Reitz Memorial High School or simply Memorial High School (MHS) is an inter-parochial

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 on the east side of

Evansville, Indiana Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...

. It sits on land bought with money donated by

Francis Joseph Reitz Francis Joseph Reitz (1841–1930) was an American banker, civic leader, and philanthropist in Evansville, Indiana. Career For more than 50 years, he was a leading figure in the Evansville's business life, retiring in 1924 as president of Nat ...

in 1922 in memory of his parents, John Augustus and Gertrude Reitz. The school officially opened its doors on January 5, 1925. It is part of the

Diocese of Evansville The Diocese of Evansville ( la, Dioecesis Evansvicensis) is a diocese of the Catholic Church in Southwestern Indiana. On October 21, 1944, the then- Diocese of Indianapolis was split into the Archdiocese of Indianapolis and the Diocese of Evan ...

History

In 1922

pledged one million dollars for the school to be built, for which he was presented with the insignia of Knight and Knight Commander of the Order of Pius IX. The original, main building was built three stories high of Ohio gray brick and elaborate trimmings of Indiana limestone with a Tudor-Gothic design. On New Year’s Day, 1925, Reitz Memorial High School, with its 18 classrooms, auditorium that was used as a gymnasium as well as a , cafeteria, library, candy store, parlor, and a large recreation room, it was dedicated by Bishop Chartrand of Indianapolis. Classes began on January 5, 1925 with the Brothers of The Holy Cross from Notre Dame University teaching the boys and the Sisters of Providence teaching the girls, each on separate floors. In 1969, a new addition was completed. The new wing extending along Bennighof Avenue came with expanded first and second floors, a new gym, band room, and library
The new gym could hold up to 2,000 people.
In 1998, a new addition, costing roughly $5 million was added to the western part of the building. The new wing, also known as "the west wing", added eight more classrooms, two art studios, two science labs, a wrestling room, a second, smaller auxiliary gymnasium, and a new media center. The final renovations increased the student capacity to 900 students.

Athletics

To distinguish between two schools named for members of the same family, the IHSAA uses the name Evansville Memorial instead of Evansville Reitz Memorial, and refers to the older EVSC run

FJ Reitz High School Francis Joseph Reitz High School (FJ Reitz High School, FJ Reitz, or simply Reitz) is a public high school on the west side of Evansville, Indiana. It was founded in 1918 following a donation from local philanthropist and banker Francis Joseph ...

as Evansville Reitz. Both schools compete in the

Southern Indiana Athletic Conference The Southern Indiana Athletic Conference (SIAC) is a high school athletic conference based in Evansville, Indiana. Five of the conferences eight schools; Bosse, Central, Harrison, North, and Reitz; comprise the public Evansville Vanderburgh School ...

. Their school colors are white and blue. The following IHSAA sanctioned sports are offered: *Baseball (boys') **State champions - 1978, 1989, 1993 *Basketball (boys' and girls') **Girls' state champions - 2011 *Cross country (boys' and girls') *Football (boys') **State champions - 2017, 2019 *Golf (boys' and girls') *Soccer (boys & girls) **Boys' state champions - 2007, 2008, 2016, 2017, 2019, 2020 **Girls' state champions - 1996, 2008, 2012, 2017, 2021, 2022 *Softball (girls) **State champions - 2002 *Swimming (boys' and girls') *Tennis (boys' and girls') **Girls' state champions - 1991, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2012 *Track (boys' and girls') *Volleyball (girls') *Wrestling (boys') RMHS also competes in the National Archery in the Schools Program, placing 4th, 2nd, 2nd, and 2nd in the 2016-2019 Indiana NASP State Tournaments, as well as placing 1st in the 2018 Centershot Ministries World Tournament.

Notable alumni

;Athletics *

Don Mattingly Donald Arthur Mattingly (born April 20, 1961) is an American former professional baseball first baseman, coach, and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). He is the bench coach for the Toronto Blue Jays of Major League Baseball (MLB). Nicknamed ...

: Former MLB

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...

first baseman (1982 – 1995) and coach (2004 – 2007); former MLB Los Angeles Dodgers coach (2008 – 2010) and former MLB Miami Marlins manager (2011 – 2022). * Larry Stallings: Former NFL

St Louis Cardinals The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Since the 2006 season, the Cardinals ha ...

linebacker (1963 – 1976); Pro Bowl 1970. *

Billy Hillenbrand William Frank Hillenbrand (March 29, 1922July 17, 1994) was an American football halfback who played professionally in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). He was born in Armstrong, Indiana. He attended Indiana University, where he play ...

