Abilene High School (Abilene, Texas)
Encyclopedia
Abilene High School is a public high school
located in Abilene, Texas
and is part of the Abilene Independent School District
. Abilene High School is the name given to three different schools in the past 150 years. The first Abilene High was an old warehouse
. Not long after that, the school was moved to what is now the former Lincoln Middle School. In 1955, Abilene High was moved to its current location at N 6th and Mockingbird. Its main rival in sports is Cooper High School. Abilene High's mascot is the bald eagle
. The Abilene High Marching Band is accepted to be the oldest marching band
in Texas.
, for whom Shotwell Stadium
is named, Abilene won its first state championship in 1923, beating Waco
3-0 (Waco had held opponents scoreless since 1921; they had beaten Abilene 13-0 the previous year). Besides Dallas Oak Cliff
, Abilene High was the only school able to beat Paul Tyson
's Waco dynasty during the 1920s.
Shotwell left Abilene High following that title run in 1923, taking over at Hardin-Simmons University
. In 1927, Dewey Mayhew
became the Eagles head coach. He guided them to their second state title in 1928, and a third one in 1931. Mayhew left as the school's winningest coach in 1941 to coach at Texas A&I (now Texas A&M University–Kingsville
). His successor, Vernon Hilliard, only coached five seasons before Pete Shotwell returned for a second stint in 1946.
During the 1950s, the city of Abilene nearly doubled its size because of the Texas Oil Boom. While the school's enrollment reached new heights, the Eagles football program also reached its peak. Under Shotwell's successor Chuck Moser
Abilene won three consecutive state titles (1954–56) and 49 consecutive games, which stands as a national record.
Moser left Abilene in 1959, his successors Wally Bullington
(1960–65) and David McWilliams (1966–69) were not able to keep Abilene High football on that high level, especially since Abilene Cooper High School
opened in 1960 and afterwards drew a lot of students away from Abilene High. By 1970, Abilene Eagles football fell into a drought for almost three decades. From 1988 to 1995, the Eagles had 8 consecutive losing seasons.
However, things started to turn around when Steve Warren arrived in 1996. His teams went unbeaten in 2004 and 2005, but lost to Southlake Carroll
in the 5A Division II Regionals both years. In the 2007 season, the Abilene Eagles faced Southlake Carroll again in the Regional semifinals, this time beating them 22-21 to end the Dragon's run of consecutive state championship appearances and their 58-game winning streak against Texas teams. In the next week of the playoffs, the Eagles defeated Lewisville Hebron 20-10. The Eagles advanced to the state semi-finals for the first time in over 50 years. In 2009, the Eagles had an undefeated season and won the Division II State Finals against Katy High School 28-17, giving the Abilene Eagles its 7th State Championship and first in 53 years.
The Abilene Eagles Football team, after it's undefeated season and a State Championship, was given a sponsorship by Nike, and was given new equipment and gear.
The Eagles began their 2010 season by accepting an invitation for Florida's 2009 State Champions Plant High School to come to Texas for a pre-season game. The game was live on ESPN and was nicknamed the "Texas vs. Florida" game. Abilene Eagles defeated Plant 27-14.
During the Eagles' 2010 season, MTV sent cameras to follow Senior Running Back Herschel Sims and the Abilene Eagles Football Team, who was to be featured on MTV's "World of Jenks". The Eagles made it to the third round of playoffs, only to lose to long-time rival and top-ranked Southlake Carroll 38-24.
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
located in Abilene, Texas
Abilene, Texas
Abilene is a city in Taylor and Jones counties in west central Texas. The population was 117,063 at the 2010 census. It is the principal city of the Abilene Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2006 estimated population of 158,063. It is the county seat of Taylor County...
and is part of the Abilene Independent School District
Abilene Independent School District
Abilene Independent School District is a public school district based in Abilene, Texas .The district serves the cities of Abilene and Impact in northeastern Taylor County as well as the portion of Abilene that lies in southeastern Jones County...
. Abilene High School is the name given to three different schools in the past 150 years. The first Abilene High was an old warehouse
Warehouse
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...
. Not long after that, the school was moved to what is now the former Lincoln Middle School. In 1955, Abilene High was moved to its current location at N 6th and Mockingbird. Its main rival in sports is Cooper High School. Abilene High's mascot is the bald eagle
Bald Eagle
The Bald Eagle is a bird of prey found in North America. It is the national bird and symbol of the United States of America. This sea eagle has two known sub-species and forms a species pair with the White-tailed Eagle...
. The Abilene High Marching Band is accepted to be the oldest marching band
Marching band
Marching band is a physical activity in which a group of instrumental musicians generally perform outdoors and incorporate some type of marching with their musical performance. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwinds, and percussion instruments...
in Texas.
