The History of Elder High school

In 1922 the cornerstone of the first Catholic Archdiocesan high school was placed at Vincent and Regina Avenues in Price Hill. The school was called Elder and named in honor of the third Archbishop of Cincinnati, William Henry Elder, who had served the Archdiocese from 1880 to 1904. The school was to be the first of thirteen such schools constructed in the Greater Cincinnati area.

 
In the spring of 1923 Elder graduated eight students from its newly completed facility. These eight were to be the first of nearly 15,000 to graduate from the same building in seventy years.

As Elder began to grow, a certain spirit and character known as Elder grew with it. During its early years the school was co-educational; however, in 1928 Seton High School was established to accommodate girls, leaving Elder an all boys' school staffed by the priests of the Archdiocese and lay teachers. Since then Elder has grown into one of the largest all boys' schools in the Archdiocese and in the state.

In the 1930's a group of faculty members and students began work on what has become the premier high school football stadium in the city. The real impetus of construction, however, took place in the mid-1940's. In December of 1947 the stadium was completed. The stadium can accommodate more than 9,000 people and has attracted more than a million and a half fans over its half-century existence.

     In the dawn of Queen City athletic time, what would become known all over Ohio as ‘The Pit’ was exactly that—a dusty cow pasture on Cincinnati ’s West Side adorned with a manhole on the 50-yard line.

     It was the only known playing field in Ohio where a manhole was the home field advantage, and from that inauspicious beginning nearly eighty years ago was born one of the Midwest’s most storied prep traditions: Elder High School athletics. In its steady procession of stellar teams and athletes, Elder became a West Side phenomena.

     There were the Thanksgiving Day shootouts with archrival West High; Bob Hoernschemeyer, class of ’43, in the Guinness Book of Records for once scoring 27 points in six minutes; Steve Grote, an All-Big Ten basketballer after whom Michigan named its Hustle Award; and an astounding list of All-Staters and All-Americans.

     As Elder's population dramatically increased in the post-World War II era, the need arose for a larger physical plant. To meet this need, two temporary buildings known as "the barracks" were constructed on the east side of the campus. These yielded to the construction of a permanent east wing completed in 1959 including a cafeteria, gym, classrooms and science labs. In 1963 a third building was erected including 12 classrooms.

     As the number of sports programs increased the need arose for expanded athletic facilities. In the late 1970's plans were made for the Elder Memorial Fieldhouse. Known as "The Pit," the 1,900+ capacity facility serves a number of purposes including basketball, convocations and all-school Masses. The Elder community has responded to the renovation of the stadium and five buildings over the years. Over $3.1 million has been pledged over a five-year period toward the completion of the "Spirit Fund" projects.

     Along the way, this all-boys parochial school, nestled in a residential corner of blue-collar Price Hill, acquired a following of loyalists found in no other school in Cincinnati , maybe in no other school anywhere.

     A curiosity to outsiders, the lifelong object of affection and fealty to insiders, this is the mystique that created back-to-back basketball state titles, a cross country dynasty, an unprecedented eleven baseball championships, and a football team with a national ranking and back-to-back state titles. Its football field was named by USA Today as one of the best places in America to watch high school football, and its graduates have populated programs from Division I all the way to the professional ranks.

     Equal parts championship seasons, feats of athletic derring-do, improvisational moments, anecdotes, good talk, and purpose, The Pride of Price Hill is, finally, a story about an old-fashioned neighborhood—a neighborhood most of us wish we inhabited.

                                                                                                                                             Altiora

Pride of Price Hill

Commemorative Panther

Saint Joseph Old Cemetery located at West Eighth and Seton Avenue and Elder High School have been a constant in Price Hill since 1843.   These two great institutions are committed to serving this community and generations of families for years to come.

This Commemorative Panther was the collaboration of Jerry Auer, a 1981 graduate of Elder, and Steve Bittner, Elder’s reserve basketball coach, both executives of the Cincinnati Catholic Cemetery Society, which operates Saint Joseph Old Cemetery.  Also Tim Rolf, a prominent Elder booster.  They are pleased to be a part of the

Pride of Price Hill.

This beautiful individually crafted and hand finished one of a kind Panther has been especially designed for YOU.  

                                               Care & Maintenance Instructions 

Normal dusting.

(soft dry cloth or equivalent)

DO NOT use anything rough, abrasive or sharp.

DO NOT use cleaning chemicals of any kind such as Pledge, this will ruin the finish.

Proudly Made in the USA

and designed by an Elder Graduate.