Dougherty: Once world's largest

There is no evidence that the Daughters of the Most Holy Redeemer were miffed when the Philadelphia Archdiocese scuttled their plans to build a hospital at 2nd Street and Chelten Avenue, in Olney.

As good daughters of the church, they no doubt willingly sold the tract to the Archdiocese for construction of a high school.

Ground was broken on June 28, 1955, for Cardinal Dougherty High School. The school was built during a period of great expansion of the archdiocesan school system, and was opened in 1956.

At one point in the 1960s, the school was the largest Catholic high school in the world, with more than 6,000 students.

In those years, tuition was $200 a year, with half paid by the student's parish. Today it is $5,000 a year.

Dougherty is one of 20 high schools in the Archdiocese and since it opened it has graduated more than 40,000 men and women.

The school was named for Cardinal Dennis Dougherty, Philadelphia archbishop from 1918 to 1951.

Like any high school, Dougherty's athletic program is important, but it has suffered in recent years from a lack of support and finances.

The football team had not won a game since 2006 before it beat Neumann-Goretti, 6-0, in Wildwood, N.J., to begin the current season.

There were some notable sports figures at the school. Alex Ely, a former teacher and soccer coach, is a member of the USA Soccer Hall of Fame and played against the legendary Pele.

Jack St. Clair, former track and cross-country coach, led the school to eight Catholic League and City Championships.

But declining enrollment has crippled the school. Dougherty started life with 2,667 students in 1956. It is now down to 645.

- John F. Morrison