Athletics
Abilene High, the Division 2 5A 2009 State Football Champions. The school has one of the most tradition-rich football programs in the state of Texas. Coached by P. E. ShotwellP. E. Shotwell
P. E. "Pete" Shotwell was an American football coach.Shotwell was a 1916 graduate of Texas State University. He began coaching at Cisco High School in 1916 and later moved to Abilene High School...
, for whom Shotwell Stadium
Shotwell Stadium
Shotwell Stadium is a stadium in Abilene, Texas. It was built in 1959, using Rice Stadium as a model. It was initially named the Public Schools Stadium. The first game played in the Stadium was in the fall of 1959. Shortly after the first season, the stadium was renamed Shotwell Stadium, after the...
is named, Abilene won its first state championship in 1923, beating Waco
Waco High School
Waco High School is a Texas UIL Class 4A public high school located on N. 42 Street in Waco, Texas. As of August 2009, enrollment was 1902 with 139 teachers. The ethnicity is roughly 44.95% African American, 36.91% Hispanic, 17.19% White American and 0.95% Other. The school mascot is the lion...
3-0 (Waco had held opponents scoreless since 1921; they had beaten Abilene 13-0 the previous year). Besides Dallas Oak Cliff
W. H. Adamson High School
William Hardin Adamson High School, formerly Oak Cliff High School, is a public secondary school located in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, Texas . Adamson High School enrolls students in grades 9-12 and is a part of the Dallas Independent School District.- History :In 1891 the newly-incorporated...
, Abilene High was the only school able to beat Paul Tyson
Paul Tyson
Paul Leighton Tyson was an American football coach. He is one of the most successful high school football coaches of all time, winning four Texas state championships and one mythical national championship in the 1920s...
's Waco dynasty during the 1920s.
Shotwell left Abilene High following that title run in 1923, taking over at Hardin-Simmons University
Hardin-Simmons University
Hardin–Simmons University is a private Baptist university located in Abilene, Texas, United States.-History:Hardin–Simmons University was founded as Abilene Baptist College in 1891 by the Sweetwater Baptist Association and a group of cattlemen and pastors who sought to bring Christian higher...
. In 1927, Dewey Mayhew
Dewey Mayhew
Dewey Mayhew was an American football coach. He coached high school football at Marlin and Abilene, before serving as head coach at Texas A&I from 1941-1953...
became the Eagles head coach. He guided them to their second state title in 1928, and a third one in 1931. Mayhew left as the school's winningest coach in 1941 to coach at Texas A&I (now Texas A&M University–Kingsville
Texas A&M University–Kingsville
Texas A&M University–Kingsville is a U.S. national university with a multicultural student body that is 62 percent Hispanic and includes students from 35 states and 43 foreign countries...
). His successor, Vernon Hilliard, only coached five seasons before Pete Shotwell returned for a second stint in 1946.
During the 1950s, the city of Abilene nearly doubled its size because of the Texas Oil Boom. While the school's enrollment reached new heights, the Eagles football program also reached its peak. Under Shotwell's successor Chuck Moser
Chuck Moser
Charles H. “Chuck” Moser was an American football coach. He was known for guiding Abilene High School to a 49-game winning streak from 1954–57, which as still Texas state record for 4A and 5A schools...
Abilene won three consecutive state titles (1954–56) and 49 consecutive games, which stands as a national record.
Moser left Abilene in 1959, his successors Wally Bullington
Wally Bullington
Wally "Coach Bully" Bullington is a former American football player, coach, and sports figure from the state of Texas. He served Abilene Christian University in Abilene, Texas for 39 years as football player, assistant football coach, head football coach and athletic director before he retired...
(1960–65) and David McWilliams (1966–69) were not able to keep Abilene High football on that high level, especially since Abilene Cooper High School
Abilene Cooper High School
Cooper High School is a public, co-educational secondary school in Abilene, Texas. It opened in 1960, in part to handle the increase in school age youth resulting from the Post World War II Baby Boom...
opened in 1960 and afterwards drew a lot of students away from Abilene High. By 1970, Abilene Eagles football fell into a drought for almost three decades. From 1988 to 1995, the Eagles had 8 consecutive losing seasons.
