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purpose g to obtain for Roman a suitable athletic field, something that was not available on or
near the tiny Broad and Vine campus. Influential alumni obtained from the City of Philadelphia
the use of a city-owned tract located at 29th and Clearfield Streets, and through money and hard
work, this was soon converted into Cahill Field, the arena for many a future Roman athletic
contest. Cahill Field 'served as a convenient location for the annual carnival which supplied
much of the necessary funds for the upkeep of the field and the athletic program. The Alumni
Association held this lease for 83 years. On November 1, 1997, under head football coach
Daniel Algeo, Roman played its final varsity contest against the Burrs of West Catholic High
School. The final school was a 41-0 victory for the Cahillites.
The acquisition of a playing field at such distance underscored the greatest single
drawback of Roman Catholic’s location. The Center City site of the school, which was a real
blessing from a cultural and transportation standpoint, made the cost of land acquisition
prohibitive, and expansion of the student population virtually impossible.
By 1925, all freshmen (and some sophomores) were attending class at no less than 13
annexes dispersed variously throughout sections of the city. These annexes were located in
parish schools at St. Columbus, Nativity, St. Bonaventure, All Saints, St. Teresa, St. Thomas
Aquinas, St. Peter, St. Gabriel, St. Monica, St. Francis Xavier, Immaculate Heart of Mary,
Visitation, and Most Precious Blood. In all, 740 students were attending classes at Broad and
Vine Streets, while another 625 attended at the annexes. Also used was the annex at Broad &
Stiles St. two blocks east of St. Joseph Prep. It was the former site of LaSalle College and before
that was the home of the Bouvier family (Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy).
To relieve the situation, the Cahill Trustees acquired a property located at 101h and
Luzeme in Northeast Philadelphia. But the new Roman Catholic High School was never built.
Instead the property was transferred to the Archdiocese in 1938, and became Little Flower
Catholic High School for Girls.
The Depression years were hard on the students and faculty at Roman. Many of the
students had to drop out of school. For those who stayed, there were hard times in their
scholastic days and little prospect for employment upon graduation.
A few days alier the 1935 graduation, the 29 lay faculty members were called to a
meeting, ostensibly to discuss assignments for the next term. It was a meeting Father Leo Burns,
then Rector of Roman, dreaded calling.
“Gentleman,” he said, “I will read the names of those of you who will have jobs next
year.” He read only 10 names. Many of the others openly wept. Most were family men; they
had devoted a lifetime to Roman Catholic High School, and now, in the heart of the Depression,
they were without employment. When the bell rang for the opening of the fall term, the students
found themselves facing a cadre of young priests, mostly freshly ordained.
The wholesale layoff, ordered by Dennis Cardinal Dougherty, was a cost-cutting measure
born of desperation. The truth was, the Depression had placed Philadelphia’s huge archdiocesan
high school system deeply in debt, and Roman, with the only lay faculty in the system, was
relatively expensive to operate. The mass layoff alleviated some of the financial pressure.
By the time Father John Cartin, a member of the class of 1916, became Rector in 1938,
Roman was far less independent than it had been in his student days. Father Cartin said, ‘The
archdiocesan superintendent’s office had taken over more. Textbooks, syllabi, and examinations
were made by his office.”
During the Second World War years, seniors were given placement tests for the armed
forces, and a few did leave school to join, though most of the balance were inducted shortly after
graduation. Father Cartin later estimated that 1,500 Roman men served in defense of their nation
during World War II.
In 1951, Father James T. Dolan succeeded Father Cartin as Rector. Father Dolan was a
man who insisted on discipline. He would often say that the students had two rights - the right
to obey the rules or the right to leave. Despite his stemness, Father Dolan was respected for his
fairness and support ofthe faculty. The Roman ofthe 19505 had a faculty of41, 38 priests and