St. Thomas High School is an all-boys,

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 in

Houston, Texas Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

. Founded in 1900, St. Thomas is the second oldest continuously operating private high school in Houston behind Incarnate Word Academy, which was founded in 1873. The school is operated by the Basilian Fathers in the

Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

History

St. Thomas High School was established in 1900 as St. Thomas College and housed that year at Franklin Avenue and Caroline Street. The founders were the Rev. Nicholas Roche, C.S.B. and two other Basilian Fathers. When the original school suffered hurricane damage, the Fathers relocated to Capitol and Main. In 1903, permanency was assured when Father Roche bought a block of land at Austin and Hadley and constructed Houston's first College Preparatory School for boys. Thanks to the foresight of a native Texan, The Rev. T.P. O'Rourke, C.S.B., educator and author, St. Thomas High School in 1940 moved to the current site on the bank of

Buffalo Bayou Buffalo Bayou is a slow-moving river which flows through Houston in Harris County, Texas. Formed 18,000 years ago, it has its source in the prairie surrounding Katy, Texas, Katy, Fort Bend County, Texas, Fort Bend County, and flows approximately ...

. The college section later became the University of St. Thomas. Father A.L. Higgins directed the building of the new facility, which has expanded in later years. During Houston's 20th century growth into a focus of world culture, St. Thomas High School has trained men of vision and responsibility, winners of national and international fame; statesmen, churchmen, artists, historians, athletes, civic and business leaders, industrial pioneers, and citizens of many talents. The school was named after

St. Thomas Aquinas Thomas Aquinas ( ; ; – 7 March 1274) was an Italian Dominican friar and priest, the foremost Scholastic thinker, as well as one of the most influential philosophers and theologians in the Western tradition. A Doctor of the Church, he wa ...

, the patron saint of students and education. St. Thomas has occupied its current (as of 2023) site since 1940. The school's location in central Houston on the north bank of the

at Memorial and Shepherd which places it 3 miles from

Downtown Houston Downtown is the largest central business district in the city of Houston and the largest in the state of Texas, located near the geographic center of the metropolitan area at the confluence of Interstate 10 in Texas, Interstate 10, Interstate 45 ...

. The campus is self-contained with a fine arts center, computer lab, library, competition gymnasium, baseball field, chapel, and stadium, most housed in distinguished Texas Cordova Shell Stone buildings. By the 2010s St. Thomas sought to expand but lacked land needed to build more buildings. As of July 2013 St. Thomas High School and the investment group AV Dickson Street were engaged in a dispute over the acquisition of the

High School for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice High School for Law and Justice (HSLJ), formerly the High School for Law Enforcement and Criminal Justice (LE/CJ in short), is a high school located in Houston, Texas, United States. The school serves grades 9 through 12 and is a part of the ...

(HSLECJ) property of the

Houston Independent School District The Houston Independent School District (HISD) is the largest Public school (government funded), public school system in Texas, and the eighth-largest in the United States. Houston ISD serves as a community school district for most of the ci ...

(HISD).Willey, Jessica.
Old HISD building center of property fight
" ''

KTRK-TV KTRK-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Houston, Texas, United States. It is owned and operated by the ABC network via its ABC Owned Television Stations division, and maintains studio facilities on Bissonnet Street in Houston's Upper ...

''. Tuesday July 16, 2013. Retrieved on July 18, 2013. On Thursday July 18, 2013 the HISD board rejected both requests. David Thompson, the HISD board attorney, stated that both bidders violated the district's code of silence policy. In November of that year HISD sold the former HSLECJ to St. Thomas. HISD received $60 million from St. Thomas. At the time of sale HISD was still using the HSLECJ campus and St. Thomas had to wait until the new campus for HSLECJ opened before repurposing it. HSLECJ, later renamed to High School for Law and Justice, moved to its new campus in 2018. The HSLECJ was named the Joplin Campus, and select portions were opened in 2020. The dedication was held November 2020.

Location

St. Thomas High School is situated west of

on the wooded banks of Buffalo Bayou at the corner of Memorial Drive and Shepherd.

