Social studies teacher and coach George Febles P ’ 15 , ’ 22 is a member of the 2021 Hall of Honor class that was inducted at the New York Botanical Garden this school year .
On Febles ’ watch , the Prep ’ s Cross-Country and Track and Field teams have earned 13 CHSAA state titles . He has also coached 17 national champs , and 93 All-Americans . During the 2021 – 22 school year , both Varsity Cross Country ( in the fall ) and outdoor Track and Field ( in the spring ) won the CHSAA NY State Catholic titles , with Myles Hogan ’ 22 winning the outdoor 2-mile run .
Febles is grateful to work on a campus that provides so much space for his Track and Field student-athletes to train on . There is Van Cortlandt Park just three miles away , the serene grounds of the New York Botanical Garden , and the Rose Hill campus itself .
“ We may be in the Bronx but we are pretty lucky ,” he said , smiling . “ Most suburban schools actually have to do most of their running on pavement ,” he noted , adding that he doesn ’ t have to worry about students having to cross the streets while running during practice .
Two of Febles ’ sons attended Fordham Prep , a decision that was made due to his love for the Jesuit mission as a Xavier High school alumnus himself . “ I wanted my boys to have a similar experience ,” he stated .
Febles associates Fordham Prep with the term “ authenticity .”
“ There ’ s no pretense here ,” he said . “ We do our best to know where we are and where we came from , and to honor those traditions and the locality .”
REMEMBERING DENNIS RIORDAN ’ 66
Dennis Riordan ’ 66 , a tenacious and remarkably persuasive San Francisco appeals lawyer , passed in August 2022 after a seven-year battle with cancer .
Dennis dedicated his life to representing people who had been convicted of serious felonies and repeatedly won their freedom by finding new evidence proving their innocence and exposing flaws in previous trials .
Born into a Catholic family in the Bronx in 1948 , Dennis graduated from Fordham Prep in 1966 where he was President of Student Government , a Maroon Key Member , and a member of the Track team . Dennis was an avid Prep Track fan and inducted Wayne “ Buzz ” Carroll into the Prep ’ s Track Hall of Fame in 2006 .
He went on to receive his law degree from New York University in 1974 before moving to San Francisco to begin his criminal defense career . There he built a reputation as someone who would take on the hardest criminal appeals and stick with them the longest . He took on cases that he found legally interesting , and especially cases that he believed in — ones where it seemed obvious that the legal system had fallen short and a person had been wrongfully convicted .
A few of his high-profile cases included : Johnny Spain , a Black Panther ; Damien Echols , one of the “ Memphis Three ”;
TOP LEFT : Riordan was an appellate attorney and legal giant in the Bay Area . He was best known for freeing clients who had been wrongfully incarcerated .
TOP MIDDLE : Riordan ’ s Fordham Prep graduation photo from 1966 .
and Hamid Hayat , a young Muslim man with false conviction charges . Despite the many challenges of the cases he took on , Dennis deeply cared about his defendants and never gave up when he felt that justice was on his side , even if that meant working for free . Colleagues describe Dennis as someone who blended passion , knowledge , and a sense of humor into an incredibly effective legal method that kept judges and prosecutors on their toes and helped to level the playing field for his incarcerated clients , many of whom were non-white and blue-collar .
Dennis ’ s daughter , Lisa , shared that when questioned as a child , “ How can your dad defend murderers ?” she would respond , “ It ’ s about justice , it ’ s about the law .” From a young age , she saw that her dad cared about more than just the person he represented , but about the precedent that was set for all things carrying forward . Dennis was known for his charisma and enthusiasm in the courtroom , constantly making people question the law and reevaluate what justice looks like . Despite his cancer diagnosis in 2015 , Dennis did not slow down and continued to litigate and write hundred-page briefs throughout treatment . In his final interview with the San Francisco Chronicle , Dennis said , “ It means an awful lot to know that I helped innocent people get their lives back ; they all resonate .”
TOP RIGHT : In 2002 Riordan argued for a new trial for Marjorie Knoller , a notably difficult case , proving his passion for taking on tough cases .
WINTER 2023 VOLUME 43 , ISSUE 1
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