Xaverian Brothers High School
History and tradition
Cardinal Cushing officiated the school's dedication ceremony on August 31, 1963, with Xaverian Brothers' provincial Brother Gilroy Bishop, and the first headmaster, Brother Marcellus Feeley. The land that the school stands on today was originally part of the Forbes family estate. The late philanthropist Rocco Zoppo was instrumental in arranging for the Brothers to receive the land. The school's Rocco Zoppo Chapter of the National Honor Society is now named in his honor. The first day of school at XBHS was September 5, 1963 with 251 students, all ninth graders.
| Headmasters of XBHS | ||
|---|---|---|
| Years | Headmaster | |
| 1963-1966 | Marcellus Feeley, C.F.X. | |
| 1966-1970 | Gilroy Bishop, C.F.X. | |
| 1970-1984 | William Drinan, C.F.X. | |
| 1984-1991 | Richard Cook, C.F.X. | |
| 1991-2019 | Daniel Skala, C.F.X. | |
| 2019–Present | Jacob Conca '94 | |
Academics
XBHS is a Catholic college preparatory school for boys in grades 7-12. The school is a Xaverian Brothers Sponsored School that enrolls 880 students from more than 60 different communities.
There are Academic Department Centers for Mathematics, English, Social Studies, World Languages, Theology, and three science labs (Biology, Chemistry and Physics).
In 2014, the Francis Xavier Division (grades 7 and 8) was established, bringing in the first-ever 7th grade class.
Athletics
XBHS is a member of the Catholic Conference and is classified as Division 1 in the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association (MIAA) for a majority of its athletic programs. It sponsors 16 varsity sports - cross country (non-cut), golf, football (non-cut) and soccer during the fall season; alpine skiing (non-cut), basketball, hockey, indoor track (non-cut), swimming (non-cut), and wrestling (non-cut) during the winter season; and baseball, lacrosse, rugby (non-cut), tennis, track & field (non-cut) and volleyball during the spring season. The MIAA has honored Xaverian athletics five times for outstanding sportsmanship. Many Xaverian graduates go on to participate in college athletics and a few alumni are playing among the professional ranks in basketball, football and hockey including James Bailey '75 and Dana Barros '85 in the NBA; Greg Comella '93, Matt Hasselbeck '93, Tim Hasselbeck '96, Drew Strojny '99, Maurice Hurst Jr. '13, and Joe Gaziano '15 in the NFL; and Mark Young '77 in the AHL, and Chris Wagner '09 in the NHL. Ted Currle is the current Athletic Director.
Athletic Abilities
The Hawks' most notable success in athletics has been in alpine skiing, baseball, cross country, golf, football, lacrosse and track & field.
In particular, the football team has brought great notoriety to the school, having won twelve MIAA Division 1 State Championships in 1966, 1967, 1986, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2009, 2014, 2015, 2023, and 2024. The 2015 team was ranked the 22nd best team in nation by USA Today. Further, four Hawks' football players have been selected the Massachusetts Player of the Year by numerous organizations: Greg Comella in 1992, Matt Hasselbeck in 1993, Chris Fox in 2005, Alex Phalen in 2009, Joe Gaziano in 2014, Coby Tippett in 2015, and Henry Hasselbeck in 2023.
Clubs and activities
Theater Arts
XBHS's theatrical performances have been in existence since Xaverian first opened in the late 1960s. Since its first production, "Take Time Out," Xaverian has performed over 80 shows. XBHS presents two shows each year: one play and one musical. These productions are held in November and March, alternating between having the play in the fall and the musical in the spring and vice-versa. Additionally, there is a talent show dubbed "Live @ the X" held each year, as well as concerts held in the winter and spring. The artistic director for productions is Julianne O'Connor.
Notable alumni
- Gerard Alessandrini (1972) - Tony Award-winning playwright and creator of Forbidden Broadway and Spamilton
- Brendan Burke (2006) - LGBT activist
- Dennis Crowley (1994) - co-founder and Executive Chairman of Foursquare
- Jimmy Cummings (1986) - actor and screenwriter of Southie
- Christopher F. Egan (1982) - United States Ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
- Ted English (1971) - Executive Chairman of Bob's Discount Furniture and former CEO of TJX Companies
- John Ennis (1982) - actor and comedian best known for role on HBO's Mr. Show with Bob and David
- Rob Mariano (1994) - TV personality known as "Boston Rob"
- Steven McLaughlin - County Executive of Rensselaer County
- John J. Sullivan (1977) - United States Ambassador to Russia
- William F. Sullivan (1975) - Associate Justice of Massachusetts Superior Courts
- Ed Thomas (1971) - President and CEO of Tillys
- Pat Walsh (1998) - co-founder & Chief Impact Officer of Classy
- Joe Mulherin (1994) - musician
Notable alumni distinguishing themselves in athletics include:
- James Bailey (1975) - former National Basketball Association player
- Dana Barros (1985) - former National Basketball Association All-Star player
- Greg Comella (1993) - former National Football League player
- John Delaney (2004) - head baseball coach, Quinnipiac University
- Joe Fleming (1992) - former Canadian Football League All-Star player
- Joe Gaziano (2015) - National Football League player, Northwestern University football all-time sacks leader
- Matt Hasselbeck (1993) - former National Football League All-Pro player and ESPN analyst
- Tim Hasselbeck (1996) - former National Football League player and ESPN analyst
- Maurice Hurst Jr. (2013) - National Football League player
- Mark Jackson (1991) - athletic director, Villanova University
- Matt Klentak (1998) - general manager, Philadelphia Phillies
- Brian Mann (1998) - athletic director, William & Mary; Dartmouth College football single season passing yards leader
- Tim Scannell (1986) - head baseball coach, Trinity University (TX); 2016 DIII National Champion and Coach of the Year
- Drew Strojny (1999) - former National Football League player
- Chris Wagner (2009) - current National Hockey League player
References
- ^ "Xaverian Brothers | Tuition Assistance". www.xbhs.com. Retrieved January 5, 2024.
- ^ "NEASC-Xaverian Brothers High School". NEASC. Retrieved July 28, 2009.
- ^ MacDonald, Mary (October 24, 2014). "Xaverian Brothers High School adds middle grades". The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
- ^ Russo, Eric (December 6, 2014). "Xaverian holds off Everett in Division 1 Super Bowl". The Boston Globe. Retrieved October 23, 2015.
- ^ "2015 USA Today Super 25 Boys Varsity Football Expert Ranking". USA Today. Retrieved January 6, 2016.
- ^ "Xaverian's Coby Tippett is 2015 ESPNBoston Mr. Football". ESPN Boston. Retrieved December 11, 2015.
- ^ "Henry Hasselbeck 2023-2024 Massachusetts Football Player of the Year". Gatorade. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
- ^ "NBA All-Star Dana Barros talks about going 1 on 1 against Michael Jordan". Xaverian Brothers High School. July 11, 2011. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
- ^ "Matt Hasselbeck - Xaverian Hall of Fame Speech". Xaverian Brothers High School. October 28, 2014. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
- ^ "Tim Hasselbeck - Xaverian Hall of Fame Speech". Xaverian Brothers High School. October 28, 2014. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2015.
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