Abilene High School (Texas)

Abilene High School is a public high school located in Abilene, Texas. AHS is classified as a Division 5A school 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 was the former Lincoln Middle School. In 1955, Abilene High was moved to its current location at N 6th and Mockingbird.^[2] Its main rival in sports is Cooper High School. The Abilene High Marching Band is accepted to be the oldest marching band in Texas. In 2011, the school was rated "Academically Acceptable" by the Texas Education Agency.^[3]

Abilene High School
Address
2800 N 6th St Abilene , Texas 79603-7190 United States
Information
School type	Public high school
Motto	"Enter to learn, go forth to serve."
Established	1888
School district	Abilene Independent School District
Principal	Emme Siburt
Staff	122.97 (FTE)[1]
Grades	9-12
Enrollment	1,966 (2022–23)[1]
Student to teacher ratio	15.99[1]
Color(s)	Black & Gold
Athletics conference	UIL Class 5A/D1
Mascot	Eagle
Nickname	Warbirds
Website	Abilene High School

In addition to parts of Abilene, its attendance boundary includes Impact.^[4][5]

Athletics

Coached by P. E. Shotwell, for whom Shotwell Stadium is named, Abilene High won its first state championship in 1923. Coach Dewey Mayhew guided the Eagles to their second state title in 1928, and a third one in 1931. Under Chuck Moser, Abilene won three consecutive state titles (1954–56).^[6] In 2009, the Eagles had an undefeated season and won the Division II State Finals, giving the Abilene Eagles their seventh state championship and first in 53 years.

State titles

• Baseball – ^[7]
  • 1956(All), 1957(4A)
• Football – ^[8]
  • 1923(All), 1928(1A), 1931(1A), 1954(4A), 1955(4A), 1956(4A), 2009(5A/D2)
• Team Tennis – ^[9]
  • 1991(5A), 1999(5A)
• Boys Track – ^[10]
  • 1925(All) 1954(2A), 1959(4A), 1960(4A), 1961(4A), 1976(4A),
• One Act Play – ^[11]
  • 1930(All), 1943(All), 1946(All), 1949(2A), 1950(2A), 1964(4A), 1972(2A)

State finalists

• Baseball –
  • 1950(All), 1955(All)
• Boys Basketball -
  • 1938(All), 1941(All)
• Football –
  • 1922(All), 1927(1A)

Fine arts

Pure Gold

Pure Gold is a by audition only, select choir made up of mostly juniors and seniors (but occasionally some sophomores).

Notable people

• Maury Bray, NFL player for the Pittsburgh Pirates
• Randall "Tex" Cobb, actor
• Wayne Coffey, American football player
• Jack Favor (Class of 1929), rodeo star falsely imprisoned for two murders in Louisiana^[12]
• A. C. Greene, historian, author, and newspaperman, known as the Dean of Texas Writers. 1923–2002^[13]
• Glynn Gregory, football player
• Chuck Hughes, NFL wide receiver
• John Lackey, retired MLB pitcher for the Los Angeles Angels, Boston Red Sox, St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs; three-time World Series champion (2002, 2013 & 2016)^[14]
• Dave Parks, NFL wide receiver and end
• Chuck Harrison, former MLB player
• Harold Stephens, football player
• Jim Welch, running back, Southern Methodist University at Dallas, Baltimore Colts, Detroit Lions
• Bernard Kamungo, soccer player

See also

• Wylie High School (Abilene, Texas)
• Cooper High School (Abilene, Texas)

References

1. "ABILENE H S". National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
2. "Education in Abilene: A Timeline". Abilene Scene. 2017-07-13. Retrieved 2022-12-13.
3. "2011 Accountability Rating System". Texas Education Agency. Archived from the original on 2012-06-28.
4. "2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Taylor County, TX" (PDF). U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved 2024-09-22. - Text list - Compare to the boundary map. Detail of Impact
5. "School Boundaries". Abilene Independent School District. Retrieved 2024-09-22. - Compare to census maps.
6. West, Gary (2007-09-12). "West Texas storm: Long before Southlake Carroll, another dynasty blew through the state. Abilene won 49 consecutive games in the 1950s". Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
7. UIL Centennial webpage Archived 2013-12-10 at the Wayback Machine
8. Lone Star Football Network
9. UIL Centennial Webpage Archived October 24, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
10. UIL Centennial Webpage Archived 2015-10-17 at the Wayback Machine
11. UIL Centennial Webpage Archived June 1, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
12. "Not Guilty" (PDF). cowboysforchrist.net. Archived from the original (PDF) on February 21, 2014. Retrieved February 6, 2014.
13. "Thoughts on A.C. Green". Archived from the original on 2011-09-26. Retrieved 2011-07-11.
14. Hofeditz, Jordan. "Three-time World Series champ Lackey's journey comes full circle with call to the Hall". Abilene Reporter-News. Retrieved 2021-03-29.

Further reading

• Pickett, Al (2004). Team Of The Century: The Greatest High School Football Team In Texas. Abilene: State House Press. ISBN 1-880510-87-1.

32°27′22″N 99°45′21″W