East Rutherford High School

Defunct high school in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States

East Rutherford High School was a public high school that operated as part of the East Rutherford School District in East Rutherford, in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States.

## History

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The district's initial high school program began in 1896, with the first graduate completing their program two years later. The school had served students from Carlstadt on a tuition basis until its closure and the opening of the joint regional high school. Students from Wallington had attended the school as part of a sending/receiving relationship until the opening of Wallington High School in 1951.[1]

The school building was partially destroyed in an October 1966 fire that destroyed half of the space used by the high school.[2][3]

The school closed at the end of the 1970–71 school year, was succeeded by Henry P. Becton Regional High School, which was built to serve students from both East Rutherford and Carlstadt.[4]

## Athletics

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The boys cross country running team won the Group B state championship in 1929 and 1930.[5]

In 1933, the girls' basketball team won its 100th consecutive game, continuing a streak that started with the final game of the 1927 season.[6]

Les Cason (dark uniform at center) wins the opening tip against Leonia High School in a January 1971 game

The boys' basketball team, coached by Dick Vitale, won the Group I state championship in 1970 (defeating Burlington Township High School in the tournament final) and 1971 (vs. Gloucester City High School).[7] Les Cason set a tournament record with 45 points to lead the 1970 team to a 67–66 win against Burlington Township in the Group I championship game at a game played in Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. Cason broke the record of 40 points that had been held by Brian Taylor of Perth Amboy High School.[8] The 1971 team, which also starred Cason, finished the season with a record of 28–0 after winning the program's second consecutive Group I state title with a 53–52 defeat of Gloucester City in the playoff finals.[9] Cason was recruited by over 300 colleges, but a combination of academic problems and other issues rendered him ineffective at the collegiate level; eventually he became addicted to drugs and died at age 43.[10]

## Notable alumni

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See also: Category:East Rutherford High School alumni

* Carol Arthur (1935–2020), actress, known for playing supporting roles in films produced by Mel Brooks.[11]
* Ernest Cuneo (1905–1988), lawyer, newspaperman, author and intelligence liaison, who played two seasons in the NFL for the Orange Tornadoes and the Brooklyn Dodgers.[12]
* Steve Hamas (1907–1974), professional football player in the National Football League who turned to professional boxing, defeating former heavyweight champions Tommy Loughran and Max Schmelling.[13]
* Henry Helstoski (1925–1999, class of 1940), politician who served in the United States House of Representatives for 12 years, from 1965 until 1977.[14]
* Harold C. Hollenbeck (born 1938), politician who represented New Jersey's 9th congressional district in the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1983.[15]
* Robert P. Hollenbeck (1931–2021), politician who served six terms in the New Jersey General Assembly from the 36th Legislative District.[16]
* C. Gus Rys (1912–1980), politician who was mayor of Fair Lawn and served three terms in the New Jersey General Assembly.[17]
* Walt Szot (1920–1981), American football tackle who played five seasons in the National Football League with the Chicago Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers.[18][19]
* Vito Trause (1925–2019), World War II United States Army veteran and prisoner of war[20]
* Dick Vitale (born 1939), basketball coach and sportscaster who coached the East Rutherford basketball team to two state titles.[21][22]

