Rockford Central High School
Encyclopedia
Rockford Central High School (est. 1885) is a defunct school in the city of Rockford, Illinois
. Rockford, the second largest city in the Land of Lincoln, established a central location for all students to attend high school in 1885. This building would be continuously used as an educational facility until September 1940.
In 1884, the two districts came together and established a single high school located at 201 South Madison Street. The first commencement included twenty graduates in 1885. About 100 total students were enrolled in Rockford High School during its inaugural year. That number grew to 600 by 1900 and by the year 1940, that number would multiply to nearly 3,600 students.
By 1935, the attendance at the single high school grew too large. The board of education
decided it would be best to, once again, establish two new high schools on the East and West sides of the Rock River. In September 1940, Rockford East
and Rockford West High Schools opened. Rockford West, located on North Rockton Avenue on the Northwest side of the city, remained open for 48 years as a high school. It now serves as West Middle School for the Rockford Public School System. Rockford East, located on Charles Street, is still a functioning high school and maintains the traditions of Rockford Central High School.
It was the first high school in the United States to organize a band that played at the halftime of a football game, now known as a marching band.
The Annual, or yearbook as it’s called now, was entitled "The Owl". It was founded in 1890 and has been published continually since 1892. Rockford was the second high school in the country to establish a yearbook.
Rockford Central’s baseball diamonds were used by the Rockford Peaches
girls professional baseball team starting in 1940.
Girls basketball preceded the boys program. The first girl’s basketball team was formed in 1901. The 1903 squad gained the school a championship by defeating a Polo
squad that had previously been undefeated followed by a victory over Freeport
in the championship of "Northern Illinois outside of Cook County" with a final score of 10-6.
The building now is home to Rockford Public School District’s central offices and board of education.
The school’s colors were red and black with a nickname based on those colors: the ‘’’RAB’s’’’ for Red And Blacks. Rockford East continues to use the nickname, adding an E to the front, creating the word “E-Rabs”.
The school song:
and because of their size, they had a tremendous amount of athletic success. The RABS overall won eight state championships, including three in boys basketball (1911, 1919, 1939), four in track and field (1896, 1927, 1933, 1935), as well as a swimming championship in 1933. Rockford became the first school to win three IHSA championships in Basketball.
The IHSA began hosting a state-wide championship for basketball in 1908. Rockford chose not to participate in the inaugural IHSA State Tournament because they were already considered "Champions of the State" and did not want to defend their title in this new tournament. More of what can be expanded on this topic is mentioned in a chapter of the book "100 Years of March Madness" by Scott Johnson, among others.
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Rockford, Illinois
Rockford is a mid-sized city located on both banks of the Rock River in far northern Illinois. Often referred to as "The Forest City", Rockford is the county seat of Winnebago County, Illinois, USA. As reported in the 2010 U.S. census, the city was home to 152,871 people, the third most populated...
. Rockford, the second largest city in the Land of Lincoln, established a central location for all students to attend high school in 1885. This building would be continuously used as an educational facility until September 1940.
History
Prior to providing a central location for education, students attended two separate school districts, one being located on the East side of the Rock River, the other on the West side. These school districts were established in 1854, and opened buildings in 1857. By 1862, each district established a high school, creating an East-vs-West issue that would continue on for 20 years, finally uniting in 1884.In 1884, the two districts came together and established a single high school located at 201 South Madison Street. The first commencement included twenty graduates in 1885. About 100 total students were enrolled in Rockford High School during its inaugural year. That number grew to 600 by 1900 and by the year 1940, that number would multiply to nearly 3,600 students.
By 1935, the attendance at the single high school grew too large. The board of education
Board of education
A board of education or a school board or school committee is the title of the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or higher administrative level....
decided it would be best to, once again, establish two new high schools on the East and West sides of the Rock River. In September 1940, Rockford East
Rockford East High School
Rockford East High School is a comprehensive four year high school in Rockford, Illinois.-Notable alumni:*Bill Erickson – consensus Second Team All-American basketball player at Illinois....
and Rockford West High Schools opened. Rockford West, located on North Rockton Avenue on the Northwest side of the city, remained open for 48 years as a high school. It now serves as West Middle School for the Rockford Public School System. Rockford East, located on Charles Street, is still a functioning high school and maintains the traditions of Rockford Central High School.
