popularity year in and year out. After all,
there will always be smokers. Inflation,
cigarette shortages, or whatever have
you, will not hamper the art (or habit) of
smoking.” Fr. William Tallon, SJ would
serve as student counselor from
1938-1950, retiring from the Prep in 1952.
107) September 1948: Mr. Joseph
“Sammy” Ososki, begins his 36-year career
at the Prep. He would serve as head
football coach, head baseball coach,
athletic director and teacher. Coach Ososki
would be retire in 1984 and be
remembered as a man “of extreme
dedication, unselfish devotion and
unstilted pride in his players and students.”
108) November 19, 1948: Theodore
McCarrick, Class of 1949, takes first place
and a prize of $100 at an oratorical
contest sponsored by the Bronx chapter
of the Ancient Order of Hibernians. The
future cardinal would serve as president
of the Prep's debating team, with
classmates Werner Edelmann and future
Prep librarian and school historian
August “Gus” Stellwag.
109) March 28, 1949: On the heels of
their March 18th Private Schools Athletic
Association Championship victory, the
Maroon Mermen cap off their third
straight undefeated season by taking the
Jesuit School Championship at the Rose
Hill Pool.
of 1944, on May 10, 1951, and Sgt. John
Brennan, Class of 1945, on July 8, 1951.
115) 1953-54 School Year: Among the
new teachers at the Prep this year are Fr.
Francis Fahey, SJ and Mr. (later Fr.) Mallick
Fitzpatrick, SJ. Fr. Fahey would teach Latin
and religion, and oversee the bookstore
until he passed away in May of 1969.
Fr. Fitzpatrick would chair the Guidance
Department for decades, bringing the
Prep's College Counseling Program to
national prominence, and remain on
the faculty teaching art history straight
through to his 2016 retirement.
112) February 5-8 & 19-22, 1951: In
two groups, the members of the Class of
1951 make their Senior Closed Retreat at
Mount Manresa on Staten Island.
113) Advent 1952: The Prep literary
magazine, then known as The Ramkin,
publishes its annual Christmas edition.
Editor-in-chief, Ramon Rivera, Class of
1953, contributes a short story entitled
“A Grain of Stand.” An excerpt: “The
young man took the steps two at a time,
and came quickly out of the subway into
the warm night air. He gazed down the
avenue, lit a cigarette, and started
walking. It was late, yet the avenue was
still well-lighted; occasionally a car
passed, and the boy, whistling, walked
on. Looking down the block, he smiled,
and quickened his pace. There was a
soda shop at the corner. Presently he
turned and entered it.”
116) May 6, 1955: 275 Prep boys and
their dates attend the Arabian Nights
Dance at 7 pm in the University Gym. On
the evening's playlist are “Mr. Sandman”
by the Chordettes and “Cherry Pink (and
Apple Blossom White)” by Pérez Prado
and His Orchestra.
110) August 1949: Instituted earlier in
the decade as wartime measures,
mid-year graduations and accelerated
programs are phased out. This results in
a total of 193 students graduating in four
separate groups over a twelve-month
period — August 1948, January 1949,
June 1949 and August 1949. In the
1949-1950 School Year, the Prep would
return to just one graduating class of 81.
1950s
111) June 25, 1950 through July 27,
1953 : The Korean War: The first reported
Prep causalities are Lt. William Cody, Class
36 | RA MVIE W
114) February 11, 1953: Father-and-Son Night features a JV basketball doubleheader
against the Mount, presentations by Prep athletes and actors, and refreshments in the Keating
Hall Cafeteria, which the Prep had been using as a lunchroom since the construction of
Keating Hall in the 1930s. Chairing the event is alum George Rohrs, Class of 1929, an energy
industry executive who had served as general manager of the football Giants in the late 1940s.