## References

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1. ^ Lanza, Monica. "East Rutherford H.S.; This was theirs alone", Herald News, July 6, 1971. Accessed March 23, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "The Generations of Youth began their sojourn in 1896. The first graduate, in 1898, was Margaret W. Moffat who received her diploma from principal-superintendent Homer Wilcox. By 1911, the high school had moved to the brand new Madison Square School, which later became a four-year high school.... Sharing has been an integral part of school life for every East Rutherford student since 1876 when Wallington began sending students to East Rutherford schools. In 1951, after 75 years of shared educational experiences, Wallington officials dedicated a high school building of their own. Carlstadt, however, continued to send its students to East Rutherford for secondary education, and the two boroughs have now joined resources to form the regional facility."
2. ^ Staff. "Fire Destroys Jersey School"[permanent dead link], The New York Times, October 9, 1966. Accessed January 9, 2018. "A fire destroyed East Rutherford High School tonight."
3. ^ Lanza, Monica P. "Becton High is a reality at last", Herald News, November 15, 1971. Accessed March 2, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "Mrs. Irene Mercoun, president of the Carlstadt-East Rutherford Board of Education, formed in 1968, traced the chain of events that culminated in the reality of a regional school for the two towns. 'It all started with a nightmare for East Rutherford High School and the Municipal Square School,' Mrs. Mercoun said. The nightmare was a fire that destroyed the Municipal Square School which was being used by high school students from Carlstadt and East Rutherford. The fire cost the system half of its available facilities for high school students."
4. ^ Rowe, John. "East Rutherford Cage Era Ends Tonight", Herald News, March 18, 1971. Accessed March 2, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "The title game will be the final basketball game for an East Rutherford team and a Wildcats' squad led by Les Cason and coached by Dick Vitale. Next year they will be a Becton-Dickinson Regional High School and a basketball team which will be without the services of Cason and Vitale."
5. ^ NJSIAA Boys Cross Country Group State Group Champions, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.
6. ^ Staff. "East Rutherford Girl Sextet Scores 100th Victory in Row", The New York Times, February 16, 1933. Accessed January 9, 2018. "Bent on equaling the record of the Passaic 'wonder' basketball team of a few years ago – which won 159 consecutive games – the girls' court team of East Rutherford High School today defeated West New York, 24 to 13, for its 100th straight contest. The East Rutherford girls began their bid for fame in the last game of 1927."
7. ^ NJSIAA Boys Basketball Championship History, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association. Accessed September 1, 2022.
8. ^ Cason's 45 Snaps Tourney Record", The Record, March 22, 1970. Accessed November 26, 1970, via Newspapers.com.
9. ^ "Beat Them at Own Game, Says Vitale", Herald News, March 19, 1971. Accessed March 2, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "If someone hadn't known the final score of last night's East Rutherford-Gloucester City Group 1 state title game they only had to look and listen as the two coaches talked about the game in their lockerrooms. First there was East Rutherford's Dick Vitale. basking in the glory of a 53-52 victory, a second straight state championship, a 28-0 season and a 33-game winning streak."
10. ^ "Les Cason, 43, High School Basketball Star", The New York Times, April 19, 1997. "Les Cason, whose overwhelmingly successful basketball career at East Rutherford High School in New Jersey signaled a promise he never came close to achieving, died on Wednesday. He was 43."
11. ^ "Keeping In Touch" Archived November 23, 2021, at the Wayback Machine, Commercial Leader and South-Bergen Review, December 12, 1984. Accessed November 3, 2020. "Carol DeLuise, the former Carol Arata of East Rutherford, remembers her area friends with a Christmas card that shows her growing sons, Michael, left, David and Peter, right — and their dog Midnight.... Carol was Miss Everything at East Rutherford High School where she wrote and starred in the musicals, edited the yearbook and the school newspaper and finished off with academic honors."
12. ^ Ernest Cuneo Papers, 1926–1988, Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. Accessed March 14, 2018. "Cuneo was born in East Rutherford, New Jersey in 1906. His first newspaper experience was as editor of the school newspaper at East Rutherford High School and a stringer for the Passaic Daily News."
13. ^ Curley, Bob. "The Steve Hamas Story; Inferiority Complex Helped Wellington Athlete's Career; Dad His Guiding Light", Herald News, April 10, 1954. Accessed December 23, 2021, via Newspapers.com. "When he was a freshman at Passaic High School in 1922, Steve felt far from being a standout athlete.... 'When my dad moved to Wallington I transferred to East Rutherford High School.'"
14. ^ Phalon, Richard. "Two Ex-Classmates in Heated Ninth District Race", The New York Times, October 28, 1974. Accessed January 9, 2018. "As fellow graduates, of the old East Rutherford High School, Class of 1940, Representative Henry Helstoski, a Democrat, and Harold A. Pareti, his Republican opponent in the Ninth Congressional District, have a certain wry respect for each other's talents."
15. ^ "Plosia, Hollenbeck Picked as Candidates; East Rutherford GOP-Independent Membership Names 2 Unanimously", Herald News, May 27, 1966. Accessed April 25, 2022, via Newspapers.com. "In what was described as a mood of 'high optimism,' the members of the Republican-Independent Club last night unanimously nominated James L. Plosia and Harold C. Hollenbeck to run for the two council seats up for grabs this November.... A 27-year resident of the borough, Hollenbeck was a graduate of East Rutherford High School and enrolled in Fairleigh Dickinson University."
16. ^ Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, 1985, p. 279. J.A. Fitzgerald, 1985. Accessed July 17, 2019. "Assemblyman Hollenbeck was born in Carlstadt Nov. 5, 1931. After graduating from East Rutherford High School he attended Albright College in Reading, Pa., and technical trade schools."
17. ^ Manual of the Legislature of New Jersey, Volume 197, p. 255. E.J. Accessed April 3, 2019. "Mr. Rys was born June 24, 1913, in Passaic. He was educated in the Passaic parochial schools, and graduated from East Rutherford High School."
18. ^ "Walt Szot With Grid Cards", The Herald-News, October 7, 1946. Accessed October 16, 2020, via Newspapers.com. "Walt Szot, former East Rutherford High and Bucknell football tackle, has signed with the Chicago Cardinals."
19. ^ Walt Szot, Pro Football Archives. Accessed October 16, 2020. "High School: East Rutherford (NJ)"
20. ^ Katzban, Nicholas. "Vito Trause, who left school in Bergen County to fight in WWII, dies at 94", The Record, November 3, 2019. Accessed October 11, 2021. "Vito 'Pal' Trause was raised in Carlstadt and attended Becton when it was known as East Rutherford High School."
21. ^ Moran, Malcolm. "Dick Vitale: Frustrated But Still", The New York Times, February 1, 1979. Accessed January 9, 2018. "He won two New Jersey state championships at East Rutherford High School, and had a career record of 131‐47."
22. ^ Dick Vitale, ESPN. Accessed September 9, 2021. "He then earned four state sectional championships, two consecutive state championships, and 35 consecutive victories during his seven years at his alma mater—East Rutherford, NJ, High School (1964-70)."