Reading Central Catholic High School


Reading Central Catholic High School was a small Roman Catholic high school located at 1400 Hill Road in Reading, Pennsylvania. It was in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Allentown.
The school was at the intersection of Hill Road and Clymer Street. Eckert Avenue was on the 'back' side of the school. An alley completed the school's block.

History

The current building used for Reading Central Catholic High School consists of what was once one of William H. Luden's mansions. William H. Luden was the founder of Luden's throat drops. It is also stated that a resident ghost resides in the mansion. The Luden's mansion eventually became Reading Central Catholic High School in 1939 with an initial class of 75 students, and an addition was made to the building in 1941, bringing it to its current size. Plans were made in 2008 to build a new school on land purchased by the Diocese of Allentown but have since been canceled. Bishop John Barres of the Diocese of Allentown ordered a survey of the financial sustainability of two Catholic high schools within Berks county, and decided to close Central Catholic and Holy Name High School, creating an entirely new school. Following the 2010–2011 academic year, the Diocese of Allentown closed both Holy Name High School and Reading Central Catholic High School. The Diocese then established a new secondary school, Berks Catholic High School, which officially opened on July 1, 2011 on the site of the former Holy Name High School.

Facilities

Football stadium

The Cardinals played football in a 20-acre complex located at 3850 St Lawrence Ave in St Lawrence, PA. The land was donated to the school by Dominic Mauer. The stadium opened in 1948.
On September 3, 1976, dedication of new bleachers on the visitors' side at the athletic field in St. Lawrence took place before the home football opener against Reading High. The bleachers approximately doubled the seating capacity at the field to nearly 4,000. The home side bleachers were replaced, and the locker room building was expanded in 1969. A new lighting system was installed in 1975.
The Central Catholic Boosters volunteered to maintain the complex. The stadium consisted of a grass football field, a cinder track, home and visitor locker rooms, a press box, a fully functioning concession stand, a practice field and adequate parking.
The stadium was originally named St Lawrence Stadium. In 2010 the stadium was renamed Vince Shemanski Stadium for CCHS longtime principal and Head football coach, Vince Shemanski.

Hill Road Gym

The Hill Road Gym was added to the original Luden Mansion in the early 1940s.
The gym is only 38 feet wide and 72 feet long. There is not enough room for a three-point shot from the corners.
Central Catholic played Valley Forge Military Academy on December 5, 1941, two days before Pearl Harbor, in the first game ever played in the gym. Central lost their first eight games in that gym before defeating St. Matt's of Conshohocken 40-31 for the first win in the Hill Road Gym.
From 1983 through 1999, the Central Catholic Cardinals had a.903 winning percentage in their gym, a tremendous home court advantage. Snip Easterly, the coach of the Cardinals, said: "You can never replace the atmosphere and history that the place has."

Athletics

The Cardinals of Central Catholic have a strong tradition of athletic excellence. The cards fielded both boys and girls interscholastic teams. The teams competed in the Pennsylvania Catholic Interscholastic Athletic Association. In the early 1970s, PCIAA schools started to join the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association.

Boys' basketball

PCIAA Championships

1985: Class A
1996: Lost to George Junior Republic 61–59
1998: Lost to George Junior Republic 62–52
2007: Reading Central Catholic over DuBois Central Catholic 58–33