East Rutherford High School was a

public In public relations and communication science, publics are groups of individual people, and the public (a.k.a. the general public) is the totality of such groupings. This is a different concept to the sociology, sociological concept of the ''Öf ...

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

that operated as part of the

East Rutherford School District The East Rutherford School District is a community public school district that serves students in pre-kindergarten through eighth grade from East Rutherford, in Bergen County, New Jersey. A small annex was constructed in 2001 across the street f ...

in East Rutherford, in Bergen County,

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

, United States.

History

The district's initial high school program began in 1896, with the first graduate completing their program two years later. The school had served students from Carlstadt on a tuition basis until its closure and the opening of the joint regional high school. Students from Wallington had attended the school as part of a

sending/receiving relationship A sending/receiving relationship is one in which a public school district sends some or all of its students to attend the schools of another district. This is often done to achieve costs savings in smaller districts or continues after districts hav ...

until the opening of

Wallington High School Wallington Jr./Sr. High School is a six-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in seventh through twelfth grades from Wallington, in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, operating as the lone secondary schoo ...

in 1951. The school building was partially destroyed in an October 1966 fire that destroyed half of the space used by the high school. The school closed at the end of the 1970–71 school year, was succeeded by

Henry P. Becton Regional High School Henry P. Becton Regional High School ("Becton") is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in ninth through twelfth grades from Carlstadt and East Rutherford, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, operating as pa ...

, which was built to serve students from both East Rutherford and Carlstadt.

Athletics

The boys cross country running team won the Group B state championship in 1929 and 1930. In 1933, the girls' basketball team won its 100th consecutive game, continuing a streak that started with the final game of the 1927 season. The boys' basketball team, coached by Dick Vitale, won the Group I state championship in 1970 (defeating

Burlington Township High School Burlington Township High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Burlington Township in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Burlington ...

in the tournament final) and 1971 (vs. Gloucester City High School). Les Cason set a tournament record with 45 points to lead the 1970 team to a 67–66 win against Burlington Township in the Group I championship game at a game played in Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Cason broke the record of 40 points that had been held by Brian Taylor of

Perth Amboy High School Perth Amboy High School (or PAHS) is a four-year comprehensive community public high school which serves students in ninth through twelfth grades from Perth Amboy in Middlesex County, New Jersey, United States, operating as the lone secondary ...

. The 1971 team finished the season with a record of 28-0 after winning the program's second consecutive Group I state title with a 53–52 defeat of Gloucester City in the playoff finals.

Notable alumni

Carol Arthur Carol Arata (August 4, 1935 – November 1, 2020), known professionally as Carol Arthur, was an American actress, mainly recognizable in supporting roles in films directed by Mel Brooks. Early life Arthur was born in Hackensack, New Jersey and ...

(1935–2020), actress, known for playing supporting roles in films produced by

Mel Brooks Mel Brooks (born Melvin James Kaminsky; June 28, 1926) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. With a career spanning over seven decades, he is known as a writer and director of a variety of successful broad farces and parodies. He began ...

. * Ernest Cuneo (1905–1988), lawyer, newspaperman, author and intelligence liaison, who played two seasons in the NFL for the Orange Tornadoes and the Brooklyn Dodgers. *

Steve Hamas Steven Vincent Hamas (January 9, 1907 – October 11, 1974), also known as Hurricane and the Passaic Pounder, was an American football player and boxer. He was a multi-sport athlete at Pennsylvania State University in the late 1920s, receiving 12 ...

(1907–1974), professional football player in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the majo ...

who turned to professional boxing, defeating former heavyweight champions Tommy Loughran and Max Schmelling. *

Henry Helstoski Henry Helstoski (March 21, 1925 – December 16, 1999) was an American politician. Helstoski, a Democrat, represented New Jersey in the United States House of Representatives for twelve years, lasting from 1965 until 1977. He was the representa ...

(1925–1999, class of 1940), politician who served in the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

for 12 years, from 1965 until 1977. * Harold C. Hollenbeck (born 1938), politician who represented

New Jersey's 9th congressional district New Jersey's 9th congressional district is represented in Congress by Democrat Bill Pascrell, who resides in Paterson. Congressman Pascrell was first elected in 1996 from the old 8th district (prior to the 2010 census), defeating incumbent Wi ...

in the

from 1977 to 1983. *

Robert P. Hollenbeck Robert P. Hollenbeck Sr. (November 5, 1931 – September 5, 2021) was an American Democratic Party politician who served six terms in the New Jersey General Assembly from the 36th Legislative District. Biography Hollenbeck was born in Carlsta ...

(1931–2021), politician who served six terms in the New Jersey General Assembly from the 36th Legislative District. * C. Gus Rys (1912–1980), politician who was mayor of Fair Lawn and served three terms in the New Jersey General Assembly. * Walt Szot (1920–1981),

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

tackle who played five seasons in the

with the

Chicago Cardinals The professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals previously played in Chicago, Illinois, as the Chicago Cardinals from 1898 to 1959 before relocating to St. Louis, Missouri, for the 1960 through 1987 seasons. Roots ...

and Pittsburgh Steelers. * Vito Trause (1925–2019),

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

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, ...

veteran and

prisoner of war A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610. Belligerents hold prisoners of ...

* Dick Vitale (born 1939), basketball coach and sportscaster who coached the East Rutherford basketball team to two state titles.Dick Vitale

ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...

. Accessed September 9, 2021. "He then earned four state sectional championships, two consecutive state championships, and 35 consecutive victories during his seven years at his alma mater—East Rutherford, NJ, High School (1964-70)."

References

{{Authority control 1971 disestablishments in New Jersey East Rutherford, New Jersey Educational institutions disestablished in 1971 Public high schools in Bergen County, New Jersey