St. Joseph's Preparatory School, known as "St. Joe's Prep" or simply "The Prep", is an urban, private,

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

, college preparatory school run by the

Society of Jesus The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

, United States. The school was founded in 1851 from the Old St. Joseph's Church in the city's Society Hill neighborhood. The school moved to its current campus on

Girard Avenue Girard Avenue is a major commercial and residential street in Philadelphia. For most of its length it runs east–west, but at Frankford Avenue it makes a 135-degree turn north. Parts of the road are signed as U.S. Route 13 and U.S. Route 30. ...

in the 1870s with the construction of the Church of the Gesu.

Curriculum

The credits must satisfy the minimums in religious studies (4), English (4), mathematics / computer science (4), history (3), science (3), classics & modern language (5), fine arts (1), electives (2). A minimum of two of the language credits must be in classics.

Extracurricular activities

Athletics

St. Joseph's Prep's athletic teams compete as one of the 16 schools in the

Philadelphia Catholic League The Philadelphia Catholic League is a high school sports league composed (as of the 2012-13 year) of 18 Catholic High Schools in Philadelphia and the surrounding Pennsylvania suburbs. The league itself was founded in the summer of 1920 on the step ...

. The Prep joined the

Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association The Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association, Inc. (PIAA) is one of the governing bodies of Secondary school, high school and middle school athletics for Pennsylvania. PIAA's main office is located in the Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, Harri ...

in the 2007–2008 school year. The Prep offers the following athletic programs: ''Fall:'' cross country, football (varsity, junior varsity, and freshmen),

crew A crew is a body or a group of people who work at a common activity, generally in a structured or hierarchy, hierarchical organization. A location in which a crew works is called a crewyard or a workyard. The word has nautical resonances: the ta ...

(varsity and junior varsity), rugby, soccer (varsity, junior varsity, and freshmen), squash (varsity and junior varsity), Ultimate Frisbee (club), and golf. ''Winter:'' basketball (varsity, junior varsity, and freshmen), bowling (varsity and junior varsity), indoor track and field, swimming, wrestling (varsity and junior varsity), and ice hockey (varsity, junior varsity, and freshmen). ''Spring:'' baseball (varsity, junior varsity, and freshman),

(varsity, junior varsity, and freshmen), volleyball, lacrosse, outdoor track and field, tennis, mountain biking, Ultimate Frisbee (club), and rugby (varsity, junior varsity, freshmen/sophomore). The boys senior eight crew team has won the Stotesbury Cup in national competition 15 times; in 1955, 1987, 1992, 1995, 1997, 1999–2001, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2019, 2021 2023, and 2024. Additionally, the Prep is the only team to ever sweep all the boys' eights events at the Stotesbury Cup Regatta, having done it in 1997, 2008, 2023, and 2024. The varsity rugby team has ranked among the top 50 in the country. In 2000, the Prep Varsity 8 won the Princess Elizabeth Challenge Cup at the

Henley Royal Regatta Henley Royal Regatta (or Henley Regatta, its original name pre-dating Royal patronage) is a Rowing (sport), rowing event held annually on the River Thames by the town of Henley-on-Thames, England. It was established on 26 March 1839. It diffe ...

. In 2021, St. Joseph's Prep won the USRowing Youth National Championship in the Men's 8+ for the first time. This was the first time a scholastic team won the national championship in over a decade. The Prep football team won back-to-back state championships, winning the Class 4A state championship in 2014 with a 49–41 win against Pine-Richland High School in the finals. Despite losing to La Salle College High School early in the 2015 playoffs, the St. Joseph's Prep football team won the first ever Class 6A PIAA state championship, defeating Pittsburgh Central Catholic by a score of 42–7 at HersheyPark Stadium in Hershey, Pennsylvania. The team won the program's fourth state title in 2018 with a 40–20 win against Harrisburg High School in the Class 6A tournament final.

Notable alumni

Academia and education

* Robert L. Barchi (Class of 1964), president of

Rutgers University Rutgers University ( ), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of three campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's C ...

and president of

Thomas Jefferson University Thomas Jefferson University is a Private university, private research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Established in its earliest form in 1824, the university officially combined with Philadelphia University in 2017. ...

