St. Anthony High School was a four-year co-educational Catholic high school in Jersey City, New Jersey, that was known for its high-powered basketball program coached by Bob Hurley Sr. The school closed in 2017.
It operated under the supervision of the Archdiocese of Newark and was affiliated for much of its history with St. Anthony of Padua Catholic Church, which owns the building. The school had been accredited by the Middle States Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Elementary and Secondary Schools since 1997.
Contents
History
Beginnings
The school was originally founded to serve the Padua parish, made up of Polish Americans and their children. Over time, the school's demographics shifted along with the local neighborhood, to a predominantly Black and Hispanic population.
Basketball success
Beginning in the 1960s under Bob Hurley Sr., the school was known for its boys' basketball program, which won the state championship nearly every year and produced a number of successful NBA players.
Closure
The school struggled with funding and declining enrollments for many decades; however, funding always managed to be found. As of the 2013–14 school year, the high school had 224 students and 16.0 classroom teachers (on an FTE basis), the school had a student–teacher ratio of 14.0:1. There were 59 students in 9th grade, 68 students in 10th grade, 52 students in 11th grade, and 45 students in 12th grade.
In the 2015–2016 school year there were 200 students, and 2016–2017 school year there were 183 students. In September 2016 the board of trustees announced that the community needed to raise $15–20 million in order to keep the school open. In September 2016 Patrick Villanova of The Jersey Journal wrote that St. Anthony "is seemingly always on the brink of closure, considering the razor thin margins."
In April 2017, officials at St. Anthony formally announced the high school would close at the end of the 2016–17 school year, due to declining enrollment (i.e. only 160 students in 2017) and the lack of funding to cover expenses. Increasing expenses were linked to the hiring of non-teaching order educators, and Bob Cook wrote in Forbes that gentrification may have contributed to the school's decline.
In efforts to reverse the decision of the school's looming closure, New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announced a challenge during an April 2017 appearance on radio station WFAN. Christie asked for the commissioners of Major League Baseball, the National Football League, the National Basketball Association, and the National Hockey League to each donate $125,000, in order to meet the school's minimum investment need of $500,000. Despite this, the school was closed in June 2017.
Athletics
The St. Anthony High School Friars competed in the Hudson County Interscholastic League, which was established following a reorganization of sports leagues in Northern New Jersey by the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. They practiced at White Eagle Hall and often played at the Jersey City Armory.
Boys' basketball
The boys' basketball varsity team, coached by Bob Hurley, had been, for over 39 years, the most dominant high school team in the country. St. Anthony had won a national record 28 state championships, set with a 74–44 win in the 2008 sectional championship game over Trenton Catholic Academy to win the Parochial B state title, the program's 25th.
The team has won state championships in:
1968 (vs. Sacred Heart High School in the finals)
1969 (vs. St. Augustine Preparatory School)
1973 (vs. St. Joseph's High School of Camden)
1974 (vs. St. Joseph's of Camden), 1976 (vs. Sacred Heart)
1977 (vs. St. Joseph's of Camden)
1980 (vs. St. Mary's High School of South Amboy)
1981 (vs. Wildwood Catholic High School)
1983 (vs. St. Peter the Apostle High School of New Brunswick)
1984 (vs. St. Peter of New Brunswick)
1985 (vs. St. Peter of New Brunswick)
1986 (vs. St. Augustine)
1987 (vs. St. Joseph High School of Hammonton)
1988 (vs. Wildwood Catholic)
1989 (vs. St. Rose)
1990 (vs. St. Peter of New Brunswick)
1991 (vs. Eustace Preparatory School)
Girls' basketball
The 1984 girls basketball team won the Non-Public Group B state championship, defeating Wildwood Catholic High School by a score of 59–46 in the tournament final.
Baseball
The baseball team won the Non-Public Group C state championship in 1970 (defeating St. Joseph High School of Hammonton in the tournament final), 1971 (vs. Saint Augustine Preparatory School) and 1972 (vs. St. Joseph of Hammonton), and won the Group B title in 1987 (vs. Eustace Preparatory School). The 1971 team came back from a 2–0 deficit to win the Parochial C title with a 3–2 win against St. Augustine.
Notable alumni
Kyle Anderson (born 1993; class of 2012), basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves
Willie Banks (born 1969; class of 1987), former Major League Baseball pitcher
Rashon Burno (born 1978). basketball coach who is the head coach of the Northern Illinois Huskies men's basketball team
Eli Carter (born 1991), professional basketball player who played for ASE Essaouira of the Nationale 1
Petey Cipriano (born 1983), basketball coach and former player who is currently an assistant coach at Southern University
R. J. Cole (born 1999; class of 2017), basketball player who plays professionally in Lithuania
Tim Coleman (born 1995), international basketball player
Devon Collier (born 1991; class of 2010), basketball player who has played professionally in Puerto Rico
Hallice Cooke (born 1995), guard for Nevada Wolf Pack basketball team
Donald Copeland (born 1984; class of 2002), former professional basketball player who is the head coach of the Wagner Seahawks men's basketball team
Terry Dehere (born 1971; class of 1989), Politician, former NBA basketball player
Jerome Frink (born 1993), professional basketball player for Domingo Paulino Santiago of the Dominican Santiago League