Springfield High School (Illinois)

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Location
Springfield High School
101 S. Lewis Street Springfield, Illinois 62704
Information
School district	Springfield School District 186
Superintendent	Dr. Walter Milton, Jr.
Principal	Mr. Charles Hoots
Enrollment	1424 (as of 2005-06)^[1]
Grade 9	424
Grade 10	365
Grade 11	299
Grade 12	336
Faculty	74.2 (on FTE basis)^[1]
Student:teacher ratio	19.2^[1]
Type	Public high school
Grades	9 - 12
Athletics conference	Central State Eight
Mascot	Senator
Sports	Baseball, Basketball, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Soccer, Swimming, Tennis, Track, Wrestling, Competitive Cheerleading, Softball, Volleyball
Team name	Senators
Color(s)	Red/Black
Established	1857
Information	217-525-3100
Homepage	School website

Springfield High School is the oldest high school in Springfield, Illinois. The school draws mainly from the west side of Springfield. As of the 2005-06 school year, the school had an enrollment of 1,424 students and 74.2 classroom teachers (on a FTE ) basis, for a student-teacher ratio of 74.2.^[1]

1 Building History and Architecture
2 Famous Alumni
3 Athletics
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Building History and Architecture

Springfield High School first opened in 1857^[2] in a small building on Market Street, now known as Capitol Ave. It was located in this building for only a single school year before it moved to the Academy Building on South 5th Street near Monroe until 1864. In 1865, a $65,000 school building was completed for the high school and was located on 4th and Madison Street. Due to congestion, Central High School was built in 1897, but was already overcrowded by 1915.

In 1915, plans were made to erect a new school in Forest Park. Once the site of a church and cemetery, the church was gone, but there were still gravestones and bodies that were moved to Oak Ridge Cemetery before construction could begin. The new school was completed in 1916.

There are four mosaics on the exterior walls of the building completed by Henry Chapman Mercer.^[3] The original molds are a part of the Moravian Pottery and Tile Works.

[edit] Famous Alumni

Many notable individuals have attended Springfield High School. The famous poet Vachel Lindsay graduated in 1897. Many of his poems relate to growing up in Springfield, Illinois. His muse, Susan Wilcox, attended Springfield High School as well.

Ruth Ellis (American) was the oldest known open lesbian, and a die-hard LGBT rights activist. Ruth graduated from Springfield High School in 1919, at a time when fewer than seven percent of African Americans graduated from secondary school. Her life was the subject of the documentary, Living With Pride: Ruth C. Ellis @ 100^[4]. She formed the Ruth Ellis Center, a social service agency dedicated to helping LGBTQ teens and youth adults experiencing homelessness.

John Porter East graduated from Springfield High School in 1949. He went on to be a Republican U.S. Senator from North Carolina.

Samuel Skinner graduated from Springfield High School in 1956. He went on to be Chief of Staff for President George H. W. Bush. Skinner also served as Secretary of Transportation.

Bob Trumpy graduated from Springfield High School in 1965. He played tight end for the University of Utah and went on to a Pro Bowl career in the American Football League with the Cincinnati Bengals. After his playing career ended, he began a broadcasting career that is still going strong today.

Robert Fitzgerald is a member of the class of 1928. he is well known for translating many Greek texts into the English versions that many consider the standard.

Justin Knoedler graduated from Springfield High School in 1998. He went on to play baseball at Lincoln Land Community College. In 2000, along with his twin brother Jason and pitcher Ryan O'Malley, Knoedler helped Lincoln Land win the NJCAA II National Championship and was named NJCAA II Player of the Year. Jason and Justin went on the play one season for the University of Miami (Ohio). Justin was drafted by the San Francisco Giants while Jason was drafted by the Detroit Tigers. Justin is now a member of the Giants.

Dave Robisch (class of 1967) played professional basketball in both the ABA and NBA. In 13 seasons he played in 930 games and played 22,780 minutes. He is currently an elected official in Springfield, serving as a Trustee of Capital Township.

[edit] Athletics

Springfield High School has produced many college athletes, as well as many professional athletes. Springfield High School baseball ranks ninth in baseball wins all-time in the state of Illinois. Springfield High School's boy's soccer team won the State Championship in 1997 and are in the top ten all-time for wins as well. The boys' basketball team has over 1,000 wins. The girls' soccer team ranks sixth in Illinois for wins. In 2007, the boys' and girls' cross country team qualified for state.