John Cavanaugh, C.S.C. (a visiting Holy Cross Priest from the University of Notre Dame) conceived a plan for the Brothers of Holy Cross to lead this boys' school in the west. Msgr. Dolan started the wheels in motion – The Holy Cross Brothers would staff the Boys School and the IHM Sisters would continue to teach the girls. Now, with Msgr. Dolan's building plan in place, there would be separate schools for each.
The 1941 building on Seventh and Olive included a library and science laboratories. That first year over 400 students were enrolled, and the new student body moved in around Christmas time, 1941.
Once the separate schools were established and the faculty was firmly in place, St. Anthony High School took off. A series of "firsts" happened in quick succession.
The first edition of The Paduan, the student newspaper, rolled off the presses. The year 1945 saw the inaugural GAA Girls' Basketball Tournament held in the Armory which rapidly became the preeminent tournament for girls among all Catholic high schools in Southern California. The girls quickly established themselves with their first championship.
In 1947 a track of land located at Clark and Del Amo was gifted to the high school for athletics and "Clark Field" became a remote part of the campus hosting athletic teams for both boys and girls. Clark Field continues today as "The Home of the Saints," and its green fields have witnessed some of the best of the Saints' athletic prowess, most notably the 1948 and 2016 CIF Championship Football Teams.
The late 1940s began a period of record-setting success in all sports. Football, baseball, volleyball, and track produced not only team championships but also individual awards that brought national recognition. The year 1948 saw the opening of the gymnasium known at the "St. Anthony Catholic Center" where to this day the Latin inscription Mens Sana in Corpore Sano (Healthy Minds Healthy Bodies) are emblazoned in the concrete façade over the entrance. Movie producers and television studios have discovered the timeless significance of the storied gym. It has become a much sought-after site by Hollywood, for film and television productions, most recently the movie Coach Carter.
Decade of Growth
The 1950s ushered in a growing awareness of the importance of a Catholic education and morals in an increasingly unstable world. With the Cold War arriving on the heels of World War II, the 248 graduates of the Class of 1958 were cautioned in the commencement ceremony about the dangers of a world filled with atomic weapons and the need for St. Anthony graduates to find ways to help humanity. In the late 1950s, "Saints Pride" became a matter of record when Fr. James O'Callaghan, along with 1200, alumni founded the Alumni Association. Their work has paid off with dividends. Of more than 16,600 graduates, over 8,000 are recorded in an ever-expanding data base, helping ensure continued connection between graduates throughout the decades.
The first of many league championships in track and baseball were won in 1953.
Highs and Lows
Early in 1960 the school cafeteria opened at the 6th and California (now Gumbiner Park) location. With 1765 students, the 1964-1965 School Year would be the largest in the school's history and historical as the baby-boomer population expanded St. Anthony to the largest Catholic high school enrollment west of Chicago. In 1965 the Watts Riots brought racial tension to the forefront throughout the Southland. In 1968, our beloved and tireless Msgr. Dolan died, leaving an unparalleled legacy. Msgr. Ernest Gualderon became the new pastor just as the implementation of the Second Vatican Council changes were trickling into the Archdiocese of Los Angeles.
The Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary – a founding rock of St. Anthony schools – were torn between implementing the changes established by Vatican II and the conservative approach to the Council advocated by the Archbishop. This struggle between the Sisters and the Archdiocese epitomized the internal struggle many Catholics experienced during the turbulent 1960s. It was truly the end of an era in 1969 when the Sisters departed the school. Their 50 years of selfless dedication to the students and families of St. Anthony will remain as a firm foundation of the school forever.
Return to a Coeducational High School
St. Anthony High School celebrated fifty years of age in 1970. In 1971 the Boys' and Girls' High Schools joined and officially became one co-educational institution once again. The changes mandated by Vatican II were beginning to take effect throughout the Church. Msgr. Gualderon invited many congregations of women religious to join the faculty and administration. They included the Franciscan Sisters of Syracuse, Sisters of St. Joseph of Cluny, Sisters of Charity of the Incarnate Word, Sisters of the Holy Cross, Carmelites, Dominicans, and Religious Sisters of Charity. A further commitment in 1978 led to a better learning environment with the opening of the Educational Development Reading Laboratory in the "A" building, formerly known as the Girls' School. The facility was funded by the SAHS Foundation, established in 1973 by Msgr. Gualderon, and the Social Justice/Peace Funds provided by the Brothers of Holy Cross, South-West Province. The 1970s also saw the Boys Basketball program dominate the highly competitive Angelus League.
