Carl Schurz High School
Academics
Schurz High School is rated a 2 out of 10 by GreatSchools.org, a national school quality information site. GreatSchools’ Summary Rating is based on four of the school’s themed ratings: the Test Score Rating, Student or Academic Progress Rating, College Readiness Rating, and Equity Rating and flags for discipline and attendance disparities at a school.
History
The land upon which the current school is built was purchased in 1908, and is about two blocks south of an older building which was also Carl Schurz High School (located at 2338 N. 41st Court). The final site was approved in October 1908, with an estimated US$500,000 construction cost. Shortly after the school's opening, Carl Schurz's son donated a picture of his father and copies of his father's two published works to the school. The school was formally dedicated on the evening of 18 November 1910, with a presentation of a bust of the school's namesake. Able to accommodate 1,400 students, the building included an assembly hall, gymnasium, foundry, forge, a physiographical lab, and lunchroom.
Schurz High School has a twin on the south side of Chicago. Bowen High School at 2710 E. 89th st. was built using the same design.
Athletics
Schurz competes in the Chicago Public League (CPL) and is a member of the Illinois High School Association (IHSA); the organization that governs most athletic and competitive activities in the state. Teams are stylized as the Bulldogs. The following teams finished in the top four of their IHSA sponsored state championship tournament:
- Baseball: state champions (1954–55, 1968–69)
- Cross country (boys): 4th place (1947–48)
- Soccer (boys): 2nd place (1977–78)
- Swimming and diving (boys): 3rd place (1946–47)
Notable alumni
- Hadley Arkes is a political author and professor.
- Sybil Bauer was a swimmer who set 23 world records in her career. She won the first ever Olympic gold medal contested in the women's backstroke at the 1924 Summer Olympics.
- John William Chapman served as Lieutenant Governor of Illinois (1953–61).
- Rey Colón, alderman of the 35th ward of the City of Chicago
- Bill Conterio was a soccer player who played professionally in the National Soccer League of Chicago, and played for the United States men's national soccer team at the 1952 and 1956 Olympics.
- David Diaz is a boxer who held the WBC world lightweight championship (2006–08).
- Adolph Dubs was the United States Ambassador to Afghanistan (1978–79). He was assassinated there, and was not replaced until 2002.
- Bruce DuMont is the host of the political radio talk show Beyond the Beltway. He also founded the Museum of Broadcast Communications.
- Vincent du Vigneaud was a biochemist who won the 1955 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his work in the isolation, identification, and synthesis of oxytocin.
- Ed Earle played basketball for the Syracuse Nationals of the NBL (1953–54).
- Moe Franklin was a Major League Baseball player.
- Leo Freisinger was a speed skater who won a bronze medal in the 500m event at the 1936 Winter Olympics.
- Myrna Hansen was an actress who won the titles of Miss Illinois USA 1953 and Miss USA 1953.
- Sheldon Harnick is a Pulitzer Prize–winning lyricist (Fiorello!, Fiddler on the Roof).
- Walter Hoffelder was an Illinois state legislator and businessman.
- Emerson C. Itschner was an engineer who served in the United States Army, rising to the rank of Lieutenant General, leading the Army Corps of Engineers as Chief of Engineers (1956–61).
- Donald Johanson is a paleoanthropologist best known for his 1974 discovery of the fossil Lucy.
- Luke Johnsos was an NFL end (1929–36), playing his entire career for the Chicago Bears. From 1942–45, he shared head coaching duties for the Bears.
- David M. Maddox is a former four–star general who served as Commander in Chief, United States Army Europe (1992–94).
- Harry Markowitz is an economist who won the 1990 Nobel Prize in Economics for his work in Modern Portfolio Theory.
- Terrence McCann was a wrestler who won a gold medal in freestyle wrestling at the 1960 Olympics. He would go on to help found USA Wrestling, the national governing body for freestyle and Greco-Roman Wrestling.
- George E. McNally was a city official and briefly the 87th Mayor of Mobile, Alabama.
- William S. Paley was a radio, recording industry, and television executive who built the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) into a national broadcasting and recording power.
- Abram Nicholas Pritzker was a businessman and philanthropist who was instrumental in founding the Hyatt Corporation and Marmon Group.
- Lenny Sachs was a pro football player and Loyola basketball coach. He was a 1961 inductee in the Basketball Hall of Fame.
- Vic Schwall was an NFL running back (1947–50) selected in the first round of the 1947 NFL draft. He played his entire career for the Chicago Cardinals, and was a member of their 1947 NFL Championship team.
- Ken Silvestri was a Major League Baseball catcher (1939–41, 1946–47, 1950–51), who later coached and briefly managed the Atlanta Braves (1967).
