St. Vincent–St. Mary High School

History

The current St. Vincent–St. Mary High School was formed by the merger of St. Vincent and St. Mary High Schools in 1972. The newly merged school took on the athletic nickname of St. Vincent, the Fighting Irish.

St. Mary High School

In 1887, Richard Gilmour, then Bishop of Cleveland, had commissioned Rev. Dr. Thomas F. Mahar, pastor of St. Vincent Church, the oldest Catholic church in Akron, to establish a mission in south Akron. St. Mary Parish was founded by Rev. Mahar in 1896. The high school was founded a year later. St. Mary's athletic teams were formerly known as the Crusaders.

St. Vincent High School

A high school was opened in September 1906 to provide parishioners' sons with a classical education beyond grade school. The parish had already opened St. Vincent Grade School, Akron's oldest Catholic school still in operation. At the time of the merger, St. Vincent High School had graduated over 6,000 students.

In May 2013, St. Vincent–St. Mary alumnus LeBron James donated $1 million to the school for the purpose of renovating their basketball arena. The project included the installation of a new basketball floor, scoreboard, locker rooms, and bleachers, and the seating capacity, which was raised from 1,600 to 1,831. The subsequently renamed LeBron James Arena now also serves as home of the American Basketball Association's Akron Aviators.

Athletics

STVM'S biggest rivals include Archbishop Hoban High School and Walsh Jesuit High School.

State championships

• Football – 1972, 1981, 1982, 1988, 2012, 2013
• Boys basketball – 1929**, 1984, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2009, 2011, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022
• Baseball – 1986, 1989
• Wrestling – 2001
• Girls cross country – 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013
• Girls basketball – 1979, 1980, 1995
• Girls softball – 1979, 1984
• Boys track – 2011, 2013
• Girls track – 2012

Won by St. Mary High School

• Boys golf – 1927

Won by St. Vincent High School

• Boys basketball – 1929

Notable alumni

• Carla Chapman (1981), former college basketball player
• Frank Stams (1983), professional football player in the National Football League (NFL)
• Jerome Lane (1985), professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA)
• Brian Windhorst (1996), author and reporter for ESPN
• Donatas Zavackas (1999), basketball executive, played overseas
• Maverick Carter (2000), sports-marketing businessman
• LeBron James (2003), professional basketball player in the NBA
• Dru Joyce III (2003), college basketball head basketball coach
• Romeo Travis (2003), professional basketball player who played overseas
• Joe Salem (2005), soccer player
• Doran Grant (2011), professional football player in the NFL
• JaKarr Sampson (2011 - transferred), professional basketball player in the NBA
• Parris Campbell (2014), professional football player in the NFL
• Jalen Hudson (2014), professional basketball player who played overseas
• Jibri Blount (2015), professional football player in the NFLref
• V. J. King (2016 - transferred), professional basketball player who plays overseas
• Niko Lalos (2016), professional football player in the NFL
• Jayvon Graves (2017), professional basketball player who plays overseas
• Savion Washington (2020), professional football player in the NFL
• Malaki Branham (2021), professional basketball player in the NBA

St. Vincent High School

• Mary McGowan (1903), Ohio politician
• Chuck Chuckovits (1930), professional basketball player in the National Basketball League
• Fritz Graf (1940), official in the NFL
• William Jurgens (1946), Catholic priest
• Tony Laterza (1946), college basketball head coach
• Art Hunter (1951), professional football player in the NFL
• Lou Baldacci (1952), professional football player in the NFL
• Sandra Pianalto (1972), former president of the United States Federal Reserve

References

References

1. "Diocese of Cleveland". Ohio Catholic School Accrediting Association.
2. "Institution Summary". Cognia.
3. "Financial and Scholarship Info".
4. [http://www.stvincentchurch.com/ St. Vincent Church]
5. "St. Vincent Parish History". stvincentchurch.com.
6. [http://www.stvm.com/whoweare/history-stmary.php Past, Present & Future — St. Mary High School]
7. "Athletics — Past, Present & Future". stvm.com.
8. [http://www.stvincentelementary.com/history.asp St. Vincent Elementary School — History]
9. [http://www.stvm.com/whoweare/history-stvincent.php Past, Present & Future — St. Vincent High School]
10. "Akron Aviators Basketball".
11. Yappi. "Yappi Sports Football".
12. OHSAA. "Ohio High School Athletic Association Web site".
13. Yappi. "Yappi Sports Basketball D3".
14. Yappi. "Yappi Sports Basketball D2".
15. Yappi. "Yappi Sports Basketball AA".
16. Yappi. "Yappi Sports Basketball A".
17. Yappi. "Yappi Sports Baseball".
18. Yappi. "Yappi Sports Wrestling".
19. Yappi. "Yappi Sports Softball".
20. "Donatas Zavackas, Basketball Player, News, Stats - Eurobasket".
21. Galles, David. (June 19, 2020). "LeBron James's Business Partner Now Wants to Get Out the Vote". [[The New York Times]].
22. Ulrich, Nate. (March 19, 2023). "LeBron James era at SVTM ended 20 years ago: Mom Gloria, former coaches, teammates reflect".
23. (April 1, 2024). "With Joyce now head coach, Duquesne just getting started".
24. Ira Berkow. (February 20, 2006). "Akron Is Ultimate Winner In Little Game of What If". [[The New York Times]].
25. "Joe Salem - Men's Soccer".
26. [https://www.espn.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/player/news/_/id/87243/doran-grant ESPN Recruiting Nation Profile]
27. (August 26, 2010). "Basketball standout JaKarr Sampson leaves St. Vincent-St. Mary". Cleveland.com.
28. "Parris Campbell Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College".
29. "Jalen Hudson – 2018-19 Men's Basketball Roster".
30. "VJ King 2018-19 Men's Basketball Roster".
31. [https://dartmouthsports.com/sports/football/roster/niko-lalos/18479 Dartmouth Big Green bio]
32. (March 25, 2020). "Buffalo's Jayvon Graves of Malvern enters NBA Draft". [[Canton Repository]].
33. (April 12, 2017). "Meet cleveland.com's 2016-17 boys basketball all-stars". [[The Plain Dealer]].
34. "Savion Washington, St. Vincent-St. Mary, Offensive Tackle".
35. Hass-Hill, Colin. (July 22, 2020). "Q&A: ST. VINCENT-ST. MARY COACH DRU JOYCE EXPLAINS WHAT MALAKI BRANHAM BRINGS TO OHIO STATE".
36. "Art Hunter Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College".
37. "Lou Baldacci Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College".