title: Cardinal Spellman High School (Brockton, Massachusetts)
text: # Cardinal Spellman High School (Brockton, Massachusetts)
  
  Cardinal Spellman High School is a private college preparatory high school of Catholic denomination established in 1958 and located in Brockton, Massachusetts, United States. Like the school's fellow Catholic school and sports rival, Archbishop Williams High School, Spellman separated from the Boston Archdiocese in the wake of the child sex abuse scandal. The school is named after Cardinal Francis Spellman.
  
  ## History
  
  Richard Cardinal Cushing, Archbishop of Boston, officiated at the dedication of Cardinal Spellman High School on October 20, 1958. He blessed its buildings and laid the cornerstone during the ceremony. The school was named in honor of Francis Cardinal Spellman, whose birthplace was in the neighboring town of Whitman, Massachusetts. "Sequere Deum - Follow God" was taken from Francis Cardinal Spellman's coat of arms and used as the school's motto.
  
  In September 1958, 300 students began their school careers as students at Cardinal Spellman with Sister M. Vera, CSJ as the founding Principal and a faculty of ten Sisters of Saint Joseph of Boston. Many Sisters worked at Cardinal Spellman over the years. There are no longer any Sisters of Saint Joseph currently working at Spellman. The last one, Sr. Patricia Lynch, left in July 2012.
  
  On December 6, 1963, Cardinal Spellman High School, along with several other secondary schools in the Archdiocese of Boston, was incorporated as a member of the Archdiocesan Central High Schools, Inc. In 1979, the New England Association of Schools and Colleges awarded Cardinal Spellman High School its initial accreditation; in 1989 and again in 1999, the school was re-accredited for successive ten-year periods. Cardinal Spellman High School was elected as a permanent member of the College Board in 1983. The school is also affiliated with the National Catholic Educational Association.
  
  Cardinal Spellman High School was incorporated in January 2004 after the Board of Trustees of the Archdiocesan Central High Schools, Inc., determined that each of its schools would be best served by becoming an independent public juridic institution governed by its own board of trustees. Beginning on September 1, 2004, Spellman's board of trustees took over the responsibility of governing the school.
  
  ## Sexual abuse incident
  
  In 2016, The Boston Globe reported that, seven years prior, a Spanish teacher began a sexual relationship with his seventeen-year-old female student. At the time, the student's parents found evidence of the teacher's relationship with their daughter, including a hotel receipt and graphic photos. Spellman fired the teacher after administrators saw the photos. The case brought to light controversy over Massachusetts laws governing age of consent and sexual relationships between teachers and students.
  
  ## Athletics
  
  Peter Ambrose, a longtime football and baseball coach at Cardinal Spellman, won 628 games in 50 years on the diamond before retiring, making him one of four Massachusetts high school baseball coaches to win 600 games. He also captured 12 Catholic Central League championships and one Eastern Mass. Championship. Coaching football, he won 211 games in 41 years, as well as 12 league titles and one Super Bowl appearance. He retired in 2010.
  
  The fall season in 2011 was particularly impressive for Cardinals sports teams. Spellman won five Catholic Central titles and had a combined record of 79-15-1.
  
  In 2019, Spellman installed its first artificial turf field on Potvin Field.
  
  ### Titles
  
  Football :
  
  | Year | Title |
  | - | - |
  | 1961 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 1964 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 1968 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 1970 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 1971 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 1974 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 1978 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 1984 | Catholic Central League Champions (Super Bowl Finalist) |
  | 1992 | Division 4 Super Bowl Champions |
  | 2000 | Catholic Central League Co-Champions |
  | 2010 | Catholic Central League Champions (Super Bowl Finalist) |
  | 2011 | Catholic Central League Champions (Super Bowl Finalist) |
  
  Boys Basketball :
  
  | Year | Title |
  | - | - |
  | 1962 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 1973 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 1984 | Massachusetts State Champions |
  | 1995 | Catholic Central League Co-Champions |
  | 2000 | Massachusetts South Sectional Champions |
  | 2010 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 2011 | Eastern Massachusetts Finalists |
  | 2012 | Catholic Central League Co-Champions |
  | 2013 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 2014 | Massachusetts State Champions |
  
  Girls Basketball :
  
  | Year | Title |
  | - | - |
  | 1979 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 1983 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 1996 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 1998 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 1999 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 2006 | Eastern Massachusetts Champions |
  | 2007 | Catholic Central League Co-Champions |
  | 2008 | Catholic Central League Co-Champions |
  
