Flaget High School was a

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

College preparatory A college-preparatory school (usually shortened to preparatory school or prep school) is a type of secondary school. The term refers to public, private independent or parochial schools primarily designed to prepare students for higher education ...

high school in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

's West End from 1942 until 1974. It was located throughout its existence at 44th and River Park Drive, in the

Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...

neighborhood of Louisville.

History

Louisville archbishop John A. Floersh began raising funds for the school in 1941, and a year later purchased the former home of

John Henry Whallen John Henry Whallen (May 1, 1850 – December 3, 1913) was a Democratic Party political boss in Louisville, Kentucky during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Born in New Orleans, he moved with his family to Cincinnati, Ohio in his youth. As a ...

at 44th and River Park Drive. The school was named for

Benedict Joseph Flaget Benedict Joseph Flaget (November 7, 1763 – February 11, 1850) was a French-born Catholic bishop in the United States. He served as the Bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bardstown between 1808 and 1839. When the see was transferred to Loui ...

, the first Bishop of Kentucky. The classes were taught by

Xaverian Brothers The Xaverian Brothers or Congregation of St. Francis Xavier are a Roman Catholic religious institute founded by Theodore James Ryken in Bruges, Belgium, in 1839 and named after Saint Francis Xavier. The institute is dedicated to education. Hist ...

who also taught at St. Xavier High School. A dedicated school building was built in 1946 and expanded in 1947 after the razing of the Whallen house. Enrollment passed 1,000 in the 1949–50 school year. Flaget offered students in the predominantly

blue-collar A blue-collar worker is a working class person who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled labor. The type of work may involving manufacturing, warehousing, mining, excavation, electricity generation and powe ...

West End a chance to attend a college prep high school instead of a

vocational school A vocational school is a type of educational institution, which, depending on the country, may refer to either secondary or post-secondary education designed to provide vocational education or technical skills required to complete the tasks ...

. Many graduates of Flaget would become the first members of their families to attend college. The school produced several notable members of the community, including Citizens Fidelity Bank president Daniel Ulmer,

Rohm and Haas Rohm and Haas Company is a manufacturer of specialty chemicals for end use markets such as building and construction, electronic devices, packaging, household and personal care products. Headquartered in Philadelphia, the company is organized i ...

president Daniel Ash and

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public research university in Louisville, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. When founded in 1798, it was the first city-owned public university in the United States and one of ...

trustee George Fischer. By the 1970s, the school was a victim of changing times, as

white flight White flight or white exodus is the sudden or gradual large-scale migration of white people from areas becoming more racially or ethnoculturally diverse. Starting in the 1950s and 1960s, the terms became popular in the United States. They refer ...

had seen what was once an all-white neighborhood become integrated and most Catholic families left for the city's southern and eastern suburbs. Flaget won its last championship in any sport, a tie for the state

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

title A title is one or more words used before or after a person's name, in certain contexts. It may signify either generation, an official position, or a professional or academic qualification. In some languages, titles may be inserted between the f ...

, in 1971. The school became coeducational in its final year, absorbing female students from the recently closed Loretto High School. There were 65 students in the final graduating class. Over 4,200 students graduated from Flaget over the years. The building was converted in 1982 to an apartment home for the elderly. In 2002 a museum containing Flaget photos and memorabilia was dedicated in the Alumni Building of former rivals St. Xavier.

Athletics

Flaget High was known for its athletics, winning its first championship, a city

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping wi ...

championship, in 1945. It would also win state championships in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

in 1960 and

track Track or Tracks may refer to: Routes or imprints * Ancient trackway, any track or trail whose origin is lost in antiquity * Animal track, imprints left on surfaces that an animal walks across * Desire path, a line worn by people taking the shorte ...

