In 1910, the Class of 1913 published a literary journal that, the following year, became the Ignatian Quarterly, a combination literary magazine and yearbook. (The publication later dropped Quarterly from its title.) The college and high school published this together until 1928 when The Heights made its debut, exclusively covering high school life while the Ignatian dealt only with college students. (Publication of all high school annuals in the San Francisco Archdiocese ended in 1932 on orders from Archbishop Mitty who hoped to spare Catholic businesses the burden of paying for advertisements.)
Among the articles published in the first issue of the Ignatian were essays entitled “The Dangers of Labor Unions” and “Stevenson — An Appreciation,” on the writing of Robert Louis Stevenson, along with poems praising Jesus’ parents.
The first editorial, written by Adrian Buckley (who received his Bachelor’s degree in 1911), noted that “the aim and ambition of the Ignatian Quarterly is to be a journalistic success in every sense of the word. In the literary field it certainly has every reason to be sanguine. Many students of St. Ignatius College, who have long desired a wider scope for their literary talents than that afforded by mere class routine, will welcome an opportunity to contribute to a periodical in which their productions will reflect, not only honor on themselves, but also on their Alma Mater. The subjects treated in the Ignatian Quarterly will be on interesting topics, and written in a style well calculated to hold the reader’s attention throughout.”17
The journal reported on the various athletic and extracurricular activities, including this report on the Junior Philhistorian Debating Society: “The most important feature of the year was the public interclass debate held in the College Hall on St. Patrick’s night. A large and enthusiastic audience was entertained with the question of the fortification of the Panama Canal. Fourth Year High espoused the affirmative, and Third Year High spoke on the negative. The affirmative won.”18
It also reported on the High School Elocution Contest. The 1920 edition praised the winning student, William O’Brien, “whose clever dialect rendition of the popular piece, ‘Rosa,’ was capable of stirring the most unresponsive audience.” High school students also took part in the Sanctuary Society (serving as altar boys) and the Sodality along with their college counterparts. Finally, students had a rudimentary intramural program, with the high school juniors playing the seniors in the Interclass Basketball, Baseball and Track games, with the winner of the basketball competition receiving the Austin T. Howard trophy, in memory of a deceased professor. In 1922, that interclass track competition became the President’s Day games, held at Golden Gate Park Stadium on April 28, pitting high school athletes against their college counterparts. The high school carried the day in nearly all events.19