35) September 3, 1873: First day of
school for the 1873-1874 school year.
36) Effective January 1, 1874:
Fordham becomes a New York City
school when the lands west of the Bronx
River are annexed to New York County.
Previously, the village of Fordham, NY,
had been part of Westchester.
1880s
Tomney, Class of 1890; Juan Vargas, Class
of 1889; and possibly Joseph Browne,
Class of 1889.
41) 1880-1881 School Year: The
School Orchestra includes Giovanni
Morosini, Class of 1881, on the drums.
During these years, the orchestra is
composed of musicians from all levels of
their Fordham careers — from the Prep
through grad school.
42) March 1883: The Second Division
Glee Club puts on two skits during the
Spring Concert: Barney, the Baron and
Caught by the Cuff. These short
performances mark the very first steps
towards the creation of a Prep theatrical
program distinct from the College.
47) Fall 1887: The supposed year of the
Rebellio Sciurorum, the Great Squirrel
37) Fall 1874: At a schoolwide meeting,
Stephen Wall, College Class of 1875,
proposes maroon for the school color.
38) 1876-7 School Year: The reading
list for a Second Grammar students of
the Second Division (Prep juniors)
includes selections from the letters of
Cicero in Latin, selections from Æsop’s
Fables in Greek, and Shakespeare’s Julius
Cæsar and the poetry of Elizabeth Barret
Browning in English.
39) 1877: According to the
reminiscences of alumni from the 1870s,
balls (as opposed to strikes) began to
become a regular feature of typical
at-bats during Rose Hill baseball games
in about 1877.
40) June 26, 1878: Commencement
Day: Among those completing their Prep
years is Thomas Cryan. He would join the
Society of Jesus after graduation and
eventually return to Fordham in the
1890s to serve as a Prep math teacher
and a librarian and prefect of discipline
for the College.
43) September 1884: A good number Rebellion — at least according to the late
of Prep boys begin parting their hair in
the middle — a tonsorial trend
noteworthy enough to merit a mention in
student publications of the day. Fr. Robert Cregan, SJ. Fr. Cregan taught at
44) March 1886: Under the moniker
“One Who Knows,” an anonymous
student writes a polemic on jug for the
Fordham Monthly. “JUG!” his article
begins, “the word is laden with solemnity.
It sticks in the throat as if it feared the
light of heaven!” Of course, we should not
look to 1886 as any sort of starting date
for the venerable disciplinary measure.
As our 19th-century friend reminds us: “It
is immortal.”
45) 1886-1887 School Year: After
nearly a half-century of candles and oil
lamps, Fordham students are given the
advantage of a new modern convenience:
the electric light! In fact, it is possible that
Fordham is the first electrified institution
in the Bronx. Fr. Thomas Freeman, SJ
installs a Weston dynamo electric
machine in the basement of Thebaud
Hall and the school begins to produce its
own power.
Prep in the late 1950s and early ’60s, and
then again in the new millennium.
According to Father's tale, a Prep boy was
confronted one afternoon in the fall of
1887 by a dray of angry squirrels
demanding homework as tribute from
the lad, which he naturally handed over
fearing for his life, leading to the first
utterance in Prep history of the phrase,
“Father, a squirrel ate my Latin
homework.” Fr. Cregan was one of
Fordham Prep’s great storytellers.
48) November 27, 1887: Fordham
Prep plays its first official interscholastic
football game — the legendary scoreless
game against Xavier called on account of
darkness. Falling on the Sunday of the
Thanksgiving holiday weekend, the game
is considered the first game of the annual
Prep-Xavier Turkey Bowl series.
46) Spring 1887: Playing on the tennis
team this year are Augustus Gallagher,
Class of 1891; Edward Gallagher, Class of
1888; Patrick Gillon, Class of 1890;
Michael Lennon, Class of 1887; Edward
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