* Mark C. Reed (Class of 1992), president of

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic Church, ...

; president of

Saint Joseph's University Saint Joseph's University (SJU or St. Joe's) is a Private university, private Jesuits, Jesuit university in Philadelphia, Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, and Lancaster, Pennsylvania. The university was founded by the Jesuits, Society of J ...

* Joseph A. Sellinger (Class of 1939), president of

Loyola University Maryland Loyola University Maryland is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established as Loyola College in Maryland by John Early (educator), John Early and eight other members of the Society of Je ...

* Michael J. Wade (Class of 1967), evolutionary biologist.

Authors and writers

* Richard Corliss (Class of 1961), film critic and editor for ''TIME'' magazine. * Christopher McDougall (Class of 1980), author of ''Born to Run''

Business

* W. Nicholas Howley (Class of 1970), founder/chairman of

TransDigm Group TransDigm Group Incorporated is an American publicly traded aerospace manufacturing company headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio. TransDigm develops and manufactures engineered aerospace components. It was founded in 1993, when four industrial aerosp ...

* John McShain (Class of 1914), building contractor; known as "The Man Who Built Washington" *

Frank Quattrone Frank Quattrone (born 1955) is an American technology investment banker who started technology sector franchises at Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, and Credit Suisse First Boston. He helped bring dozens of technology companies public during the 1 ...

(Class of 1973), investment banker; founder/CEO of Qatalyst Group

Catholic Church

* William J. Byron (Class of 1945), president of

The Catholic University of America The Catholic University of America (CUA) is a private Catholic research university in Washington, D.C., United States. It is one of two pontifical universities of the Catholic Church in the United States – the only one that is not primarily ...

and the

University of Scranton The University of Scranton is a private Jesuit university in Scranton, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1888 by William O'Hara, the first Bishop of Scranton, as St. Thomas College. In 1938, the college was elevated to university status and took ...

; president of the Prep, 2006–2008 * Cardinal John Foley (Class of 1953), president of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications and Grand Master of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem * Joseph Anthony Galante (Class of 1956), bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Camden, New Jersey * Joseph A. Sellinger (Class of 1938), president Loyola College in Maryland *

Francis B. Schulte Francis Bible Schulte, Order of the Holy Sepulchre (Catholic), O.H.S. (December 23, 1926 – January 17, 2016) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as archbishop of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of New Orleans, Arc ...

(Class of 1944), retired Archbishop of New Orleans * Francis X. Talbot (Class of 1906), president of Loyola College in Maryland

Entertainment

Jimmy Bruno James Michael Bruno (born July 22, 1953) is an American jazz guitarist from Philadelphia. Biography Born in Philadelphia, Bruno started playing guitar at the age of 7. He began his professional career at the age of 19, touring with Buddy Rich. ...

(Class of 1971), jazz guitarist * Joe "The Hammer" DeCamara (Class of 1996), Host of the WIP Morning Show, Sole Proprietor of Bath Time * Matt Duke (Class of 2003), singer-songwriter/musician signed to the label Rykodisc, released multiple albums *

Henry Gibson James Bateman (September 21, 1935 – September 14, 2009), known professionally as Henry Gibson, was an American actor, comedian and poet. He played roles in the television sketch-comedy series ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' from 1968 to 1971, w ...

(Class of 1953), star of ''

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' (often simply referred to as ''Laugh-In'') is an American sketch comedy television program that ran for six seasons from January 22, 1968, to July 23, 1973, on the NBC television network. The show, hosted by comed ...

'' * Henry Jones (Class of 1931), Tony Award-winning actor *

Rob McElhenney Robert McElhenney III ( ; born April 14, 1977) is an American actor, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for his role as Mac on the FX/ FXX comedy series '' It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'' (2005–present), a show he created and co ...

(Class of 1995), creator and co-star of the TV show, ''

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'', also known colloquially simply as ''Always Sunny'', is an American sitcom created by Rob McElhenney and co-developed by Glenn Howerton for FX (TV channel), FX. It premiered on August 4, 2005, and stars Charl ...