- Don Stonesifer was an NFL wide receiver (1951–56) playing his entire career for the Chicago Cardinals.
- Gene Sullivan was the head basketball coach at Loyola University and was the athletic director at Loyola and DePaul University.
- Norm Swanson briefly played with the NBA Rochester Royals.
- Stan Szukala, NBL player for the Chicago Bruins and Chicago American Gears.
- Waid Vanderpoel was the Chief Investment Officer of the First National Bank of Chicago and the two–time president of Citizens for Conservation.
- Thaddeus Weclew was a co–founder of the Academy of General Dentistry.
- Alvin Wistert was a collegiate tackle for the University of Michigan. He is the oldest football player ever to be named an All-American. He and his brothers Francis and Albert all have their uniform numbers retired at the University of Michigan, and are all in the College Football Hall of Fame.
- Whitey Wistert was a collegiate tackle for the University of Michigan who briefly pitched for Major League Baseball's Cincinnati Reds. He is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
- Richie Woit was an NFL defensive back (1955), playing his entire career for the Detroit Lions.
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Sheldon Harnick
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Lt. General Emerson C. Itschner
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Donald C. Johanson
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General David M. Maddox
References
- ^ "Schurz High School". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
- ^ "High School Code Search". College Board. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
- ^ "Chicago (Schurz)". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). January 19, 2010. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
- ^ "Institution Summary for Schurz High School". AdvancED profile. North Central Association Commission on Accreditation and School Improvement. Archived from the original on July 18, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
- ^ "Schurzone". Schurz High School. Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
- ^ "Weekly List of Actions Taken on Properties: 2/22/11 through 2/25/11". National Park Service. March 4, 2011. Retrieved April 10, 2012.
- ^ Schurz High School Archived June 7, 2007, at the Wayback Machine. City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development, Landmarks Division (2003). Retrieved on 2007-05-14.
- ^ "Carl Schurz High School Historical Marker". www.hmdb.org. Retrieved January 23, 2025.
- ^ "Schurz High School". American Institute of Architects. Retrieved May 14, 2007.
- ^ Waldinger, Mike (January 30, 2018). "The proud history of architecture in Illinois". Springfield Business Journal. Retrieved January 30, 2018.
- ^ "Best High Schools in Chicago, IL | GreatSchools". GreatSchools.org. Retrieved July 25, 2024.
- ^ "Charges Neglect of Schools: Ald. McNeal Calls Sanitation in Old Buildings Intolerable – City orders Inspection – Tour of Poorer Districts Probably Will Be Made This Week – Names Badly Kept Schools – Orders Manual Equipment", Chicago Daily Tribune, p. 11, June 11, 1908,
It also approved the purchase of a site for the new Carl Schurz high school to replace the school of the same name at 2338 North Forty-first court.
- ^ "Decries High School Outlay: Cooley Objects to Giving Facilities to Rich and Not to Poor – Lower Grades Need Room – Basements and "Portables" for Children of Congested Wards – Guerin and Spiegel with Cooley – Question of Fact Disputed – Schurz School Site Chosen", Chicago Daily Tribune, p. 1, October 17, 1908,
The site of the proposed $500,00 Carl Schurz High school ... was determined ... the school will be located at Addison street and Milwaukee avenue ...
- ^ "Schurz's Son Sends a Gift", Chicago Daily Tribune, p. 12, November 4, 1910,
... member of the Board of Education received ... a letter expressing gratitude toward the school board for naming the high school ... The writer also announced that he was sending a set of his father's literary works and a picture of their author for the school.
- ^ "Dedicate the Schurz School: Exercises to be held tomorrow night at new Northwest Side $500,000 structure", Chicago Daily Tribune, p. 13, November 17, 1910,
... it has an assembly hall, gymnasium, foundry, forgeroom, woodworking shops, physiographical laboratory, office, teacher's room, and lunchroom ... The capacity of the school is 1,400 students.
- ^ "IHSA Season Summaries". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). January 25, 2010. Retrieved January 26, 2010.
- ^ "Schurz Alumni Hall of Fame". Schurz High School. Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ "Schurz Sports Hall of Fame". Schurz High School. Archived from the original on April 15, 2013. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ Bell, Taylor (April 22, 2008), "Schurz Bulldogs", Chicago Sun-Times, retrieved January 25, 2010
- ^ Sisson, Richard; Zacher, Christian K. (2007), The American Midwest: an interpretive encyclopedia, Bloomington, Indiana: Indiana University Press, ISBN 978-0-253-34886-9,
(p. 901) Sybil Bauer was born in Chicago on September 18, 1903, and learned to swim at age fifteen at Carl Schurz High School.
