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 aren't 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 Education 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, Oxford's own Board of Trustees took over the responsibility of governing the school.
Sports
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. In 2006, the girls' soccer team won the South Sectional and Eastern Mass championship before falling to Nipmuc 2–1 in overtime in the State Championship game. The Spellman girls' soccer team won the state championship in 2009, finishing with a record of 21–2–1. That was the school's first ever girls' soccer State Championship. Head Coach Mike Perry was Coach of the Year in both 2006 and 2009. Finishing the 2008 season with a 13–2–5 record, Spellman's boys' soccer team won the Catholic Central League. In 2009 the boys' soccer team won the Catholic Central League for the fourth year in a row, and won the Division 3 south sectional championship, before losing in the state-semifinals. The team's final record was 24–1. In 2010, Cardinal Spellman football increased their record from a 4-7 season in 2009 to 12-1, losing in the State Championship to Holliston. They were led by running back Blaise Branch who led Eastern Mass with 36 touchdowns and 1,900 yards rushing. The Spellman defense was the #1 Defense in Eastern Mass, giving up less than seven points a game during their 11-0 undefeated regular season. Head Coach Ron St. George also celebrated his 200th career victory with a victory over Norwell early in the season. In 2011, the team made it back to the State Championship game with an 11-0 regular season record once again and another CCL title. The team was led by an experienced offensive line and defense, but was eventually defeated again in the State Championship game to the powerful #1 ranked Mashpee. In 2012, Cardinal Spelman's boys' basketball team went to the Eastern Mass Finals, where they lost to the state runner up Watertown High School. On December 24, 2012, Cardinal Spellman High School received the Boston Globes Nason Award for an outstanding 2011-12 athletic year in Division III, finishing with an overall record of 161-71-1. Spellman just edged Bishop Feehan, which had won the title for 14 straight years. Spellman was awarded with one of nine awards, handed out by the Globe during its 40th year of its Scholastic Awards. The awards rank schools based on their win-loss percentage for regular-season play. Gianna Grillone from Cardinal Spellman sophomore grade lead the girls gymnastics team to the CCL'S to move on and win the finals with a score of 10 across the board 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 the spring season in 2016, Spellman's varsity lacrosse made it to the MIAA D3 South quarterfinals in just its third varsity season. They lost to the eventual D3 South Champions Hanover High School