Interesting facts
Rockford Central High School was built as two separate buildings attached by an underground hallway. This hallway became known as "Rat Alley". It contained rows of wooden lockers and was only accessible by walking through the “haunted area” also known as the shop.It was the first high school in the United States to organize a band that played at the halftime of a football game, now known as a marching band.
The Annual, or yearbook as it’s called now, was entitled "The Owl". It was founded in 1890 and has been published continually since 1892. Rockford was the second high school in the country to establish a yearbook.
Rockford Central’s baseball diamonds were used by the Rockford Peaches
Rockford Peaches
The Rockford Peaches were a team in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League playing out of Rockford, Illinois for the entire existence of the league from 1943 to 1954....
girls professional baseball team starting in 1940.
Girls basketball preceded the boys program. The first girl’s basketball team was formed in 1901. The 1903 squad gained the school a championship by defeating a Polo
Polo, Illinois
Polo is a city in Ogle County, Illinois. The population was 2,355 at the 2010 census, down from 2,477 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Polo is located at ....
squad that had previously been undefeated followed by a victory over Freeport
Freeport High School (Illinois)
Freeport High School is a public secondary school located in Freeport, Illinois. Their sport teams are named the Pretzels.-Academics:In 2009, Freeport had an average composite ACT score of 19.7, and graduated 85.8% of its senior class...
in the championship of "Northern Illinois outside of Cook County" with a final score of 10-6.
The building now is home to Rockford Public School District’s central offices and board of education.
The school’s colors were red and black with a nickname based on those colors: the ‘’’RAB’s’’’ for Red And Blacks. Rockford East continues to use the nickname, adding an E to the front, creating the word “E-Rabs”.
The school song:
"Let us voice our loy-al-ty, in a stir-ring, ring-ing cheer.
For the team that fights so splen-did-ly.
For the colors we re-vere - Hoorah! Rah!
Go Rockford go! Right at the foe! Go, Rockford go!
Hoorah! Rah! So go Rockford go!
We're cheering you nearing the goal line, Rockford go!
Plunging, advancing, the ball never yield
Victory we must know (Rah! Rah! Rah!)"
Athletics
Rockford Central was considered a very large school for the IHSAIllinois High School Association
The Illinois High School Association is one of 521 state high school associations in the United States, designed to regulate competition in most interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level. It is a charter member of the National Federation of State High...
and because of their size, they had a tremendous amount of athletic success. The RABS overall won eight state championships, including three in boys basketball (1911, 1919, 1939), four in track and field (1896, 1927, 1933, 1935), as well as a swimming championship in 1933. Rockford became the first school to win three IHSA championships in Basketball.
Boys basketball
Based on the IHSA Website (www.ihsa.org), Rockford saw more success from 1910 to 1940 than any other school in the state. During that 30 year span, the RABS not only won three championships, they qualified for the state tournament 12 times..The IHSA began hosting a state-wide championship for basketball in 1908. Rockford chose not to participate in the inaugural IHSA State Tournament because they were already considered "Champions of the State" and did not want to defend their title in this new tournament. More of what can be expanded on this topic is mentioned in a chapter of the book "100 Years of March Madness" by Scott Johnson, among others.
Football
Rockford Central first fielded a football team in 1893. During the history of the school, 405 football games were played with the RABS winning 262 of them.Boys track & field
Besides basketball, Rockford’s track and field team excelled above all others. The RABS won four of the school's eight state championships in the arena of track and field. Between 1895 and 1940, Rockford placed in the top 10 of competing schools 11 times, all with the same head coach, Charles E. Beyer.Future in question
The Rockford Board of Education voted Tuesday, August 24, 2011, to purchase the former Amcore financial headquarters building at 501 7th Street, Rockford, Illinois, at a cost of $1.825 million. This decision was because the board would have spent $1.7 million on the state-mandated repairs required with the current building. The previous owner of the building was the Federal Deposit Insurance CorporationFederal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is a United States government corporation created by the Glass–Steagall Act of 1933. It provides deposit insurance, which guarantees the safety of deposits in member banks, currently up to $250,000 per depositor per bank. , the FDIC insures deposits at...
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Famous alumni
- John B. AndersonJohn B. AndersonJohn Bayard Anderson is a former United States Congressman and Presidential candidate from Illinois. He was a U.S. Representative from the 16th Congressional District of Illinois for ten terms from 1961 through 1981 and an Independent candidate in the 1980 presidential election. He was previously...
(Class of 1939), 10 term member of the U.S. House of Representatives, 1961-1981.