in 1961. It won the Southern Interscholastic Championship in cross country in 1963. However, Flaget became best known for its football program, which compiled a 196-79-17 record from 1945 to 1973 Paulie Miller was hired in 1945 as the coach of various sports teams, but became famous as the coach of the football team, establishing St. X as their rivals and winning their first state championship in 1949. Miller coached at Flaget until 1963. The team won state championships again in 1952, 1958, 1961 (41-13 over Fairdale High School), and in 1967 under Norm Mackin (21-7 vs. Thomas Jefferson High School) and 1971 under Pete "The Computer" Compise (a 7–7 tie with Thomas Jefferson) after Miller had stepped down.Pillow, John C
"Shawnee: FARMS OF THE 1800S GAVE WAY TO PARK AND DIGNIFIED HOMES; RACIAL MAKEUP HAS CHANGED"
''

The Courier Journal ''The Courier-Journal'', also known as the ''Louisville Courier Journal'' (and informally ''The C-J'' or ''The Courier''), is the highest circulation newspaper in Kentucky. It is owned by Gannett and billed as "Part of the ''USA Today'' Ne ...

''. Accessed June 24, 2007.

Notable alumni

Gus Bell David Russell "Gus" Bell Jr. (November 15, 1928 – May 7, 1995) was an American outfielder in Major League Baseball from 1950 through 1964, who played with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Cincinnati Reds, New York Mets and Milwaukee Braves. He batted ...

(1928–1995),

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

outfielder from 1950 to 1964. *

Larry Clark Lawrence Donald Clark (born January 19, 1943) is an American film director, photographer, writer and film producer who is best known for his controversial teen film ''Kids'' (1995) and his photography book ''Tulsa'' (1971). His work focuses prim ...

(born 1945), member of the

Kentucky House of Representatives The Kentucky House of Representatives is the lower house of the Kentucky General Assembly. It is composed of 100 Representatives elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. Not more than two counties can be joined to form ...

, representing the 46th District since 1984. *

Darryl Drake Darryl Drake (December 11, 1956 – August 11, 2019) was an American football player and coach. His career spanned four decades, including stints as the wide receivers coach of the Chicago Bears, Arizona Cardinals, and Pittsburgh Steelers of ...

(1956–2019), college football coach and wide receivers coach for the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) West division, and play t ...

. * Jerry Harper (1934–2001), professional basketball player *

Paul Hornung Paul Vernon Hornung (December 23, 1935 – November 13, 2020), nicknamed "the Golden Boy", was an American professional football player who was a Hall of Fame running back for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) from 195 ...

(1935–2020), All-Pro NFL running back for the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

who won the 1956

Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy (usually known colloquially as the Heisman Trophy or The Heisman) is awarded annually to the most outstanding player in college football. Winners epitomize great ability combined with diligence, perseverance, and hard ...

. *

Dick Leitsch Richard Joseph Leitsch (May 11, 1935 – June 22, 2018), also known as Richard Valentine Leitsch and more commonly Dick Leitsch, was an American LGBT rights activist. He was president of gay rights group the Mattachine Society in the 1960s. He co ...

(1935–2018), LGBT rights activist, who was president of gay rights group the

Mattachine Society The Mattachine Society (), founded in 1950, was an early national gay rights organization in the United States, perhaps preceded only by Chicago's Society for Human Rights. Communist and labor activist Harry Hay formed the group with a collection ...

in the 1960s. *

Howard Schnellenberger Howard Leslie Schnellenberger (March 16, 1934 – March 27, 2021) was an American football coach with long service at both the professional and college levels. He held head coaching positions with the National Football League's Baltimore Colts a ...

(1934–2021), college and professional football coach.1991 Dawahares-Kentucky High School Athletic Association Sports Hall of Fame Inductees

Kentucky High School Athletic Association The Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) has been the governing body of the U.S. state of Kentucky high-school athletics since 1917. It is located in Lexington. Sports The organization sanctions competition in the following sports ...

. Accessed June 24, 2007. "One of the great athletes who made Flaget High School legendary for its prowess, Howard Schnellenberger played football, basketball and baseball for the former school in Louisville's West End."

References

Sources

*{{cite book, author=David N. Aspy and Paulie Miller, title=Burning Desire: A History of Flaget High School, 1942–1974, year=1991 1942 establishments in Kentucky 1974 disestablishments in Kentucky Defunct Catholic schools in Louisville, Kentucky School buildings completed in 1947 Educational institutions established in 1942 Educational institutions disestablished in 1974 Defunct Catholic secondary schools in the United States