: Former All-American halfback for the NCAA

Indiana Hoosiers The Indiana Hoosiers are the intercollegiate sports teams and players of Indiana University Bloomington, named after the colloquial term for people from the state of Indiana. The Hoosiers participate in NCAA Division I, Division I of the Nationa ...

; AAFC football player (1946–48) for the

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and

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(1946 – 1948). *

Kyle Kuric Kyle Matthew Kuric (born August 25, 1989)Kyle Kuric player bio is an American-Slovak professional basketball player for FC Barcelona Bàsquet, FC Barcelona of the Liga ACB and the EuroLeague. Kuric grew up in Evansville, Indiana, and graduated fro ...

: Former NCAA basketball player at the

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 ...

(2008 – 2012); professional with Spanish League club Asefa Estudiantes in Spain (2012 – 2014); current shooting guard/small forward with professional

Herbalife Gran Canaria Club Baloncesto Gran Canaria – Claret, S.A.D., is a professional basketball club based in Las Palmas, Spain. The team plays in the Liga ACB. Their home arena is the Gran Canaria Arena. From 2012 until 2021, they have been sponsored by Herbalif ...

(2014 – present). * Bob Hargrave: Quarterback of the 1937 Mythical National Championship football team (for Memorial), Honorable mention All-American Quarterback for the University of Notre Dame. * Jeff Schulz: Former MLB outfielder for The Kansas City Royals (1989–90) and Pittsburgh Pirates (1991). *

Scott Cannon Scott Cannon (born July 22, 1968 in Evansville, Indiana) is an American former soccer player who played three seasons in Major League Soccer, two in the American Professional Soccer League, three in the National Professional Soccer League and ...

: Former professional soccer player in

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

American Professional Soccer League The American Professional Soccer League (APSL) was a professional men's soccer league with teams from the United States and later Canada. It was formed in 1990 by the merger of the third American Soccer League with the Western Soccer League. It ...

, National Professional Soccer League, and

USL The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

; current Director of Coaching for Black Watch Premier (Rhode Island). *

Max Lachowecki Max Lachowecki (born June 30, 1992) is an American soccer player. Early life Youth soccer Lachowecki grew up in Evansville, Indiana, playing with local youth soccer teams and for Reitz Memorial High School, where he was a four-year starter and le ...

: Professional soccer player for the

Tampa Bay Rowdies The Tampa Bay Rowdies are an American professional Association football, soccer team based in St. Petersburg, Florida. The club was founded in 2008 and first took the pitch in 2010. Since 2017, the Rowdies have been members of the USL Champions ...

of the

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. ;Business *

William C. Stone William (Bill) Charles Stone is the founder, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of SS&C Technologies (NASDAQ: SSNC

: Founder, Chairman and CEO of SS&C Technologies. ;Entertainment *

Jama Williamson Jama Williamson (born March 12, 1974) is an American actress. She was active in New York City theater throughout the early 2000s, during which she appeared in such shows as Avery Crozier's ''Eat the Runt'', Hunt Holman's ''Spanish Girl'', A. R ...

: theater and television actress, she appeared as Wendy Haverford on NBC's

Parks and Recreation ''Parks and Recreation'' (also known as ''Parks and Rec'') is an American political satire mockumentary sitcom television series created by Greg Daniels and Michael Schur. The series aired on NBC from April 9, 2009, to February 24, 2015, for 125 ...

. * Philip Lawrence: Songwriter, record producer, entrepreneur, and

voice actor Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

best known for his work with the songwriting and production team

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, alongside

Bruno Mars Peter Gene Hernandez (born October 8, 1985), known professionally as Bruno Mars, is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is known for his stage performances, retro showmanship, and for performing in a wide range of musical s ...

. ;Politics *

Jonathan Weinzapfel Jonathan David Weinzapfel (born November 16, 1965) is an American politician, attorney, businessman, and Democratic nominee for Indiana Attorney General in the 2020 election. Weinzapfel formerly served as the 33rd mayor of Evansville, Indiana. H ...

: 33rd mayor of

(2004 – 2012); Chancellor of

Ivy Tech ''Hedera'', commonly called ivy (plural ivies), is a genus of 12–15 species of evergreen climbing or ground-creeping woody plants in the family Araliaceae, native to western, central and southern Europe, Macaronesia, northwestern Africa and ...

. * Jeff Hays: member of the Indiana House of Representatives from 1970 to 1996.

References

External links

Official school website
{{Southern Indiana Athletic Conference (SIAC) High schools in Southwestern Indiana Educational institutions established in 1925 Catholic secondary schools in Indiana Private high schools in Indiana Roman Catholic Diocese of Evansville Schools in Evansville, Indiana Southern Indiana Athletic Conference 1925 establishments in Indiana

History

Athletics

Notable alumni

See also

References

External links