However, things started to turn around when Steve Warren arrived in 1996. His teams went unbeaten in 2004 and 2005, but lost to Southlake Carroll
Carroll Senior High School (Southlake, Texas)
Carroll Senior High School is a public secondary school in Southlake, Texas. It is located in the Carroll Independent School District.-History:...
in the 5A Division II Regionals both years. In the 2007 season, the Abilene Eagles faced Southlake Carroll again in the Regional semifinals, this time beating them 22-21 to end the Dragon's run of consecutive state championship appearances and their 58-game winning streak against Texas teams. In the next week of the playoffs, the Eagles defeated Lewisville Hebron 20-10. The Eagles advanced to the state semi-finals for the first time in over 50 years. In 2009, the Eagles had an undefeated season and won the Division II State Finals against Katy High School 28-17, giving the Abilene Eagles its 7th State Championship and first in 53 years.
The Abilene Eagles Football team, after it's undefeated season and a State Championship, was given a sponsorship by Nike, and was given new equipment and gear.
The Eagles began their 2010 season by accepting an invitation for Florida's 2009 State Champions Plant High School to come to Texas for a pre-season game. The game was live on ESPN and was nicknamed the "Texas vs. Florida" game. Abilene Eagles defeated Plant 27-14.
During the Eagles' 2010 season, MTV sent cameras to follow Senior Running Back Herschel Sims and the Abilene Eagles Football Team, who was to be featured on MTV's "World of Jenks". The Eagles made it to the third round of playoffs, only to lose to long-time rival and top-ranked Southlake Carroll 38-24.
Notable alumni
- John LackeyJohn LackeyJohn Derran Lackey is an American professional baseball pitcher with the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball. Lackey was drafted by the Anaheim Angels in 1999 and helped the franchise win its first World Series title in 2002, which was his first season in the major leagues...
, Boston Red SoxBoston Red SoxThe Boston Red Sox are a professional baseball team based in Boston, Massachusetts, and a member of Major League Baseball’s American League Eastern Division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight charter franchises, the Red Sox's home ballpark has been Fenway Park since . The "Red Sox"...
pitcherPitcherIn baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of retiring a batter, who attempts to either make contact with the pitched ball or draw a walk. In the numbering system used to record defensive plays, the... - Dave ParksDave ParksDavid Wayne Parks is a former American football wide receiver in the NFL. He was the first overall selection in the 1964 NFL Draft out of Texas Technological College . Parks was selected to three Pro Bowls...
, NFL wide receiver and end - Dale Robert Rhoades, Sr. (1921–2004, Class of 1936), CrosbytonCrosbyton, TexasCrosbyton is a city in and the county seat of Crosby County, Texas, United States. The population was 1,874 at the 2000 census. Crosbyton is part of the Lubbock Metropolitan Statistical Area....
physicianPhysicianA physician is a health care provider who practices the profession of medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring human health through the study, diagnosis, and treatment of disease, injury and other physical and mental impairments...
, "Texas Country Doctor of the Year", 1993; son of Quarter HorseAmerican Quarter HorseThe American Quarter Horse is an American breed of horse that excels at sprinting short distances. Its name came from its ability to outdistance other breeds of horses in races of a quarter mile or less; some individuals have been clocked at speeds up to 55 mph...
promoter J. L. "Dusty" Rhoadeshttp://www.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~txcrosby/crosbyton/r/rhoades_dale.html - Randall "Tex" Cobb, actor
- Jim WelchJim WelchJames Welch is a former professional American football player who played nine seasons in the NFL....
, Running Back, Southern Methodist UniversitySouthern Methodist UniversitySouthern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
at DallasDallas, TexasDallas is the third-largest city in Texas and the ninth-largest in the United States. The Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex is the largest metropolitan area in the South and fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States...
, Baltimore ColtsHistory of the Indianapolis ColtsThe Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They play in the AFC South division of the National Football League. They have won 3 NFL championships and 2 Super Bowls....
, Detroit LionsDetroit LionsThe Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and... - William E. DyessWilliam DyessWilliam Edwin "Ed" Dyess was an officer of the United States Army Air Forces during World War II. He was captured after the Allied loss at the Battle of Bataan and endured the subsequent Bataan Death March. After a year in captivity, he escaped and spent three months on the run before being...
, Army Air Forces pilot in World War II [Note: Dyess was from Albany, Texas, not Abilene.] - A.C. Greene, historian, author, and newspaperman, known as the Dean of Texas Writers. 1923-2002.
- Doyle BrunsonDoyle BrunsonDoyle F. Brunson is an American professional poker player who has played professionally for over 50 years. He is the first two-time World Series of Poker main event champion to win consecutively, a Poker Hall of Fame inductee, and the author of several books on poker.Brunson is the first player to...
world's champion poker player; from Sweetwater, but attended Hardin-Simmons U. where he played basketball. - L. Ted Moore one of the first Physicists (U. of Houston/ Rice Institute) to help develop the theory of Quantitative Management. Class of 1957, Valedictorian. Author of Decision Models for Management