''. A fictional version of the school appears in the show. Co-owner of Welsh association football club

Wrexham A.F.C. Wrexham Association Football Club () is a professional association football club based in Wrexham, Wales. Formed in 1864, it is the oldest club in Wales and the third-oldest professional association football team in the world. The club compe ...

Michael Rady Michael Rady is an American actor. Career Rady made his acting debut in the feature film '' The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants'', playing Kostas Dounas, a role he reprised in the sequel, '' The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2''. He has ...

(Class of 1999), actor featured in ''

The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants ''The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants'' is a series of five bestselling Young adult literature, young adult novels by Ann Brashares: ''The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (novel), The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants (2001),'' ''The Second S ...

'' and star of TV drama '' Melrose Place'' * Dan White (Class of 1999), magician, host of the

Discovery Channel Discovery Channel, known as The Discovery Channel from 1985 to 1995, and often referred to as simply Discovery, is an American cable channel that is best known for its ongoing reality television shows and promotion of pseudoscience. It init ...

show ''The Supernaturalist''

Engineering

* John R. Casani (Class of 1950), engineer and project manager at NASA's

Jet Propulsion Laboratory The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is a Federally funded research and development centers, federally funded research and development center (FFRDC) in La Cañada Flintridge, California, Crescenta Valley, United States. Founded in 1936 by Cali ...

Government and politics

* John F. Byrne Sr. (born 1911),

Philadelphia City Council The Philadelphia City Council is the legislative body of the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in the United States. It is composed of 17 councilmembers: ten members elected by district and seven members elected at-large from throughou ...

man and Pennsylvania state senator * Johnny Dougherty, former

labor Labour or labor may refer to: * Childbirth, the delivery of a baby * Labour (human activity), or work ** Manual labour, physical work ** Wage labour, a socioeconomic relationship between a worker and an employer ** Organized labour and the labour ...

leader prominent in Philadelphia Democratic politics * Andrew von Eschenbach (Class of 1959), United States Commissioner of Food and Drugs, director at BioTime, a

biotechnology Biotechnology is a multidisciplinary field that involves the integration of natural sciences and Engineering Science, engineering sciences in order to achieve the application of organisms and parts thereof for products and services. Specialists ...

company * Vince Fumo (Class of 1960), Pennsylvania state senator and Ranking Democratic Member of the Pennsylvania Senate Appropriations Committee * William J. Green III (Class of 1956), U.S. Congressman and

mayor of Philadelphia The mayor of Philadelphia is the chief executive of the government of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, as stipulated by the Charter of the City of Philadelphia. The current mayor of Philadelphia is Cherelle Parker, who is the first woman to hold the ...

* William K. Greenlee (Class of 1971), Philadelphia City Councilman * Jim Kenney (Class of 1976), Philadelphia City Councilman and Mayor of Philadelphia * Gerald A. McHugh Jr. (Class of 1972),

United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania The United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (in case citations, E.D. Pa.) is one of the original 13 federal judiciary districts created by the Judiciary Act of 1789. It originally sat in Independence Hall in Philad ...

judge *

Michael Nutter Michael Anthony Nutter (born June 29, 1957) is an American politician who served as the 98th Mayor of Philadelphia from 2008 to 2016. A member of the Democratic Party, he is also a former member of the Philadelphia City Council from the 4th di ...

(Class of 1975), Philadelphia City Councilman and Mayor of Philadelphia * Brian J. O'Neill (Class of 1978), Minority Leader of the Philadelphia City Council * Matthew J. Ryan (Class of 1950),

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

speaker * Patrick F.Dugan (Class of 1978) Former President Judge of Philadelphia Municipal Court

Military

* Navy Rear Admiral Joseph F. Kilkenny (Class of 1973), commander, U.S. Navy Carrier Strike Group 10 and Naval Recruiting Command

Sports

* Tom Burgoyne (Class of 1983), “friend” of the

Phillie Phanatic The Phillie Phanatic is the official mascot for the Philadelphia Phillies Major League Baseball team. He is a large, furry, green bird with an extendable tongue. He performs various routines to entertain fans during baseball games at Citizens Ban ...

, mascot of the

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...

