Clinton High School (Indiana)

Clinton High School was a public school in Clinton serving students in grades 7 through 12. It was created in 1886 and then from the consolidation in 1961 of former high schools in southern Vermillion County, Indiana, Dana High School, Hillsdale High School, St. Bernice High School, and Blanford High School. Then in 1977 Clinton was replaced by a new building and renamed South Vermilion High School

Old Clinton High School Building 1886-1919

Clinton Junior High School

Clinton High School
Address
301 Blackman St Clinton , Indiana 47842 United States
Coordinates	39.658565°N 87.400684°W / 39.658565; -87.400684
Information
Established	1886
Closed	1977
Grades	7-12
Enrollment	over 800 when moved into South Vermillion
Color(s)
Athletics	IHSAA
Athletics conference	Western Indiana
Mascot	Wildcat
Team name	Wildcats
Newspaper	The Annual
Yearbook	Old Gold and Black
State Championships	1920 1924 1928 1932 1933[1]

Campus

The school was located in the center of Clinton just off Main St in the 300 Block of Blackman St. Their football field and baseball field was located at SportLand Park on the south west side of Clinton.

Gymnasium Built 1937^{[2][page needed]}

Consolidation

School	Location	Mascot	Colors	Year Started	Year Closed
Blanford	Blanford	Bears		1923	1928	Consolidated into Clinton
Dana	Dana	Aggies		1925	1961	Consolidated into Clinton
Hillsdale	Hillsdale	Hilltoppers		1916	1961	Consolidated into Clinton
Saint Bernice	Saint Bernice	Hornets		1928	1961	Consolidated into Clinton

Athletics

Basketball

Clinton has an all-time record of (25) sectional Championships 1912, 1913, 1914, 1916, 1925, 1928, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1933, 1934, 1935, 1938, 1939, 1942, 1943, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1949, 1950, 1955, 1956, 1961, 1968.^[3] The Clinton Wildcats made it to the IHSAA Sweet Sixteen (8) times in its history and the Elite Eight (2) times in its history^[4]

Year	Site
1912	Terre Haute
1913	Terre Haute
1914	Terre Haute
1916	Terre Haute
1925	Clinton
1928	Clinton
1930	Clinton
1931	Clinton
1932	Clinton
1933	Clinton
1934	Clinton
1935	Newport
1938	Marshall
1939	Clinton
1942	Clinton
1943	Clinton
1945	Marshall
1946	Clinton
1947	Clinton
1949	Clinton
1950	Clinton
1955	Rockville
1956	Clinton
1961	Rockville
1968	Terre Haute

^[5]

Clinton also has won (4) Regional Championships 1928, 1943, 1947, 1950.^[6]

Year	Site
1928	Greencastle
1943	Clinton
1947	Clinton
1950	Greencastle

Football

The Clinton Wildcat are mostly known for their football team that has won 5 Indiana Big School Football Champions in 1920, 1924, 1928, 1932, and 1933.

Head coaches

Clinton Wildcats Head Coaches
Name Seasons Record H. B. Allen 1916 0–0 Mark Lyday 1917–1918 0–1 Earl M. Morgan 1919–1921 17–6–1 Earl Pike 1922 4–3–2 Max Bullock 1923 3–5–2 Paul "Spike" Kelly[7] 1924–1930 50–11–5 John Magnabosco 1931–1934 34–3–3 Ed Shaver 1935 6–5 Raymond "Tubby" Trobaugh 1936 4–4–1 Maurice E. "Babe" Frump 1937–1940 23–14–2	Name Seasons Record William J. Coyer 1941–1942 14–5 N. E. Wernz 1943 5–2–1 B. Leland McCool 1944 7–1–1 Frank Welton 1945 3–5–1 Robert Burton 1946 2–6–1 George Bibich 1947 2–7 Arthur B. Haverstock 1948–1949 5–13–1 Thorval Mattax 1950–1952 21–6–3 Chester Sanders 1953–1954 10–8–2 Stewart "Red" Faught 1955–1956 9–11	Name Seasons Record John Alfier 1957–1960 10–25–5 William S. Syvantek 1961–1964 13–13–4 Coach Deal 1962 2–8 Dick Schrier 1965 7–3 Jerry Chance 1966–1968 9–19–1 Rene Foli 1969–1971 10–17–3 Brent Anderson 1972–1976 28–21 Overall Record 1916-1977 298-222-39

Team Records

Clinton Wildcats Football Records
Season Record 1916 0–0 1917 0-0 1918 0-1 1919 5-2 1920 6-2 1921 6-2-1 1922 4–3–2 1923 3–5–2 1924 8–1 1925 4–3–2 1926 5-3-1 1927 8-1 1928 10-0 1929 8-1-1	Season Record 1930 7-2-1 1931 9-1-1 1932 9-1 1933 9-0-1 1934 7-1-1 1935 6-5 1936 4-4-1 1937 7-2-1 1938 5-4 1939 6-5 1940 5-3-1 1941 7-3 1942 7-2	Season Record 1943 5-2-1 1944 7-1-1 1945 3-5-1 1946 2-6-1 1947 2-7 1948 2-6-1 1949 3-7 1950 5-4-1 1951 9-1 1952 7-1-2 1953 5-4-1 1954 5-4-1 1955 5-5	Season Record 1956 4-6 1957 2-6-2 1958 4-6 1959 1-8-1 1960 3-5-2 1961 2-8 1962 2-8 1963 6-2-2 1964 5-3-2 1965 7-3 1966 2-7-1 1967 1-9 1968 6-3	Season Record 1969 5-4-1 1970 5-4-1 1971 0-9-1 1972 3-7 1973 7-3 1974 10-0 1975 4-5 1976 4-6 Total 298-222-39

Conference championships

Clinton has won or shared a conference championship around nine occasions, including six Indiana High School Football Conference titles and three Western Indiana Conference titles.

