Leo Catholic High School is a private all-male,

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 ...

high school in the Auburn-Gresham neighborhood of

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, United States. It is located in the

Archdiocese of Chicago The Archdiocese of Chicago ( la, Archidiœcesis Chicagiensis) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical jurisdiction or archdiocese of the Catholic Church located in Northeastern Illinois, in the United States. It was established as a diocese in 1843 and ...

and home to a predominantly African–American student body. The school is named in honor of

Pope Leo XIII Pope Leo XIII ( it, Leone XIII; born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci; 2 March 1810 – 20 July 1903) was the head of the Catholic Church from 20 February 1878 to his death in July 1903. Living until the age of 93, he was the second-old ...

History

Established in 1926 by the

Congregation of Christian Brothers The Congregation of Christian Brothers ( la, Congregatio Fratrum Christianorum; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. Their first school was opened in Waterford, Ireland, ...

, their first school in Chicago, Leo Catholic High School has educated thousands of boys from Chicago's South Side and suburbs.

Athletics

Since its founding in 1926, Leo has competed in the

Chicago Catholic League The Chicago Catholic League (CCL) is a high school athletic conference based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. All of the schools are part of the Illinois High School Association, the governing body for Illinois scholastic sports. While some o ...

. The school also competes in state championship tournaments sponsored by the

Illinois High School Association The Illinois High School Association (IHSA) is an association that regulates competition of interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level for the state of Illinois. It is a charter member of the National Fed ...

(IHSA). These teams have finished in the top four of their respective IHSA state tournament: *basketball: 4th place (1997–98); State Champions (2003–04); 2nd place (2015–16) *track & field: 3rd place (1982–83, 2000–01, 2004–05); 2nd place (1999–2000, 2003–04); State Champions (1980–81, 1994–95, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2010–11, 2011–12) The school was initially known for its football team, which made 8 appearances in Chicago's Prep Bowl, which pitted the champion of the Catholic League against the winner from the Chicago Public League from 1934 to 1956. The 1941, 42 and 56 teams won Prep Bowl city championships at

Soldier Field Soldier Field is a multi-purpose stadium on the Near South Side of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1924 and reconstructed in 2003, the stadium has served as the home of the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) since ...

. Leo High School is also recognized as the 1941 high school football national champion. In particular, the 1937 and 1941 Prep Bowls are recognized as holding the state of Illinois' all-time records for attendance at a football game. The 1937 attendance was estimated at 110,000 spectators, which saw Leo lose to Austin High School, 26–0. The 1941 game saw 95,000 spectators watch Leo defeat Tilden High School, 46–13. The 1940 and 42 games each had 75,000 fans, meaning Leo has played in front of four of the 11 largest crowds in Illinois high school history.

Heads of School

Principal # Shaka Rawls '93 (2016–present) Presidents # Robert W. Foster (1991–2010) # Dan McGrath '68 (2010–present)

Notable alumni

* John Boles (class of 1966),

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), ...

manager and executive * Andre Brown (class of 2000), NBA forward (2006–2009) * Thomas R. Fitzgerald (class of 1959), retired chief justice of the Illinois Supreme Court * John R. Gorman, auxiliary bishop of Chicago * John J. Houlihan. Illinois state representatives and businessman * Jason Jefferson (class of 1998), NFL

defensive lineman In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line, while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line. A numbe ...

(2005-08) *

Edward Maloney Edward D. Maloney is a former Democratic member of the Illinois Senate, representing the 18th district from 2003 to 2013. Early life Maloney earned his undergraduate degree in political science from Lewis University and went on to receive ...

, politician *

Andrew J. McKenna Andrew James McKenna Sr. (September 17, 1929 – February 7, 2023) was an American businessman and chairman emeritus of McDonald's from 2016 until his death, having been chairman from 2004 to 2016, and a director from 1991. Early life McKenna w ...

(class of 1947), businessman (chairman of McDonald's, 2004-16; director of the

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...

) * Thomas Murphy, Chairman and CEO of

General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...

Corporation (1974–80) *

Jim O'Toole James Jerome O'Toole (January 10, 1937 – December 26, 2015) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Cincinnati Reds and Chicago White Sox during his 10-year career.Sewell, Dan (January 1 ...

(class of 1955), Major League Baseball pitcher, starter for National League in 1963 All-Star Game * Stan Patrick (class of 1940), professional basketball player * William J. Walker, Major General

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, commanding general,

District of Columbia National Guard The District of Columbia National Guard is the branch of the United States National Guard based in the District of Columbia. It comprises both the District of Columbia Army National Guard, D.C. Army National Guard and the District of Columbia A ...

(class of 1975) * Chris Watson (class of 1995), NFL

defensive back In gridiron football, defensive backs (DBs), also called the secondary, are the players on the defensive side of the ball who play farthest back from the line of scrimmage. They are distinguished from the other two sets of defensive players, the ...

(1999–2003)Chris Watson profile @ databasefootball.com

References

External links

Leo High School

GreatSchools, Inc

{{authority control Catholic schools in Chicago Catholic secondary schools in Illinois Educational institutions established in 1926 Boys' schools in the United States Private high schools in Chicago 1926 establishments in Illinois Congregation of Christian Brothers secondary schools African-American Roman Catholic schools