Cretin High School Is A Baseball and Football Power

Cretin-Derham Hall is a Catholic high school located in St. Paul, Minnesota. Nationally, it's not very well known, but in the state of Minnesota, it's an undisputed athletic powerhouse. The school has won 24 state championships in all sports, including 11 in baseball.

As a result of all the athletic success Cretin has had over the years, they have produced several notable alumni. The most prominent are 2004 MLB Hall of Fame inductee Paul Molitor and current Minnesota Twins star Joe Mauer.

Molitor, who graduated in 1974, was all-state in both baseball and basketball. Following a three-year stint at the University of Minnesota, Molitor played professionally for the Brewers, Blue Jays and Twins, collecting more than 3,000 hits and winning the 1993 World Series with the Blue Jays.

Mauer graduated in 2001, after being named all-state in football, baseball and basketball. During his senior year, Mauer was awarded Gatorade National Player of the Year honors in both football and baseball. He turned down a scholarship offer to play QB at Florida State, instead signing with the hometown Minnesota Twins, who chose him number one overall in the MLB draft.

Below are ifollosports.com original photos of Cretin’s scoreboard and baseball field. The scoreboard pays homage to Mauer and Molitor, along with all of the school’s baseball championships.

Other well known Cretin-Derham Hall alumni include football players Chris Weinke, who graduated in 1990, Steve Walsh a 1984 grad and current NFL player Matt Birk, who earned his diploma in 1994.

After playing in the Toronto Blue Jays organization, Weinke attended Florida State, winning the 2000 Heisman Trophy, while leading FSU to a National Championship. Weinke played seven years in the NFL for the Panthers and the 49ers.

Walsh starred at the University of Miami, leading the Hurricanes to a perfect season and National Championship in 1987. Walsh put together a solid NFL career, playing from 1989-1999, with six teams.

After graduation, Matt Birk attended college at Harvard University. Since entering the NFL in 1998, the center has had a very successful career, making six Pro Bowls, originally playing for the hometown Vikings and currently snapping the football for the Ravens.

Other alums in the sports world include longtime MLB umpire Tim Tschida, current Notre Dame WR Michael Floyd and current Miami Hurricanes offensive lineman Seantrel Henderson.

Actor Josh Hartnett spent a portion of his high school career at Cretin, before transferring to Minneapolis South High School.