Feeder schools

A majority of students at St. Thomas come from various private, Catholic, and parochial grade schools such as St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Anne (Houston), St. Michael's, St. Cecilia's, St. Rose of Lima, St. Theresa, and

The Regis School of the Sacred Heart The Regis School of the Sacred Heart is an elementary and middle school for boys. It is located at 7330 Westview Drive in the Spring Branch area of Houston, in the U.S. state of Texas. The boys school serves students in pre-kindergarten through ...

within the Archdiocese of Galveston–Houston, but a significant part of the student body comes from other area Christian schools. Students from public middle schools also often choose to apply for admission for their freshman year.

Transportation

, the school has four bus routes: Pearland, Christ the Redeemer Catholic School in

Cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs from the ''Cupressus'' genus of the '' Cupressaceae'' family, typically found in temperate climates and subtropical regions of Asia, Europe, and North America. The word ''cypress'' ...

, St. Martha Catholic School in Kingwood, and St. Edward Catholic School in the

Spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a he ...

area.

Campus

In 2012 Richard Connelly of the ''

Houston Press The ''Houston Press'' is an online newspaper published in Houston, Texas, United States. It is headquartered in the Midtown Houston, Midtown area. It was also a weekly print newspaper until November 2017. The publication is supported entirely ...

'' ranked St. Thomas as the third most architecturally beautiful high school campus in

Greater Houston Greater Houston, designated by the Office of Management and Budget, United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–Pasadena–The Woodlands, is the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical ...

. Connelly said that "An appropriately churchy feel to the entrance relieves the somewhat banal industrial feel of the wings."Connelly, Richard. "The 7 Best-Looking High Schools in Houston." ''

''. Tuesday May 22, 2012
2
Retrieved on May 27, 2012. The Joplin Campus includes strength/conditioning and sports medicine facilities as well as locker rooms for basketball and wrestling teams. The weight training room was previously a cafeteria. The auditorium at Joplin has a capacity of 630. St. Thomas also built a new baseball field summer of 2023 (Fr. Wilson Field).

Student body

In 2013 there were 745 students, with 63% being non-Hispanic White, 21% being Hispanic or Latino, 7% being African-American, 6% being Asian, and 3% being multiracial. In 2013 students came from over 130 ZIP codes. The school administration stated that this is because St. Thomas is in the center of the

Houston metropolitan area Greater Houston, designated by the United States Office of Management and Budget as Houston–Pasadena–The Woodlands, is the fifth-most populous metropolitan statistical area in the United States, encompassing ten counties along the Gulf Coa ...

. In 2013 it had 105 full-time employees.

Notable alumni

Bill Archer William Reynolds Archer Jr. (born March 22, 1928) is an American retired lawyer and politician. Archer served two terms, from 1967 to 1971, in the Texas House of Representatives – changing from the Democratic to the Republican party in 1967 ...

, U.S. congressman (1971-2001) * Corky Ballas, retired competitive ballroom dancer who holds several Latin dance championship titles *

Cavan Biggio Cavan Thomas Biggio ( '; born April 11, 1995) is an American professional baseball Utility player (baseball), utility player for the Kansas City Royals of Major League Baseball (MLB). He has previously played in MLB for the Toronto Blue Jays, Lo ...

, baseball player * John Bradshaw, author, educator, and motivational speaker * Jack Burke Jr., professional golfer; winner of 1956 Masters and 1956 PGA Championship *

Oscar Cantú Oscar Cantú (born December 5, 1966) is a Mexican-American Catholic prelate who has served as Bishop of San Jose since 2018. Cantú served as Bishop of Las Cruces from 2013 to 2018, and as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of San Antonio ...

, Catholic prelate * George Edward Cire, U.S. federal judge *

Dan Cook Daniel John Cook Jr. (August 12, 1926 – July 3, 2008) was a sports writer for the ''San Antonio Express-News'' for 51 years. He is most notable for making the phrase " the opera ain't over till the fat lady sings" into common use. Described as ...

, sports journalist. *

William H. Goetzmann William Harry Goetzmann (July 20, 1930 – September 7, 2010) was an American historian and emeritus professor in the American Studies and American Civilization Programs at the University of Texas at Austin. He attended Yale University as a graduate ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

professor and winner of 1967

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

for History *

L. Patrick Gray Louis Patrick Gray III (July 18, 1916 – July 6, 2005) was acting director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from May 3, 1972, to April 27, 1973. During this time, the FBI was in charge of the initial investigation into the burglari ...

