Jack Peranteau – a “Stiles Streeter” We’ll Never Forget!

Jack Peranteau '34 (second from right) crouches into position in the Fall of 1933.

     On the day after Christmas 2011, the Prep lost a great one – John L. “Jack” Peranteau of the Class of 1934.  Jack lived in the neighborhood and was a graduate of the Gesu Elementary School.  Back in the fall of 2009, I had the pleasure of meeting Jack when he drove himself into the Prep to deliver a photograph of the 1933 Catholic League Champion football team (see photos).  We chatted during my lunch period, and he regaled me with stories of the ’33 season – an undefeated team with a scoreless tie against Central High the only blemish on their record (see team schedule). 

From Philadelphia's The Public Ledger

     I was struck by Jack’s good-natured retelling of his role in the game – that after 76 years, he remembered dropping a toss from quarterback Bobby Dougherty – a sure touchdown for the “Stiles Streeters”, as the Prep was known in the newspapers of the day.  Curious, I later consulted the scrapbooks in the Villiger Archives (see scan of article from The Public Ledger).  Sure enough, in the second column of an Inquirer article dated 30 September 1933, I found it … “At the very outset, St. Joseph’s missed a touchdown when a forward pass tossed by Dougherty to Jack Peranteau, who was all alone in the open, slid through the latter’s fingers and fell harmlessly to the ground.”  So there it was in black-and-white … for posterity. 

     Of course, Jack was too humble to mention a few highlights of that storied season – like his play against Roman Catholic on Thanksgiving Day at Shibe Park.  From The Public Ledger, “The speedy wingman (Peranteau), playing well on the defensive, took the occasion to snare half a dozen passes from Dougherty for long gains, while he intercepted several of the (Roman) Catholic aerials, recovered fumbles and also kicked two extra points.” Or the fact that his stellar play earned him the honors of Second Team All Scholastic and First Team All Catholic in 1933. 

     Though that pass slipped through his fingers so many years ago, Jack held a firm grasp on what was important in his life: Mollie and their eight kids, his 26 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren, and his dear alma mater that honored his fidelity with the Golden Hawk Award in 2010.

This schedule is from a scrapbook in the Villiger Archives.

This 1933 football roster is also from the Villiger Archives.

A program from the Thanksgiving Game in 1933.

This picture now hangs in display at St. Joseph's Prep's Jesuit Hall.