Bishop Montgomery High School (commonly referred to as "BMHS" or simply "Bishop" by students) is 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 ...

high school serving twenty-five parishes in the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles The Archdiocese of Los Angeles ( la, Archidiœcesis Angelorum in California, es, Arquidiócesis de Los Ángeles) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in th ...

. BMHS was founded in 1957, and staffed by the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet,

Conventual Franciscans The Order of Friars Minor Conventual (OFM Conv) is a male religious fraternity in the Roman Catholic Church that is a branch of the Franciscans. The friars in OFM CONV are also known as Conventual Franciscans, or Minorites. Dating back to ...

, and lay faculty. The campus is located in

Torrance, California Torrance is a city in the Los Angeles metropolitan area located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. The city is part of what is known as the South Bay region of the metropolitan area. Torrance has of beachfront on the Pacific O ...

, in southwest Los Angeles County, one mile (1.6 km) from the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contin ...

and the Del Amo Mall. The coeducational student body is approximately 900 students in grades 9 through 12, making BMHS the sixth largest private high school in Los Angeles County. The faculty is headed by Principal Dr. Jim Garza. The school is named for the first American-born Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles, the Most Reverend

George Thomas Montgomery George Thomas Montgomery (December 30, 1847 – January 10, 1907) was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He was the first American-born Bishop of Monterey-Los Angeles (1896-1902) and later served as Coadjutor Archbishop of San Franci ...

. As the ordinary of the diocese from 1896 to 1902, Bishop Montgomery demanded that government recognize the right of parents to send their children to schools of their choice. BMHS is accredited by the

Western Association of Schools and Colleges The Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) was an organization providing accreditation of public and private universities, colleges, secondary and elementary schools in California and Hawaii, the territories of Guam, American Sam ...

(WASC) and offers a comprehensive college preparatory curriculum combined with

Christian values Christian values historically refers to values derived from the teachings of Jesus Christ. The term has various applications and meanings, and specific definitions can vary widely between denominations, geographical locations and different schools ...

. Advanced Placement courses are offered in all major subjects, and 98 percent of graduates pursue higher education.

Athletics

Bishop Montgomery competes in most high school sports, playing in the

California Interscholastic Federation The California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) is the governing body for high school sports in the U.S. state of California. CIF membership includes both public and private high schools. Unlike most other state organizations, it does not have a ...

(CIF) Del Rey League against Bishop Amat (La Puente), St. Bernard (Playa del Rey), St. Paul (Santa Fe Springs), and Junipero Serra (Gardena). Other local rivals include

Torrance High School Torrance High School is a high school located in Torrance, California. Founded in 1917, it is one of the oldest high schools in continuous use in California and is the oldest of the four high schools in the Torrance Unified School District. Four ...

, St. John Bosco (Bellflower), and St. Joseph (Lakewood). BMHS has been particularly successful in its

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

and

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

programs, frequently appearing in the California state quarterfinals or higher. The school's teams go by the name "The Knights", and the team colors are black and gold. The following sports are offered at Bishop Montgomery: * Football *

Volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

Softball Softball is a game similar to baseball played with a larger ball on a smaller field. Softball is played competitively at club levels, the college level, and the professional level. The game was first created in 1887 in Chicago by George Hanc ...

* Soccer * Cross country *

Track and Field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

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 ...

Tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

Swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

* Song Team *

Pep flags Pep flags, also known as flaggies, short flags, small flags, or twirl flags, is the performing art of twirling one or two flag(s) as part of a choreographed routine. In the early 21st century, some school flag squads have implemented a third or e ...

/ Short Flags * Surf *eSports

Music Department

The BMHS Music Department includes academic classes, campus music ministry, and performing ensembles. Academic classes are offered during the day, and include Music Theory, Music History, and Music Production. Campus music ministry meets after school, and prepares music for school masses. Performing ensembles include: Knight Band and Guard, the school marching band; Wind Ensemble; Jazz Band; Jazz Combo; Vocal Jazz; Indoor Drumline; and Winter Color Guard. Most recently, the department has hosted a spring SCSBOA (Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association) Solo / Ensemble Festival, and traveled with 80 participants to Washington, D.C., to perform at the World War II Memorial.

