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.

William Strowhouer's Sweater

     At the Wednesday Night Jug at Thanksgiving 2010, I ran into Chip (Charles J.) Strowhouer '71.  I was telling him about the Villiger Archives program, and he offered to donate some treasures from his dad, William J. Strowhouer '40: a jacket, a sweater, and a hat.  Bill grew up in Drexel Hill and attended St. Andrew's School before arriving at the Prep in September 1936, where he was active in Sodality, intramurals, and track.  On the track team, Bill was a reliable sprinter, and placed consistently in the 100 and 220 yard dashes.  I have included scans of two pages from the 1940 Chronicle: his senior portrait and the track team's page on which Bill appears twice.  The third image is Bill's varsity sweater with his track chenille.  Hard to believe that this sweater is over 70 years old!  The care with which Bill preserved his sweater is just one of the ways he showed his fondness for his time at St. Joe's.  He would send three sons to his dear alma mater: William '65, Chip '71, and Theodore '73.  Chip considered his time at the Prep to be the best experience of his life, so he sent his son Jon (Charles Jonathan) as a member of the Class of 2002.
     Chip also sent along his dad's Prep warm-up jacket, and the PREP bucket hat you see in the photo with his sweater.  The sweater and hat are currently displayed in the archive case in the 'link' (see photo) where hundreds pass to and from Jesuit Hall every day.  And I can't tell you how many students have asked about reproducing Bill's hat and selling them in the Spirit Shop!    
     If you have any vintage Prep items that you would like to donate to the permanent collection of the Villiger Archives, please get in touch.  And if you find yourself near 17th and Girard and want to see some of the items from our school's grand history, please stop by.