Power Memorial Academy

Infobox School
name = Power Memorial Academy
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streetaddress = 161 West 61st Street
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city = New York
state = New York
zipcode = 10023
country = USA
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schooltype = Catholic High school
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type = all boys
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campus = urban
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conference = Catholic High School Athletic Association (CHSAA)
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motto = Pro Christo Dici
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school_colors = Purple and Gold
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opened = September 1931
established =
founded = 1909
status = closed
closed = June 1984
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homepage = [http://www.powermemorialacademy.com/ powermemorialacademy.com]

Power Memorial Academy (PMA) was an all-boys Catholic high school in New York, New York, USA that existed from 1931 through 1984. It was a basketball powerhouse, producing several NBA players including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Len Elmore, Mario Elie and Chris Mullin; an NBA referee; and a record 71-game winning streak. Its 1964 basketball team was named "The #1 High School Team of The Century".

History

In 1909, Monsignor Power of All Saints Parish asked the Christian Brothers of Ireland to open a school in New York City to teach the boys of the largely-Irish immigrant parish. A few years later, the school (named All Hallows) opened at 15 West 124th Street. Enrollment grew and a new building was acquired at 164th Street and Walton Avenue in 1931. The new school was named Power Memorial Academy after Monsignor Power, who died in 1926. Power Memorial opened to thirty-one first year students on Monday, September 21, 1931. Again the school grew, requiring more space. In 1938, the Brothers purchased the former NY Nursery & Childs Hospital at 161 West 61st Street and moved the school there. The school remained at this address until it closed in 1984.

On March 15, 1948, Marko L. Markovich opened fire on students practicing for the St. Patrick's Day parade, killing one, Thomas Brady, and wounding six others. "Mad gunman kills boy here, wounds six before capture" read the front page headline on the NY Times. In memoriam, the academy marched in the parade without music, their flags and drums wrapped in black. The parade was attended by President Harry S. Truman and Governor Thomas E. Dewey.

In June 1984, Power Memorial Academy closed its doors for financial reasons. The building was sold the following year for $13 million. [New York Sunday News article by Bill Reel, January 13, 1985] The Power memorial Academy building was demolished and a luxury apartment building was built on the site.

Athletics

Basketball powerhouse

Power Memorial started a basketball program in the late 1930s, winning All-City championships in 1937 and 1941; and the Metropolitan Championship in 1942. Over its history, it won a total of eight New York City Catholic High Athletic Association (CHSAA) championships).

In 1961, convert|6|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on freshman Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor (later Kareem Abdul-Jabbar) joined the basketball team. Alcindor led the team to 27 consecutive victories and the 1963 CHSAA championship. The winning streak continued as the team went undefeated and won the CHSAA in 1964. The streak finally ended at 71 games on January 30, 1965 when DeMatha High School of Hyattsville, Maryland defeated Power, 46-43. That was the only loss in Alcindor's high school career (116-1). On February 22, 1962 Power Memorial lost to Holy Cross High School in the second round of the CHSAA championships. Lew Alcindor was a player in that game. The 1963-64 team was named "The #1 High School Team of The Century" by National Sports Writers [ [http://www.capveterans.com/caprd_040.htm John (Jack) Cunningham, Author and Founder of CAProductions] ] and was inducted into the CHSAA Hall of Fame as the team of the century.

Power Memorial continued to be known as a basketball powerhouse, although it never repeated the total dominance of the early 1960s. All-Americans Len Elmore, Ed Searcy and Jap Trimble were on the 1970 team that won the CHSAA and was named "Number 1 Team in the Country". Mario Elie played and Chris Mullin also played at Power in the late 1970s, although Mullin later transferred to Xaverian High School.

