All Hallows College
Salt Lake City, Utah
1886-1918
E-Travel
While this Catholic school in Mormon Salt Lake City has been closed for more than 90 years, we are fortunate that the Utah Historical Society has preserved photos of the school and its students. Robert J. Dwyer has a written a history of Father Scanlon and All Hallows College for the Utah Historical Quarterly. The University of Utah library provided the logo.
History
All Hallows College for boys and young men was founded by Father Lawrence Scanlon, the doors opening on September 19, 1886. Named for the Bishop’s alma mater, All Hallows College in Dublin, the school was described as a “preparatory college,” a combination high school and junior college, designed on the European six-year model. Lacking a sufficient number of trained priests to operate the college, Father Scanlon turned the management of All Hallows over to the Marist Fathers in 1889; and they operated the college until it closed in 1918.
All Hallows opened with 90 students and reached a high mark of around 200 (with 15 professors) in 1900 according to the Catholic Encyclopedia. Father Dwyer says the number was 180: 120 boarders and 60 day pupils. School advertisements in Utah newspapers announced that All Hallows College featured “Classical, Commercial and Scientific Courses” and that it offered “Military Drill by an Army Officer.” According to Dwyer, some cooling of the relationship between Father Scanlon and the Marist Fathers led to a lack of support for All Hallows in Utah, forcing the school to seek money and students on the Pacific Rim. However All Hallows then had to compete with Catholic schools in those areas. Inevitably, enrollment declined; the school was forced to close in 1918.
This photo shows both wings of All Hallows school joined by the chapel. (Card Cow <www.cardcow.com/266159/all-hallows-college-salt-lake-city-utah/> accessed 10-30-2017
Bricks and Mortar
The main All Hallows building was constructed on “Mother Sayer’s lot” on the corner of 2nd South and 4th East in Salt Lake City. Begun in May 1885, it was not completed until September 1886. Under Father Thomas Larkin, All Hallows developed plans for a full college and a new building “east of Liberty Park.” However, these plans were scaled back, so that in 1902 All Hallows added a second wing with a chapel connecting the two parts.
The State of Utah purchased the school from the Catholic Church in 1924. It was used as an armory for the Utah National Guard. Damaged by a fire in 1941, the buildings were later razed. A supermarket occupies the spot today.
Sports
Colors: Royal Blue and White
Team name: Newspapers invariably referred to the team as “The College” or “Collegians.”
All Hallows College fielded teams in football, basketball, soccer, track and baseball. History of Soccer in Utah notes that All Hallows College was playing against Fort Douglas as early as 1893. In both basketball and track, the intra-school competition took precedence over interscholastic competition. A school team would be selected following the in-school season. But their premier sport seems to have been baseball, a sport in which their team “met all comers in the amateur ranks.” The All Hallows team was declared the state champion in 1913.
Being a combination high school and junior college, All Hallows College found itself playing football at two different levels. Yearly rival games against Salt Lake City High School and Ogden High School seemed to determine the state high school championship. But it was also not uncommon for All Hallows to schedule games with the University of Utah, Utah Agricultural College, and independent teams from military units.
In 1906, under the direction of University of Chicago graduate John Frederick Tobin, All Hallows played a five-game schedule. The team defeated Academy of Idaho (today's Idaho State University); they played scoreless ties with Ogden High School, Salt Lake High School, and Fort Douglas (a military base); they lost to the University of Utah 23-0 in a scrimmage game.
Postcard image of the 1911 All Hallows baseball team. (<www.cardcow.com/551661/all-hallows-college-1911-baseball-team-salt-lake-city-utah>) accessed 10-30-2017
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