  Baseball :
  
  | Year | Title |
  | - | - |
  | 1965 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 1975 | Eastern Massachusetts Champions |
  | 1976 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 1977 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 1978 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 1988 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 1992 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 1993 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 2006 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 2007 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 2008 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  
  Softball :
  
  | Year | Title |
  | - | - |
  | 1997 | Massachusetts Division 3 South Sectional Champions |
  | 1999 | Massachusetts Division 3 South Sectional Champions |
  | 2000 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 2001 | Massachusetts Division 3 State Champions |
  | 2002 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 2003 | Massachusetts Division 2 State Champions |
  | 2004 | Eastern Massachusetts Division 2 Champions |
  | 2005 | Massachusetts Division 2 South Sectional Champions |
  | 2007 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 2008 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 2009 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 2010 | Catholic Central League Co-Champions |
  | 2012 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 2014 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  
  Girls Soccer :
  
  | Year | Title |
  | - | - |
  | 1987 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 1988 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 1989 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 1990 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 1993 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 2003 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 2006 | Eastern Massachusetts Division 2 Champions |
  | 2008 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 2009 | Massachusetts State Champions |
  | 2011 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 2013 | Massachusetts Division 3 South Sectional Champions |
  
  Boys Soccer :
  
  | Year | Title |
  | - | - |
  | 1990 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 2004 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 2006 | Catholic Central League Co-Champions |
  | 2007 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 2008 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 2009 | Massachusetts Division 3 South Champions |
  | 2010 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 2011 | Massachusetts Division 3 South Champions |
  | 2013 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  
  Volleyball :
  
  | Year | Title |
  | - | - |
  | 2008 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 2009 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 2011 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 2017 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  | 2019 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  
  Boys Lacrosse :
  
  | Year | Title |
  | - | - |
  | 2016 | Catholic Central League Champions |
  
  ## Drama
  
  Spellman is recognized locally for its outstanding drama program. Robert J. McEwan, a longtime teacher at Spellman and chair of the English department for 47 years, established the school's first drama department in 1965, opening the school's first production of The King and I to a full house. McEwan went on to direct 47 musicals and 35 "Spring Shows," annual productions that frequently featured alumni, parents, and teachers as well as students.
  
  Spellman established the Robert J. McEwan Drama Hall of Fame in 1996. Since its inception, it has inducted over 100 alumni, teachers, staff members, parents, and other friends of Spellman, honoring their contributions to the drama program both on and off the stage. Though McEwan died in 2013, his legacy continues through the flourishing drama program that he created. In 2015, the school honored McEwan by dedicating the newly renovated auditorium foyer in his name.
  
  Past Musical Productions :
  
  | Year | Musical |
  | - | - |
  | 1963 | The Student Prince |
  | 1964 | Blossom Time |
  | 1965 | The King and I |
  | 1966 | The Sound of Music |
  | 1967 | My Fair Lady |
  | 1968 | The Boyfriend |
  | 1969 | Oklahoma! |
  | 1970 | Carousel |
  | 1971 | Camelot |
  | 1972 | Brigadoon |
  | 1973 | Fiddler on the Roof |
  | 1974 | No, No, Nanette |
  | 1975 | My Fair Lady |
  | 1976 | The Music Man |
  | 1977 | The Sound of Music |
  | 1978 | Carousel |
  | 1979 | Oliver! |
  | 1980 | Camelot |
  | 1981 | My Fair Lady |
  | 1982 | Hello, Dolly! |
  | 1983 | Fiddler on the Roof |
  | 1984 | The Music Man |
  | 1985 | The Sound of Music |
  | 1986 | Oliver! |
  | 1987 | Carousel |
  | 1988 | The King and I |
  | 1989 | Camelot |
  | 1990 | Fiddler on the Roof |
  | 1991 | My Fair Lady |
  | 1992 | The Music Man |
  | 1993 | Brigadoon |
  | 1994 | Fiddler on the Roof |
  | 1995 | Carousel (cancelled) |
  | 1996 | Oliver! |
  | 1997 | Hello, Dolly! |
  | 1998 | The King and I |
  | 1999 | The Boyfriend |
  | 2000 | Carousel |
  | 2001 | My Fair Lady |
  | 2002 | The Sound of Music |
  | 2003 | Fiddler on the Roof |
  | 2004 | Hello, Dolly! |
  | 2005 | Camelot |
  | 2006 | Les Misérables |
  | 2007 | Godspell |
  | 2008 | Beauty and the Beast |
  | 2009 | Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat |
  | 2010 | Les Misérables |
  | 2011 | Fiddler on the Roof |
  | 2012 | Godspell |
  | 2013 | Seussical |
  | 2014 | Thoroughly Modern Millie |
  | 2015 | Mary Poppins |
  | 2016 | Bye Bye Birdie |
  | 2017 | Anything Goes |
  | 2018 | Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat |
  | 2019 | Seussical |
  | 2020 | Grease (Postponed Until 2021) |
  | 2021 | Godspell |
  | 2022 | Annie |
  | 2023 | TBA |
  
  ## Notable alumni
  
  * John Altieri – singer and stage actor
  * Paul Antonelli – composer and music director
  * Suzanne M. Bump – current Massachusetts State Auditor and former State Representative and state Secretary of Labor
  * Jane Condon – comedian, winner of Last Comic Standing
  * Hon. Mark Gildea – Massachusetts Superior Court Justice
  * Christine Hurley – comedian
  * Thomas P. Kennedy – former Massachusetts State Representative and State Senator
  * John E. Walsh – former Chairman of the Massachusetts Democratic Party
  