Power Memorial Academy (PMA) was an all-boys Catholic

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

that operated from 1931 through 1984. It was a basketball powerhouse, producing several NBA players including

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Kareem (alternatively spelled Karim or Kerim) ( ar, کریم) is a common given name and surname of Arabic origin that means "generous", "noble", "honorable". It is also one of the Names of God in Islam in the Quran. Given name Karim * Karim ...

, Len Elmore,

Mario Elie is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the title character of the ''Mario'' franchise and the mascot of Japanese video game company Nintendo. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games since his creat ...

, Chris Mullin, as well as NBA referee Dick Bavetta and a record 71-game winning streak. Its 1964 basketball team was named "The #1 High School Team of The Century".

History

Founding

In 1906,

Monsignor Monsignor (; it, monsignore ) is an honorific form of address or title for certain male clergy members, usually members of the Roman Catholic Church. Monsignor is the apocopic form of the Italian ''monsignore'', meaning "my lord". "Monsignor" ca ...

James W. Power,

pastor A pastor (abbreviated as "Pr" or "Ptr" , or "Ps" ) is the leader of a Christian congregation who also gives advice and counsel to people from the community or congregation. In Lutheranism, Catholicism, Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy and ...

of All Saints Parish in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harl ...

, asked the Christian Brothers of Ireland (now the

Congregation of Christian Brothers The Congregation of Christian Brothers ( la, Congregatio Fratrum Christianorum; abbreviated CFC) is a worldwide religious community within the Catholic Church, founded by Blessed Edmund Rice. Their first school was opened in Waterford, Irela ...

) to come to the United States and open a school to teach the boys of the largely Irish immigrant parish. The Brothers accepted the invitation and began to teach in the

parochial school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The wor ...

. In 1909 they also opened the All Hallows Collegiate Institute, located in four

rowhouse In architecture and city planning, a terrace or terraced house ( UK) or townhouse ( US) is a form of medium-density housing that originated in Europe in the 16th century, whereby a row of attached dwellings share side walls. In the United Sta ...

s at 15 West 124th Street, which was both a high school and a

business college A business college is a school that provides education above the high school level but could not be compared to that of a traditional university or college. Unlike universities and even junior and community colleges, business colleges typically ...

. Enrollment grew and a new building was acquired to accommodate a larger student body at 164th Street and Walton Avenue in

the Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...

, to which the high school moved in 1929. At the request of the

Archdiocese of New York The Archdiocese of New York ( la, Archidiœcesis Neo-Eboracensis) is an ecclesiastical territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church ( particularly the Roman Catholic or Latin Church) located in the State of New York. It encompasses the borough ...

, the Christian Brothers re-occupied the former site of All Hallows and opened a new school, named Power Memorial Academy after Monsignor Power, who had died in 1926. The new school opened with an enrollment of 31

freshmen A freshman, fresher, first year, or frosh, is a person in the first year at an educational institution, usually a secondary school or at the college and university level, but also in other forms of post-secondary educational institutions. Ar ...

on September 21, 1931. Again the school grew, requiring more space. In 1938, the Brothers purchased the former New York Nursery & Child's Hospital at 161 West 61st Street and opened a new school there. The school remained at this address until it closed.

St. Patrick's Day murder

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 New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

''. 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 Thomas Edmund Dewey (March 24, 1902 – March 16, 1971) was an American lawyer, prosecutor, and politician who served as the 47th governor of New York from 1943 to 1954. He was the Republican candidate for president in 1944 and 1948: although ...

Closing

By the early 1980s, the school building was judged to have deteriorated to such an extent that the Brothers were unable to afford the necessary repairs. In June 1984, Power Memorial Academy closed. The property was sold the following year for $13 million. The 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 School Athletic Association (CHSAA) championships. In 1961 freshman Ferdinand Lewis Alcindor (later

) 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 one of only 6 losses in Alcindor's high school career (96–6). The 1963-64 team was named "The #1 High School Team of The Century" by National Sports Writers 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 *Andre Anselme - Member of the CHSAA Coach Hall of Fame with Regis High School *James Raysor – Led the Freshman team and won the City Championship *Steve Donohue – Player and last Varsity Head Coach

Baseball

Three PMA players were drafted by major league teams: *Julio Alonso, pitcher,

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

, 1973 *James Buggy, pitcher, St. Louis Cardinals, 1974 *Larry McIver, outfielder,

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...

