East Rutherford High School
East Rutherford High School was a public high school that operated as part of the East Rutherford School District in East Rutherford, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States, until it was partially destroyed in an October 1966 fire.[1] The school was succeeded by Henry P. Becton Regional High School, which opened in 1971 to serve students from both East Rutherford and Carlstadt, New Jersey.
Athletics
In 1933, the girls' basketball team won its 100th consecutive game, continuing a streak that started with the final game of the 1927 season.[2]
The boys' basketball team, coached by Dick Vitale, won the Group I state championship in 1970 (defeating Burlington Township High School in the tournament final) and 1971 (vs. Gloucester City High School).[3]
Notable alumni
- Ernest Cuneo (1905–1988), lawyer, newspaperman, author and intelligence liaison, who played two seasons in the NFL for the Orange Tornadoes and the Brooklyn Dodgers.[4]
- Henry Helstoski (1925–1999, class of 1940), politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for 12 years, from 1965 until 1977.[5]
- Robert P. Hollenbeck (born 1931), politician who served six terms in the New Jersey General Assembly from the 36th Legislative District.[6]
- C. Gus Rys (c. 1912–1980), politician who was mayor of Fair Lawn and served three terms in the New Jersey General Assembly.[7]
- Dick Vitale (born 1939), basketball coach and sportscaster who coached the East Rutherford basketball team to two state titles.[8]
References
- ^ Staff. "Fire Destroys Jersey School", The New York Times, October 9, 1966. Accessed January 9, 2018. "A fire destroyed East Rutherford High School tonight."
- ^ Staff. "East Rutherford Girl Sextet Scores 100th Victory in Row", The New York Times, February 16, 1933. Accessed January 9, 2018. "Bent on equaling the record of the Passaic 'wonder' basketball team of a few years ago – which won 159 consecutive games – the girls' court team of East Rutherford High School today defeated West New York, 24 to 13, for its 100th straight contest. The East Rutherford girls began their bid for fame in the last game of 1927."
- ^ Past State Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed January 9, 2018.
- ^ Ernest Cuneo Papers, 1926–1988, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. Accessed March 14, 2018. "Cuneo was born in East Rutherford, New Jersey in 1906. His first newspaper experience was as editor of the school newspaper at East Rutherford High School and a stringer for the Passaic Daily News."
- ^ Phalon, Richard. "Two Ex-Classmates in Heated Ninth District Race", The New York Times, October 28, 1974. Accessed January 9, 2018. "As fellow graduates, of the old East Rutherford High School, Class of 1940, Representative Henry Helstoski, a Democrat, and Harold A. Pareti, his Republican opponent in the Ninth Congressional District, have a certain wry respect for each other's talents."
- ^ Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, 1985, p. 279. J.A. Fitzgerald, 1985. Accessed July 17, 2019. "Assemblyman Hollenbeck was born in Carlstadt Nov. 5, 1931. After graduating from East Rutherford High School he attended Albright College in Reading, Pa., and technical trade schools."
- ^ Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, Volume 197, p. 255. E.J. Accessed April 3, 2019. "Mr. Rys was born June 24, 1913, in Passaic. He was educated in the Passaic parochial schools, and graduated from East Rutherford High School."
- ^ Moran, Malcolm. "Dick Vitale: Frustrated But Still", The New York Times, February 1, 1979. Accessed January 9, 2018. "He won two New Jersey state championships at East Rutherford High School, and had a career record of 131‐47."