In my former capacity as Sports Historian for the San Diego Hall of Champions, I visited many high schools throughout San Diego County in search of local prep historical material. Sad to say, at almost every stop, a secretary would shrug and respond “everything we’ve got is in that drawer over there.” The drawer would then typically yield a handful of photos, a few newspaper clippings and perhaps an annual or two. It’s sad that so many schools with impressive histories have neglected to accumulate and preserve their archival materials.

I’m pleased to report that our own SDHS has fared much, much better than any other county high school in conserving its precious heritage. An entire room (dedicated to the memory of beloved teacher/coach Frank Petrich ’34) adjacent to the Alumni Office in the library has been set aside for this purpose and has been carefully maintained over many years thanks to the diligence of alums such as John Cash ’38.

Alums and other friends of the school are invited to peruse the collection during Alumni Office hours. It’s best to call the office at (619) 231-8982, to make sure you can gain access to the collection.

Because of space limitations, it’s impossible to list herein everything available on a year-to-year basis, but here’s a sampling of things you can find:

Bound copies of every Russ newspaper since the inaugural edition in 1898 . . . every Gray Castle annual (caution: only a single office copy is available for the years 1935 through 1965) . . . scrapbooks from 1908 through 1987 . . . thousands of photographs from 1881 through the present . . . memory books for virtually every class reunion . . . registration cards, listing names, addresses, graduation dates, etc. for every student 1881- about 1980 . . . hundreds of obituaries . . . many hundreds of newspaper clippings regarding class activities, personalities and sports events . . . various sports events programs . . . documents such as graduation programs, class play programs, reports to Board of Education, etc. . . . film and videos of several football games (limited) . . .

Most of the aforementioned are separated out by class year. Other individual items include a choir robe, a 1908 graduation dress, a 40’s football helmet, school history pamphlets, Balboa Stadium info and pictures, many photos of all three schools (the original Russ School, the Old Gray Castle, and the current school), faculty information, centennial videos, historical videos, lettermen’s sweaters, dedication ceremony programs, Lit Parades, Sergeanette/cheerleader data, song and yell sheets, Russ Auditorium photos, CSF life members 1926-1961, architectural plans for the Gray Castle and current school, alumni interviews, and other various and sundry items too numerous to mention.