Season	Coach	Title	Record	Conf. Record
1927	Paul "Spike" Kelly	IHSFC Champion	8-1	4-0
1928	Paul "Spike" Kelly	Wabash Valley Champion	10-0	4-0
1928	Paul "Spike" Kelly	IHSFC Champion	10-0	4-0
1929	Paul "Spike" Kelly	IHSFC Champion	8-1-1	4-0
1931	John Magnabosco	Wabash Valley Champion	9-1-1	4-0
1931	John Magnabosco	IHSFC Champion	9-1-1	4-0
1932	John Magnabosco	IHSFC Champion	9-1	4-0
1933	John Magnabosco	IHSFC Champion	9-0-1	5-0
1951	Thorval Mattax	Western Indiana	9-1	7-0
1952	Thorval Mattax	Western Indiana	7-1-2	6-1
1974	Brent Anderson	Western Indiana	10-0	6-0

State championships

Clinton has won or shared a State championship on five occasions, including three outright Indiana High School Football titles and two shared titles. In 1933 Clinton tied East Chicago Washington 6–6 in the arranged post-season North-South Mythical State Championship Game and was named Winner of Indianapolis Times & IHSAA ‘Most Outstanding Team in Indiana’

Season	Coach	Selector	Record	Conf. Record
1920	Earl M. Morgan	Heze Clark - Best Team In the State (Shared with Wabash)	6-2	4-0
1924	Paul "Spike" Kelly		8-1	4-0
1928	Paul "Spike" Kelly	Indianapolis Times - IHSAA - Dick Miller- "Most Outstanding Team"	10-0	4-0
1932	John Magnabosco	Indianapolis Times - IHSAA - Dick Miller- "Most Outstanding Team"	9-1	4-0
1933	John Magnabosco	Indianapolis Times - IHSAA - Dick Miller- "Most Outstanding Team"	9-0-1	4-0

Record vs Rivals

Team	Record	Percentage	Streak	First Meeting	Last Meeting
Brazil	28-28-2	.500	WIN 1	1920	1976
Rockville	8-1-1	.800	WIN 2	1964	1973
Linton-Stockton	15-15-2	.500	Loss 8	1920	1973
Sullivan	27-27	.500	Loss 1	1920	1976
West Vigo	10-4-1	.667	WIN 4	1962	1976
Overall Record			88-75-6

All-State Players

A total of 19 Wildcats have been recognized as All-State by various media selectors.^[8]

Clinton All-State Players
Season Name Pos. 1920 Kelse LT 1921 Leland York HB 1924 Grahm HB 1924 John Magnabosco RG 1925 John Magnabosco FB 1927 Antoninni OL 1928 Cogan HB	Season Name Pos. 1928 Marsh QB 1929 Malone RG 1930 Ettore Antonini LE 1931 Chris Dal Sasso DL 1932 Chris Dal Sasso DL 1933 Fred Vanzo HB 1934 William Thompson DL	Season Name Pos. 1936 Robert Phillips DL 1938 Tony Berto FB 1941 Mike Rodich RG 1942 Jack Curry OL 1944 Jack Gilman FB 1952 Gene Dick DB 1974 John Riggins OL

Notable alumni

• Emil Bildilli - Major League Baseball pitcher (1937-1941)
• Chris Dal Dasso 1933 - All-State Tackle, Played at IU 1934–1936; team captain 1936, Athletic Director at Indiana University^[9]
• Lawrence J. Giacoletto 1934 - Known for his work in the field of semi-conductor circuit technology.
• Fred Vanzo 1934 - professional American football player who played running back for four seasons for the Detroit Lions and Chicago Cardinals.
• John Magnabosco 1923 - Head Coach Ball State 1935-1952 Head Coach Clinton Wildcats 1931-1934 3X State Champs 31,32,33. Indiana Football Hall Of Fame
• Tony Berto 1939 - Coached 39 years total - Otsego, Michigan, High School 1946–1948, Boonville HS 1948–1952, and Delphi HS 1952–1985; coached 3 sports for 24 years and 2 sports for 15 years (football, basketball, baseball, track, and golf); Delphi football record of 203 wins. Lettered at Purdue 1939–1943 in Football Basketball and Baseball. Indiana Football Hall Of Fame^[10]
• Gerry Dick 1976 QB - American journalist and former news anchor at WRTV, a television station in Indianapolis, Indiana.He is best known as the current host of Inside INdiana Business, a television program owned by Grow Indiana Media Ventures.

References

1. "Clinton Wildcats". www.almanacsports.com. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
2. Old Gold and Black. Clinton, Indiana: Clinton High School. 1937.
3. "ALL-TIME SECTIONAL CHAMPIONS". pastbb.homestead.com. Archived from the original on 2011-07-12. Retrieved 2015-08-05.
4. "IHSAA Boys Basketball State Finals Records". www.ihsaa.org. Retrieved 2020-08-31.
5. "CLINTON - SECTIONALS (22) and REGIONALS (4)". tnyhistory.homestead.com. 2 April 2015. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
6. "All-time Regional champions". Archived from the original on 2015-03-16. Retrieved 2015-08-05.
7. "KELLY, PAUL L. "SPIKE"". www.indiana-football.org. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
8. "AlmanacSports.com - Football - Clinton High School Football All-State Players". www.almanacsports.com. Retrieved 2021-04-30.
9. "DAL SASSO, CHRIS C." www.indiana-football.org. Retrieved 19 August 2024.
10. "BERTO, TONY". www.indiana-football.org. Retrieved 19 August 2024.