Notable alumni

* Nnamdi Asomugha, NFL

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

for the Oakland Raiders (freshman year only) *

Denise Austin Denise Austin (née Katnich; born February 13, 1957) is an American fitness instructor, author, and columnist, and a former member of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. Early life Austin was born in San Pedro, Los Angeles, ...

, fitness pioneer (Class of 1975) * Bill Bordley, former

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), ...

pitcher (Class of 1976) * Marine Cano, former professional soccer player (Class of 1972) * Errick Craven, professional basketball player in the French

Ligue Nationale de Basketball The Ligue nationale de basket (LNB; English: National Basketball League) is the governing body of men's professional club basketball in France. The LNB organises the first-tier Pro A and the second-tier Pro B. Additionally, the federation annu ...

(Class of 2001) * Chris Engen, television actor (Class of 1997) *Dreux Frederic ( Lil' Fizz), rapper from

B2K B2K (Boys of the New Millennium) was an American boy band that was active from 1998 to 2004, and again from 2018 to 2019. In 1998, the group was formed by American dance choreographer Dave Scott and Interscope A&R Keshia Gamble. The members ...

(attended freshman year, 1999–2000) *

Carmelita Jeter Carmelita Jeter ( , born November 24, 1979) is a retired American sprinter, who competed in the 60 metres, 100 m and 200 m. For over a decade, between 2009 and 2021, Jeter held the title as "Fastest woman alive" after running a 100 m personal be ...

, gold-medalist sprinter (Class of 1998) * Richard T. Jones, actor *

Brandon Lee Brandon Bruce Lee (February 1, 1965 – March 31, 1993) was an American actor and martial artist. Establishing himself as a rising action star in the early 1990s, he landed his breakthrough role as Eric Draven in the dark fantasy film '' T ...

, actor (freshman year only) * Michael Mendoza, American football player * Patricia Neske, former German figure skater (Class of 1984) *

Terrance Pennington Terrance Pennington (born September 25, 1983) is a former American football guard and offensive tackle. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the seventh round of the 2006 NFL Draft. He played college football at New Mexico. Pennington was also ...

, free-agent offensive tackle in the NFL, formerly with the Buffalo Bills (Class of 2001) *

Noelle Quinn Noelle Quinn (born January 3, 1985) is a basketball coach and former player who is currently the head coach for the Seattle Storm of the Women's National Basketball Association (WNBA). As a player, Quinn played for many WNBA teams and for Botaş ...

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

women's basketball player (Class of 2003), formerly in the WNBA with the Los Angeles Sparks and Seattle Storm, current head coach with the Seattle Storm *

Sigi Schmid Siegfried "Sigi" Schmid (; March 20, 1953 – December 25, 2018) was a German-American soccer coach who had the most wins in the history of Major League Soccer (MLS). Born in Tübingen, West Germany, he moved to the United States with his fam ...

, head coach,

MLS 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 ...

Seattle Sounders (Class of 1971) and US Soccer hall of fame member. * Omarr Smith, current

Arena Football League The Arena Football League (AFL) was a professional arena football league in the United States. It was founded in 1986, but played its first official games in the 1987 season, making it the third longest-running professional football league in ...

defensive back with the

San Jose SaberCats The San Jose SaberCats were a professional arena football team based in San Jose, California. The SaberCats had been members of the Arena Football League (AFL) since 1995 (the year in which the team was founded); and until 2015, they belonged to ...

(Class of 1995) * Ethan Thompson, Basketball player for the

Oregon State Beavers The Oregon State Beavers are the athletic teams that represent Oregon State University, located in Corvallis, Oregon. The Beavers compete at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I ( Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) for ...

(Class of 2017) *

Stephen Thompson Jr. Stephen Mark Thompson Jr., (born March 23, 1997) nicknamed "Stevie", is an American–Puerto Rican professional basketball player for Bnei Herzliya Basket, Bnei Herzliya of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. He played college basketball for th ...

(born 1997), basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League * Stanley Wilson, NFL

with the Detroit Lions (Class of 2000)

Notes and references

External links

Bishop Montgomery High School web site
{{authority control Roman Catholic secondary schools in Los Angeles County, California Educational institutions established in 1957 Congregation of the Sisters of Saint Joseph 1957 establishments in California Catholic secondary schools in California Education in Torrance, California Buildings and structures in Torrance, California