, former director of the

Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...

Henry Grover Henry Cushing Grover (April 1, 1927 – November 28, 2005), usually known as Hank Grover, was an American politician from the U.S. state of Texas best known for his relatively narrow defeat in the 1972 Texas gubernatorial election. If elected, ...

, Republican

gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the type of political region or polity, a ''governor'' ma ...

nominee in 1972. * Steven Hotze, physician and

far-right Far-right politics, often termed right-wing extremism, encompasses a range of ideologies that are marked by ultraconservatism, authoritarianism, ultranationalism, and nativism. This political spectrum situates itself on the far end of the ...

activist *

Joe Jamail Joseph Dahr Jamail Jr. (October 19, 1925 – December 23, 2015) was an American attorney and billionaire. As the wealthiest practicing attorney in America, he was frequently referred to as the "King of Torts". In 2015, his net worth was estimate ...

, trial lawyer. *

Dave Marr David Francis Marr Jr. (December 27, 1933 – October 5, 1997) was an American professional golfer and sportscaster, best known for winning the 1965 PGA Championship. Early years Marr was born and raised in Houston, Texas, the son of a ...

, professional golfer and broadcaster; winner of 1965 PGA Championship. * David Herbert McNerney,

Medal of Honor The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, military decoration and is awarded to recognize American United States Army, soldiers, United States Navy, sailors, Un ...

recipient. * William Michael Mulvey, current bishop of Corpus Christi since his episcopal ordination in 2010. * Vincent M. Rizzotto, Auxiliary

Bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

Emeritus of the

Roman Catholic Diocese of Galveston-Houston Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of Roman civilization *Epistle to the Romans, shortened to Romans, a letter w ...

. *George Strake, Jr.,

Secretary of State of Texas The secretary of state of Texas is one of the six members of the executive department of the State of Texas in the United States. Under the Constitution of Texas, the appointment is made by the governor of Texas, with confirmation by the Texa ...

(1979-81); Republican state chairman, 1983–88; Houston businessman and philanthropist. *

Steve Tyrell Steve Tyrell (born Stephen Louis Bilao III, December 19, 1944) is an American singer and record producer. He won a 2004 Grammy Award as the producer of the Rod Stewart studio album '' Stardust: The Great American Songbook, Volume III''. He also h ...

, Grammy Award-winning musician and producer * Josh Wolf (born 2000), baseball player in the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

organization and for Team Israel

Athletics

St. Thomas originally competed in the now defunct T.C.I.L. ( Texas Christian Interscholastic League) That league began in 1935 under the direction of Rev. Albert Mitchell (principal of Central Catholic, San Antonio) St. Thomas' last year of competition in the T.C.I.L. concluded when the league came to a close in the 1999-2000 athletic season. The Eagles are proud owners of numerous District, Regional and State Championships in various sports that date back from over the past 100 years, as well as several within the past five years in their current league. The athletic department provides 12 different programs which are: Baseball, Basketball, Cross-Country, Football, Golf, Lacrosse, Rugby, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, Track & Field, and Wrestling. Currently, St. Thomas competes in the

Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools The Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools, or TAPPS, is an organization headquartered in the Lone Star Tower at Texas Motor Speedway Fort Worth, Texas, Fort Worth, Texas. It was formerly headquartered at the Salado Civic Center in Sa ...

(TAPPS). The Eagles have prospered well in its league with numerous district and state championships. The most recent state championship came in 2023 with the cross-country team winning the state title. In May 2008 the school hired

Craig Biggio Craig Alan Biggio (; born December 14, 1965) is an American former baseball second baseman, outfielder, and catcher who played 20 seasons in Major League Baseball for the Houston Astros, from 1988 to 2007. A seven-time National League (baseball), ...

, the former

Houston Astros The Houston Astros are an American professional baseball team based in Houston. The Astros compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League West, West Division. They are one of two major leag ...

second baseman and

Hall of Famer A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actual halls or muse ...

, as head baseball coach. Biggio remained the head coach until he stepped down at the conclusion of the 2012–2013 school year.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Saint Thomas High School Private high schools in Houston Roman Catholic secondary schools in Houston Basilian schools Boys' schools in Texas Educational institutions established in 1900 1900 establishments in Texas