The Power Memorial basketball teams were coached by:
*Jack Donohue – Varsity Head Coach 1959-1965 (went on to coach the Canadian National Basketball Team)
*Dick Percudani - Junior Varsity Coach & Assistant Varsity Coach 1959-1965
*Jack Kuhnert – Varsity Head Coach 1965-1970
*Brendan Malone - Junior Varsity Coach 1967-1969 & Varsity Coach 1970-1976

Baseball

Three PMA players were drafted by major league teams: [ [http://www.baseball-reference.com/draft/index.cgi?exact=1&came_from=Power%20Memorial%20HS%20(New%20York,%20NY) BaseballDraft: Draft picks who came from Power Memorial (New York, NY)] ]

*Julio Alonso, pitcher, Chicago White Sox, 1973
*James Buggy, pitcher, St. Louis Cardinals, 1974
*Larry McIver, outfielder, Pittsburgh Pirates, 1975

Alumni Association

In 1989, former faculty member Rich Coppolino organized a reunion, attended by 200. It has grown into a larger Annual Reunion. In 2002 a formal alumni association was created under the name Power Memorial Academy Alumni Association. Each year since 2002, the Alumni Association has made an annual appearance in the New York St. Patrick's Day parade. The Association has won seven consecutive awards for its performance in the Parade.

Notable alumni

*Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Lew Alcindor), Class of 1966, hall-of-fame professional basketball player
*Dick Bavetta, Class of 1958, professional basketball referee
*Matt Centrowitz, Class of 1973, US Olympic runner, 1976 & 1980. [Staff. [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F20717FE3959137A93C2AB178ED85F478785F9 "Centrowitz's 4:10.6 Mile Marks Schoolboy Track; TRACK EVENTS"] , "The New York Times", May 20, 1973. Accessed September 27, 2008. "Matt Centrowitz of Power Memorial continued his impressive spring running and Mark Belger of Mepham took the measure of Bill Dabney of Boy Games."]
*Michael Donohue Sr., Class of 1964, Inspector General, HUD
*Mario Elie, Class of 1981, professional basketball player and coachStaff. [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=AASB&p_theme=aasb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EA0586B6BBB4A2E&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM "The Mario Elie file"] , "The Austin American-Statesman", May 7, 1997. Accessed September 10, 2008. "HIGH SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS: Attended Power Memorial, the same school that produced Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor). As a sophomore, starred on an undefeated junior-varsity team with Chris Mullin, who transferred after the season."]
*Joseph Crowley, Class unknown, Member of Congress
*Len Elmore, Class of 1970, professional basketball playerStaff. [http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F00D17FF385F107A93C1A9178AD85F478785F9 "MARYLAND WINS 8TH IN ROW, 76-58; Home Crowd Boos Terps in Victory Over Kent"] , "The New York Times", January 3, 1973. Accessed September 10, 2008. "Len Elmore, from New York's Power Memorial Academy, tied a Maryland record by grabbing 24 rebounds. He scored 10 points."]
*Johnny Ezersky, Class of 1938?, professional basketball player [ [http://www.basketball-reference.com/players/e/ezersjo01.html Johnny Ezersky] , Basketball-Reference.com. Accessed September 10, 2008]
*Brian Mullen, Class of 1980, professional hockey player.Litsky, Frank. [http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B03E4DC1739F936A35750C0A965948260 "SCOUTING; Boxing at Power"] , "The New York Times", March 5, 1983. Accessed September 10, 2008]
*Joe Mullen, Class of 1975, hall-of-fame professional hockey player
*Chris Mullin, Transferred before graduation, professional basketball playerKirkpatrick, Curry. [http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1122846/3/index.htm "Just A Guy From Da Naybuhhood: St. John's hoopaholic Chris Mullin may be the King of Queens, but he belongs (pale) body and soul to his beloved borough of Brooklyn "] , "Sports Illustrated", November 26, 1984. Accessed September 10, 2008. "At Power Memorial, which produced the former Lew Alcindor , not to mention Len Elmore, before closing its doors last spring, Mullin's teams won both the freshman and jayvee city championships."]
*Peter Vallone, Class unknown,former Speaker of NY City Council
*Most Rev. Gerald Walsh,Class of 1959, Auxillary Bishop of NY
*Michael Herbst, Class of 1983, Assistant Trainer, New York MetsSeveral alumni died in the events of the September 11 attacks:
*Donald Burns, Class of 1957, FDNY Chief
*Richard Fitzsimmons, Class of 1961, Fire Safety Director
*William Lake, Class of 1974, Fire Fighter
*Joseph G. Leavy, Class of 1973, Fire Fighter
*Philip Petti, Class of 1976, Fire Fighter
*William Harry Thompson, class of 1968, Court Officer
*Larry Virgilio, Class of 1980, Fire Fighter
*David Wiswall, Class of 1965, Sr.VP Aon Corporation

References

External links

* [http://www.powermemorialacademy.com/ Power Memorial Academy website]