Many young deaf people in New York never knew that
St Joseph’s School for the Deaf once had a high
school department.
This high school department closed up for good in
1950. The K-8 school continues as is.
In the 1942 football season, St Joseph’s started
a football team and played annual games against
nearby schools for the deaf.
It was not a very good team, but the best
season was 1947 when the school enjoyed a
6-2-1 record. 1949 was the last football
season the school played.
The high school department closed up at the
wrong time. It had a bumper crop of
young but talented athletes (7th grades
through 10th grades) that were waiting
for their time to move up to the varsity
in football and basketball.
When the high school closed up, the better
basketball players transferred to St Mary’s
School for the Deaf and the better football
players went to New York School for the Deaf
(Fanwood). Both schools enjoyed glory
seasons in their sports during the fifties.
It was no secret in the New York Deaf
Community that these great athletes originally
began their schooling at St Joseph’s!