Pittsburg High School (California)

Pittsburg High School in Pittsburg, Contra Costa County, California is a suburban school serving all of Pittsburg. It has been in operation since 1924. Over 2,200 students attend the school, which used to be divided into three campuses: East Campus, Main Campus, and North Campus, but since the construction of the school the East campus was torn down. Students of each grade (9-12) attend both North and Main campus. Each grade has its own assistant principal. Pittsburg's marching band, which has more than 130 students, has also had extended an invitation to the 2009 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City.

Athletics

Pittsburg High School (PHS) is well-known for their football team which has reached the NCS final several times consecutively, losing to rival De La Salle. Pittsburg High School's football team was the last team to beat De La Salle High School's football team prior to their national record winning streak; that game was played in 1991, in which Pittsburg High won the NCS championship at the Oakland Coliseum. Many alumni are now competing for Division I programs, e.g. Jason Crawley (Fresno State), WR; Michael Togafau (University of Idaho), DE; Albert Toeaina (University of Tennessee), OT; Ra'shon Harris (University of Oregon), DE; Matt Lemley (Sacramento State), OG; Denton Tuiasosopo (Sacramento State), OL; Deric Davis (Portland State), WR; and many have gone to the NFL.

The school also offers several other sports including soccer, baseball, track and field, softball, cross country, basketball, golf, tennis, wrestling, swimming, and cheerleading.

Notable alumni

• Eddie Hart (born April 24, 1949) is a former American athlete, winner of gold medal in 4x100 m relay at the 1972 Summer Olympics. Born in Martinez, California, Eddie Hart won, as a University of California student, the NCAA championships in 100 yd dash in 1970. Mr. Hart is a Pittsburg High School graduate and active community member. Another notable alum is John Henry Johnson a member of the golden backfield on the San Francisco 49ers and was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

• Regan Upshaw (born August 12, 1975 in Berrien Springs, Michigan) is a retired American football lineman who played in the National Football League between 1996 and 2004. He was selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round of the 1996 NFL Draft out of the University of California, Berkeley. Reagan Upshaw played for the Pittsburg Pirates (Pittsburg, California), helping defeat the previously undefeated De La Salle in the 1991 NCS championship game played at the Oakland Coliseum. The final score was 35-27. This was the last defeat De La Salle suffered before setting a national high school record of 151 continuous victories. As a member of the Oakland Raiders he played in Super Bowl XXXVII; a game in which the Raiders were defeated by the Buccaneers by a score of 48-21.

• John Henry Johnson (born November 24, 1929 in Waterproof, Louisiana) was an American football fullback who played professionally from 1954 to 1965 for the San Francisco 49ers, Detroit Lions, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Houston Oilers. When he retired after the 1966 season, his 6,803 career rushing yards ranked him behind only Jim Brown, Jim Taylor, and Joe Perry as the top ground gainers of all time. Johnson also was an excellent pass receiver with 186 receptions for 1,478 yards. He scored 330 points on 55 touchdowns in his career. He was an integral part of the "Million Dollar Backfield” that included future Hall of Famers Hugh McElhenny, Y. A. Tittle, and Perry. Johnson was traded to Detroit in 1957 and then to Pittsburgh in 1960. It was with the Steelers that John Henry enjoyed his finest seasons. In both 1962 and 1964, he broke the 1,000-yard rushing barrier, the first Steeler to achieve that lofty level. It was with the Lions, however, that he participated in his only NFL title game, the 1957 contest that saw Detroit overwhelm the Cleveland Browns, 59-14. Johnson was a key figure in the Lions’ title drive that year and wound up as the club's leading rusher with 621 yards. Johnson was selected to play in the 1955, 1963, 1964, and 1965 Pro Bowl Games.

• Ken Simonton (born June 7, 1979) was a two-sport (football and baseball) star for the Pittsburg High School Pirates. As a sophomore, Simonton rushed for 1,135 yards in 10 games on 105 carries for an average of 10.8 yards per carry. In his junior year, he rushed for 785 yards in eight games on 47 carries for an average of 16.7 yards per carry. For his senior season, Simonton rushed for 960 yards on 92 carries for a 10.4 yard average and scored 23 touchdowns. Simonton was a three-time all-league selection as a running back and he was also named all-league as a defensive back in his senior year. He was a first-team All-Northern California selection, a first-team all-region selection by the Contra Costa Times and was named Offensive Player of the Year in the region by Sports Focus. Simonton played outfield for the Pirates baseball team and was all-league as a sophomore, junior and senior. He was listed in Parade Magazine in 1996 as one of the top 100 college baseball prospects in the nation. He attended Oregon State where he led them to a 41-9 victory over Notre Dame and an 11-1 record. He holds the all-time rushing record at Oregon State with 5,044 yards. He was an undrafted rookie who played in the NFL with the San Francisco 49ers, Buffalo Bills, Detroit Lions and with the CFL's Calgary Stampeders.

• Richard Poe (born January 25, 1946) After graduating from PHS in 1963, Richard went on to appear in many movies, TV programs, and on Broadway. He may be best known for his role as the Cardassian Gul Evek on Star Trek: the Next Generation (1987), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) and Star Trek: Voyager (1995).

References

External links

• Pittsburg High School Web site
• Pittsburg Unified School District