Inducted in 2007
Prep Teacher & Coach (1930-1976)
Father of a Prep Graduate

Induction Video

Born in 1907 to Louis Kirchner and Elizabeth Bradley Kirchner, Albert grew up around St. John Crysostom Church on Hoe Avenue and East 167th Street in the Bronx. He first arrived on the elm-lined Rose Hill Campus for in September 1922. He was immediately captivated, and he never left. Albert Kirchner graduated from the Prep in 1926, from the University in 1930 and was back at the Prep teaching  in September of that same year.

Kirchner was part of a core of school legends who began their Prep careers between 1920 and the early '40s  — a list of names that includes fellow Hall of Honor members Rudolph Hanish, James Melican, Harry McDonough, Arthur Shea, SJ and Paul Carielli, longtime caretaker of Hughes Hall. These extraordinary men came together at just the right time in the Prep’s history. Together, they would take an institution that had been born in the 19th century as a college’s lower division and reforge it into a high school unto itself, with all that high school implies. The impact that Kirchner and the others would have on the Prep down through the decades has earned them a chapter of their own in the official history of Fordham Prep, When September Comes. The chapter is aptly titled “A Golden Age of Prep Teachers.”

Early in his teaching career, Al married Catherine Donohue, the woman with whom he would share his life — the Prep community would come to know and love her as Kay. Together they raised four children in Throggs Neck: Judith, Kathleen, Susanne and Albert, Jr. Albert graduated the Prep in 1958.  
 
While Kirchner's main subject was Latin, he also taught English during the 1930s and 1940s. In those years, unsuspecting freshmen found in him a tough taskmaster. Most days started with a double period of Latin with Mr. Kirchner, immediately followed by a period of English — also taught by Mr. Kirchner.
 
In reality, many of Kirchner's English classes evolved into Latin classes, with  English grammatical points clarified through association with their Latin counterparts. Much to their delight, students usually found that Latin comprised a very substantial portion of their daily homework. There were even daily Latin exercises assigned over the Christmas break. It should come as no surprise that when he was out of earshot, Kirchner’s students called him Little Caesar — though not without respect and affection.
 
Kirchner's students considered him to be exceptionally fair. He gave many extra hours of help to students who were having difficulties. He worked hard, and expected his charges to do the same. But as the boys came to know, he could be quite funny, too.
 
Among the recollections of fellow Hall of Honor member, August “Gus” Stellwag, Class of 1949, is how Kirchner helped the class remember that the Latin verb neco means to kill. Using the example of a brand of candy that was very unpopular among the boys at that time (in any decade, clove-flavored confections are an acquired taste), he said, “Just remember Necco Wafers — they’ll kill you every time.” Others have recalled that when he had the younger brother of a former student in one of his classes, Kirchner might say something like “I hope you’re better at conjugating than your brother was” — straight-faced as ever, but always tongue-in-cheek.
 
Beyond the classroom, Kirchner coached baseball and helped run the university’s summer day camp. Class Night was an important part of Prep culture during the 1930s and 1940s. All of the boys from one class were invited to the Prep on a Friday night to play basketball in the university gym, swim in the pool and have refreshments. These evenings required supervision by faculty members, and Al was often on hand.
 
During the 1930s, Al began working with the Prep’s alumni and was eventually appointed executive secretary of the Alumni Association, where he laid the foundation for the present alumni structure. He never forgot a name or face at the annual Alumni Dinner. In the ’40s and ’50s, in addition to working with the Alumni Association, Kirchner became the unofficial liaison between the faculty and the Office of the Principal, contributing much to the day-to-day smooth running of the school.
 
According to a former student: “there never was or will be another like him — they broke the mold. Nobody could find fault with him. His teaching methods were unparalleled, and he always had complete control of the class.” And in the affectionate words of another Prepster of yesteryear: “I can truly say I love this man. While he was tough, there was always something warm and loving about my teacher and coach. He had a wonderful wit and was an incredibly positive influence in my life.”

To this day, "Mr. Kirchner's Map," a map of the Ancient Roman World, still graces one of the Prep's Latin classrooms.  It has hung on one Prep classroom wall or another — in both Hughes and Shea Halls — since Mr. K first hung it himself, nearly a century ago.  
 
Albert Kirchner retired from teaching in 1976 and from his Alumni Association position in 1980. He passed away in July 1998 at the age of 90.