- ^ Pruter, Robert. "Girls Interscholastic Swimming in the Chicago Public Schools, 1917-1934". Illinois High School Association (IHSA). Retrieved January 25, 2010.
In all the contests that Schurz participated in, the school won, because its team included one of the all-time greats of women swimming on its squad, senior Sybil Bauer.
- ^ Schwartz, Seth (May 16, 2004), "Chicagoan Diaz looks dominating Brock also rings up impressive victory vs. Smith at DePaul", Chicago Sun-Times, archived from the original on November 2, 2012, retrieved January 25, 2010,
David Diaz has talked before about becoming a world champion ... "We trained extra hard to prepare for this fight," said Diaz, a Schurz graduate who improved to 24-0 with 13 knockouts.
- ^ New York Times, AP (February 16, 1979), "Slain Envoy a Man of Compassion", Milwaukee Journal, p. 9, retrieved January 25, 2010,
After completing Carl Schurz High School in Chicago he attended Beloit. His classmates saying that they did not want to call him by Adolph Hitler's first name, nicknamed him "Spike" ...
- ^ Hoffman, Klaus (1987). "Vincent Du Vigneaud (1901-1978)" (PDF). Biographical Memoirs of the National Academy of Sciences. 56. Washington, D.C.: National Academy of Sciences: 543. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
Vincent du Vigneaud was born in Chicago in 1901 ... He attended Carl Schurz High School in Chicago, from which he graduated in 1918.
- ^ "Ed Earle". statistics & biographic information. Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ "Loyola Mourns The Passing Of Ed Earle: Former Rambler scored over 1,000 points in his career". press release. Loyola University Athletic Department. April 2, 2009. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
Former Loyola University Chicago men's basketball star Ed Earle passed away March 26. Earle, a graduate of Schurz High School in Chicago, was a member of the Ramblers' program from 1946–50 and currently ranks 36th on the school's career scoring chart with 1,018 points.
- ^ Pruter, Robert. "The Glorious History of High School Speedskating In Illinois 1921 to 1988". essay. Illinois High School Association (IHSA). Retrieved January 25, 2010.
The 1932 Public League meet, which Austin was for the second year in a row, featured another future Olympian and Hall of Famer, Leo Freisinger of Schurz High. The senior knocked an unheard 30 seconds off the record for the mile distance, and in 1936 represented the United States in the Olympic Games.
- ^ "Biography of Sheldon Harnick". biographic scketch. Music Theater International. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
Carl Schurz High School 1938–1942
- ^ 'Illinois Blue Book 1969-1970,' Biographical Sketch of Walter P. Hoffelder, pg. 160-161
- ^ "Luke Johnsos". statistics & biographic info. databasefootball.com. Archived from the original on February 17, 2010. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ Gregory, Ted (June 11, 2006). "Terrence McCann: 1934-2006 Wrestler won Olympic gold after achieving height of success at 1960 Games, he helped to establish USA Wrestling" (Obituary). Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
At Schurz High School in 1952, Terrence McCann was an ardent and successful wrestler. But he was an indifferent student who wanted to wrestle at University of Iowa.
- ^ Associated Press (October 15, 1946), "Best Yard Gainers Were In Air Force", Milwaukee Journal, p. 2, retrieved January 25, 2010,
The Big Ten top two gainers ... Vic Schwall of Northwestern ... Schwall was a star on Chicago's Schurz high school ice skating team, and would like to see the conference make speed skating an intercollegiate sport.
- ^ "Vic Schwall". statistics & biographic info. Databasefootball.com. Archived from the original on June 10, 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ "Ken Silvestri". statistics and biographic info. The Baseball Cube. Archived from the original on December 31, 2009. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ Davis, Jeff (2006), Papa Bear: The Life and Legacy of George Halas, New York, USA: McGraw Hill Professional, ISBN 0-07-147741-1,
(p. 298) "I always think of Don Stonesifer", Gleason said. "Stoney made the most remarkable catch. Stoney went to Schurz and Northwestern, played with the Cardinals ...
- ^ "Don Stonesifer". statistics & biographic info. Databasefootball.com. Archived from the original on November 20, 2011. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ "Norm Swanson". statistics & biographic info. Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ Peterson, William E. (November 6, 2003). "Illinois Senate Resolution 0299". Senate of the 93rd Illinois General Assembly. Retrieved February 28, 2010.
WHEREAS, Mr. Vanderpoel was born in Chicago's Norwood Park neighborhood on the Northwest side; he graduated from Schurz High School in 1939 ...
- ^ "Alvin "Moose" Wistert". College Football Hall of Fame. Football Foundation. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ "Francis "Whitey" Wistert". College Football Hall of Fame. Football Foundation. Retrieved January 25, 2010.
- ^ "Richie Woit Stats". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved June 1, 2020.