, 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

*Lew Alcindor (

), class of 1965, hall-of-fame professional basketball player * Dick Bavetta, class of 1958, professional basketball referee * Matt Centrowitz, class of 1973, US Olympic runner, 1976 & 1980. *

Anthony Colón Anthony Colón (born February 24, 1952) is a retired Puerto Rican middle-distance runner. He competed at the 1972 Summer Olympics and 1976 Summer Olympics in the 1500 metres. Running career Colón attended high school at Power Memorial Academy, ...

, class of 1970, Olympian (Puerto Rico) 1500 m 1972 and 1976. *

, class of 1981, professional basketball player and coachStaff
"The Mario Elie file"
''

The Austin American-Statesman The ''Austin American-Statesman'' is the major daily newspaper for Austin, the capital city of Texas. It is owned by Gannett. The paper prints Associated Press, ''New York Times'', ''The Washington Post'', and ''Los Angeles Times'' internation ...

'', 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 Joseph Crowley (born March 16, 1962) is an American politician and consultant who served as U.S. Representative from New York's 14th congressional district from 1999 to 2019. He was defeated by Democratic primary challenger Alexandria Ocasio- ...

, class of 1980, Member of Congress * Len Elmore, class of 1970, professional basketball playerStaff
"MARYLAND WINS 8TH IN ROW, 76-58; Home Crowd Boos Terps in Victory Over Kent"
''

'', 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 1942, New York City High School Player of the Year as a Junior, professional basketball playerJohnny Ezersky
Basketball-Reference.com. Accessed September 10, 2008 * Warren Isaac class of 1961, professional basketball player in Italy * Steve James, class of 1970, 80's action and character actor. Supporting role in such films as the American Ninja series, Delta Force, and Johnny B. Good. *

Bruno Kirby Bruno Kirby (born Bruno Giovanni Quidaciolu Jr.; April 28, 1949 – August 14, 2006) was an American actor. He was known for his roles in ''City Slickers'', '' When Harry Met Sally...'', ''Good Morning, Vietnam'', ''The Godfather Part II'', and ' ...

, class of 1967, actor * Brian Mullen, class of 1980, professional hockey player.Litsky, Frank
"SCOUTING; Boxing at Power"
''

'', March 5, 1983. Accessed September 10, 2008 * Joe Mullen, class of 1975, hall-of-fame professional hockey player * Chris Mullin, Transferred before graduation, hall of fame professional basketball playerKirkpatrick, Curry
"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 ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twice ...

'', 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." * Danny Nee, former college basketball coach for

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the so ...

Ohio Ohio () is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Of the List of states and territories of the United States, fifty U.S. states, it is the List of U.S. states and territories by area, 34th-l ...

, Duquesne, and the

US Merchant Marine Academy The United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA or Kings Point) is a United States service academy in Kings Point, New York. It trains its midshipmen (as students at the academy are called) to serve as officers in the United States Merchant ...

. *

Peter Vallone, Sr. Peter Fortunate Vallone Sr. (born December 13, 1934 in New York City) is an American politician. Background His father, Judge Charles J. Vallone (1901–1967) of the Queens County Civil Court, encouraged young Peter to broaden his horizons b ...

, class of 1952, former Speaker of New York City Council *

Gerald Thomas Walsh Gerald Thomas Walsh (born April 25, 1942) is an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church who served as an auxiliary bishop and vicar general of the Archdiocese of New York. He was rector of St. Joseph's Seminary in Yonkers, New York, fro ...

, class of 1959, Auxiliary Bishop of NY

References

{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1931 Boys' schools in the United States Defunct schools in New York City Congregation of Christian Brothers secondary schools Defunct Catholic secondary schools in New York City Educational institutions disestablished in 1984 Defunct high schools in Manhattan Former school buildings in the United States Private high schools in Manhattan 1931 establishments in New York City