Continuing the Tradition of Excellence
At the same time, the St. Anthony neighborhood became beleaguered by the same problems facing many inner cities and downtown areas throughout the nation. The City of Long Beach was experiencing a decline in urban investment, as middle-class families sought the relative security of suburban settings. This challenge for the school was met head-on, as throughout the 1980's St. Anthony continued a tradition of academic and athletic excellence. The 1982 Boys Basketball Team played in the CIF Final Four, the Boys' and Girls' Track and Cross-Country Teams enjoyed banner years, Girls' Volleyball soared to new heights, while Baseball and Football enjoyed championship seasons. Academics made their way into the championship arena with a first-place finish in the Long Beach Centennial Academic Bowl in 1988, with a repeat performance in 1989. The SAHS Foundation played a pivotal role once again by providing funds for a computer laboratory along with networking of the administrative computer system.
Decade of Change
The school continued to be blessed throughout the 1990s with a series of championship teams and a further example of the Spirit of the Saints and their traditions. The 1991 Academic Challenge Bowl Trophy made its way to St. Anthony for the third time in four years. In 1991 the Girls' Volleyball Team capped several years of dominance by bringing home the first ever California State Championship trophy (in any sport). Also, that year, the Gymnasium was re-dedicated as the Jack Errion Memorial Gymnasium in memory of Coach Errion's accomplishments (Head Coach 1954-76, with 12 Catholic/Angelus League titles). In 1993 Msgr. Gualderon retired after 25 years as pastor. The cafeteria was soon rededicated in his honor. Fr. Lawrence Caruso followed him as pastor and brought a wealth of administrative experience to the parish and its schools. The Baseball Team earned its first trip to the CIF Finals in 1995, the same year St. Anthony turned 75. Fr. Caruso died suddenly in 1997 and was succeeded by Fr. Richard Krekelberg, who served until 2003 when Fr. Jose Magaña assumed leadership of parish and grade school.
Despite the academic and sports successes of this decade, the 1990s brought great challenges for the school as well as for the city. In April 1992, the Rodney King Riots spilled over into Long Beach, coinciding with the bursting of the real estate bubble. Despite external hardships, and amidst the economic downturn, St. Anthony continued to reflect the diverse population that had become the heart and soul of the city. While the population grew to nearly half million residents, St. Anthony continued to offer the only Catholic secondary education in the city. Declining vocations, expanding needs in other areas of their ministries, and a changing environment saw the departure of the Holy Cross Brothers and the Franciscan Sisters after 55 and 25 years of service respectively. Continuing economic decline in the surrounding neighborhood led to reduced enrollment and a large percentage of the student body receiving some level of tuition assistance. Many Catholic schools in the Southland faced consolidation, closure, or a reduction in services. St. Anthony – again – would meet these challenges with clarity and creativity.
New Century, New Challenges
A thorough study was commissioned in late 2001 to decide between a plan of viability or closure, when the school was at its all-time low in enrollment. Results of the study affirmed that St. Anthony High School clearly had a place in Long Beach and to this day stands alone as a beacon of hope and permanence for all who desire a first-rate, Catholic secondary education. A team of leaders made up of alumni, parents, faculty, staff, friends, and members of the community at large, led by St. Anthony's first President, Gina Maguire (Class of '67), appointed in 2002, took steps to ensure the long-term viability and growth of beloved St. Anthony. While some thought this hallowed institution might disappear from the educational landscape of Long Beach, they were sorely mistaken and underestimated the loyalty of the Saints, past and present. At this point, several lead gifts provided a turning point for the school. These generous supporters signed on for the long-haul by committing their time, talent and treasure to restoring St. Anthony High School as a religious, academic and athletic leader, this time for the 21st Century.