* Peter Cipollone (Class of 1989), 2004 Olympic gold-medalist and world record-holder in rowing * Kyle Criscuolo (born 1992), professional ice hockey player,

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Con ...

* Frank Costa (Class of 1990), college football player,

University of Miami The University of Miami (UM, UMiami, Miami, U of M, and The U) is a private university, private research university in Coral Gables, Florida, United States. , the university enrolled 19,852 students in two colleges and ten schools across over ...

Colin Farrell Colin James Farrell (; born 31 May 1976) is an Irish actor. A Leading actor, leading man in blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters and independent films since the 2000s, he has received various List of awards and nominations received by Col ...

(Class of 2001), world champion rower and head coach for

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (Penn or UPenn) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. One of nine colonial colleges, it was chartered in 1755 through the efforts of f ...

lightweight men's crew * Rich Gannon (Class of 1983), professional football player, 2002 National Football League (NFL) MVP *

Matt Guokas Matthew George Guokas Jr. ( ; born February 25, 1944) is an American former professional basketball player and coach. His father, Matt Guokas Sr., Matt Sr. and uncle, Al Guokas, Al, have also played in the NBA. Guokas and his father, Matt Sr., ...

(Class of 1962), professional basketball player,

Philadelphia 76ers The Philadelphia 76ers, also known colloquially as the Sixers, are an American professional basketball team based in the Philadelphia metropolitan area. The 76ers compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlan ...

, and head coach,

Orlando Magic The Orlando Magic are an American professional basketball team based in Orlando, Florida. The Magic compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division (NBA), Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference (NB ...

* Marvin Harrison Jr. (Class of 2021), NFL player 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) NFC West, West division. The ...

. Former Ohio State All-American, 2023 recipient of the

Biletnikoff Award The Fred Biletnikoff Award is presented annually to the most outstanding receiver in American college football by the Tallahassee Quarterback Club Foundation, Inc. (TQCF), an independent not-for-profit 501(c)(3) organization. The award was creat ...

* Fritz Henrich, professional baseball player for the

* Victor Hobson (Class of 1998), NFL player for the

* Jim Knowles (Class of 1983), head coach of

Cornell University Cornell University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson W ...

football team, defensive coordinator,

Penn State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

football team *

Phil Martelli Philip Martelli Sr. (born August 31, 1954) is an American college basketball coach, who was recently the associate head coach for the Michigan Wolverines men's basketball, Michigan Wolverines. As the former head coach of the Saint Joseph's Hawk ...

(Class of 1972), head coach of

basketball team, assistant coach of

University of Michigan The University of Michigan (U-M, U of M, or Michigan) is a public university, public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. Founded in 1817, it is the oldest institution of higher education in the state. The University of Mi ...

basketball team * Kyle McCord (Class of 2021), American football player for

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York, United States. It was established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church but has been nonsectarian since 1920 ...

* Jim McKay (Class of 1939),

ABC Sports ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial America ...

anchorman; contributor of services to

2006 FIFA World Cup The 2006 FIFA World Cup was the 18th FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football world championship tournament. It was held from 9 June to 9 July 2006 in Germany, which had won the right to FIFA World Cup hosts ...

* John Reid (Class of 2015), NFL cornerback for the

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

* Jon Runyan Jr. (Class of 2015), NFL offensive lineman 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

* Kevin Stefanski (Class of 2000), NFL head coach for the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

D'Andre Swift D'Andre Tiyon Swift (born January 14, 1999) is an American professional American football, football running back for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Georgia Bulldogs football, Georgia B ...

(Class of 2017), NFL running back for 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

* Jeremiah Trotter Jr. (Class of 2021), NFL linebacker for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

* Josiah Trotter (Class of 2023), college football linebacker for the Missouri Tigers * Olamide Zaccheaus (Class of 2015), NFL wide receiver for the

References

* Twyman, Anthony S., "''Prepped for Politics''". Philadelphia Inquirer. 23 November 2005.

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Joseph's Preparatory School Boys' schools in the United States Roman Catholic secondary schools in Philadelphia Jesuit high schools in the United States Educational institutions established in 1851 1851 establishments in Pennsylvania Fairmount, Philadelphia Society of Jesus in Pennsylvania