The story continued throughout the first decade of the 2000s, as the school's visionary leadership proved itself to be both nimble and competent. This was a decade of both challenge and renewal, with many highs and lows, including a major flood in the school's main administration building resulting in the building's closure for 19 months during renovation. During this time, St. Anthony transitioned from the traditional parish high school to become an Archdiocesan high school and embraced the president/principal leadership model, supported by a strong consultative Advisory Council. Innovative strategies were developed to address immediate needs and prepare for the future. The Administration expanded community awareness, and alumni connection, reached out to develop new sources of funding, and forged partnerships throughout the greater Long Beach community.
In 2005 two significant gifts from the Dan Murphy Foundation, in partnership with the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, and the John and Dorothy Shea Foundation enabled the 85-year old school to jump-start much needed renovations and attract even more support. Over the next years, more than $5,000,000 was invested in facilities improvements, changing the face of the aging campus for the better. In 2010, this work was recognized by Long Beach Heritage when St. Anthony received an award for Historic Preservation.
Enrollment began to grow, and in 2008 a new Gymnasium floor was dedicated as "Darrick Martin Court" in honor of 1988 graduate Darrick Martin, who went on to play at UCLA followed by an NBA career. Also, in 2008, St. Anthony welcomed Mike Schabert as principal, whose energy and outreach resulted in significant increases in enrollment and academic and athletic program cohesion. As evidence of St. Anthony's administrative leadership and faculty strength, in 2009 St Anthony's Academic Decathlon Team brought back top honors from competition and did so again in 2010. In June of 2010, St. Anthony High School was awarded the highest WASC accreditation available for a six-year term.
Renaissance
The 2010s have been a landmark decade in athletics for St. Anthony High School with many league and CIF championships. In 2010, the Varsity Girls Basketball Team won the CIF Championship, the Southern California Regional Championship and played in the State CIF Championship game. The Varsity Girls Basketball Team repeated as CIF Champions in 2011 and 2016. In 2009, 2010 and 2011, St. Anthony placed first in Boys Diving as well. 2016-2017 was a banner year in sports, with the Varsity Girls Volleyball Team, Varsity Football Team, and Varsity Girls Softball Team all winning CIF Championships; Varsity Football also won the Southern California Regional Championship and played in the State CIF Championship game
The decade has also seen the expansion of the curriculum to include more Advanced Placement courses and STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Mathematics) and the addition of courses in media, robotics and pre-engineering. In 2012, the school reoccupied the "Science Building," which had been leased to a charter school for many years, and the building was renovated to include new labs, a Mac computer lab and a green room. A PC computer lab was installed in the L-Building.
The prestigious President's Ambassadors Program was launched in 2002 and continues to groom and develop ethical student leaders for school and community service. Not coincidentally, St. Anthony's typically has the largest number of students of any high school participating in the city's Youth Leadership Long Beach Program. St. Anthony's network with Long Beach Rotary has further enhanced leadership opportunities for St. Anthony students through Camp Enterprise and RYLA leadership camp.
St. Anthony High School has experienced a renaissance, witnessed through its many significant signs of growth and vitality. The freshmen class for the 2017-2018 School Year was the largest in twenty years and is proof that hard work and the relentless spirit of the Saints is alive and well at 620 Olive Avenue. One hundred percent of 2019 graduates went on to college or military service. A pervasive "Go Saints, Go" spirit is evident all around us.
In July 2019, St. Anthony welcomed new principal Marcelo Eureste to lead the school into is second century of providing quality, college-preparatory Catholic education to the youth of the greater Long Beach area. In July 2021, St. Anthony welcomed new president Michael Brennan, to continue the works of the school's first president Gina Maguire.
Celebrating more than 100 years of consistent, unwavering, and joyful academic excellence validates that alumni, students, parents, faculty, staff, and community friends are determined to keep St. Anthony's doors wide open to continue to honor the past, celebrate the present, and plan for the future. The closing words of our Alma Mater never rang so true: "Through the years, we shall renew the glory of thy name!"
St. Anthony High School – Our Symbols
School Colors: Purple and White
School Motto: Spes Nostra—Our Hope
School Nickname: Saints
School Mascot: Saint
Alma Mater:
Hail, hail fair Alma Mater,
Hail to the purple and white.
Hail to St. Anthony's,
Our hearts keep thy memories bright.
Ever faithful, ever true,
May our lives enrich thy fame.
Through the years we shall renew,
The glory of thy name.
