Macomber High School (Toledo, Ohio)

Irving E. Macomber Vocational Technical High School was a vocational public high school in Toledo, Ohio, United States, from 1938^[1] to June 1991. It was named for the man who helped develop the city's schools and parks, and who used to live on the property the school was built on.^[1] Macomber served the entire city and was part of the Toledo Public School District. The school began as Vocational High School in the original Toledo high school in 1927^[2] before moving to its location on Monroe Street in 1938.^[3] In 1959, the school became joint-operational with Whitney High School, an all-girls vocational school located just across 16th St., and the two buildings came to be known as Macomber-Whitney.^[4] The building still sits on Monroe Street, just northwest of Fifth Third Field.

Macomber High School
Front entrance of Macomber High School. Now operated by Cherry Street Mission.
Address
1501 Monroe Street Toledo , Ohio 43604 United States
Coordinates	41°39′12″N 83°32′52″W
Information
Type	Vocational School
Opened	1938
Closed	1991
School district	Toledo City School District
Grades	9-12
Color(s)	Black & Gold
Athletics conference	Toledo City League
Nickname	Macmen/Craftsmen
Map drawing of the building, including Whitney High School.

History

The Macomber Macmen/Craftsmen were members of the Toledo City League and donned the colors of black and gold. Their main rivals were the Scott Bulldogs, which was especially heated in their basketball match-ups. Macomber's lone team state title came in 1989, when their boys' basketball team won the Division I state championship.

A "unique" situation for Macomber was that they were only able to have true home games for basketball and volleyball.^[5] Lacking a football stadium, ball diamonds, and a track, the Macmen made use of neighboring schools for "home" events, notably at Bowsher, Central Catholic, DeVilbiss, and Waite. During the 1980s when the boys basketball team had its greatest success, their home games were moved to other fieldhouses in order to accommodate the large crowds that turned out for their games.

Due to a declining enrollment and low finances, Macomber and Whitney were closed along with DeVilbiss High School by TPS at the end of the 1990-1991 school year. The school was spared after an attempt to shutter its doors in 1989^[6] and had its freshman class eliminated during its last year in operation.^[7]

Macomber remained empty until 1998 when TPS sold the building for $425,000 to an industrial roofing company.^[8] After changing ownership a few times and finding a few other purposes for use, the building was purchased by the Cherry Street Mission in 2013 to help them have a centralized location for their ministry efforts to the homeless.^[9]

In early 2014, TPS superintendent Romules Durant proposed re-opening Macomber-Whitney^[10] (likely at another location due to Cherry Street Mission's purchase of the building)^[11] so that Toledo could have a centralized vocational high school again.

Ohio High School Athletic Association State Championships

Further information: Ohio High School Athletic Association

• Basketball, Division I: 1988-89^[12]

Notable alumni

• Myron Bell (1989): NFL football player for the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cincinnati Bengals
• Jimmy Jackson (1989): former NBA basketball player and Ohio State Buckeye, currently a basketball analyst for Fox Sports and Turner Sports, formerly at the Big Ten Network
• Chuck Webb (1988): a former football player with the Green Bay Packers and Tennessee Volunteers
• Kelvin Ransey (1976): former basketball star with the Portland Trail Blazers and Ohio State Buckeyes
• Wardell Jackson (1970): retired basketball player for the Ohio State University and the Seattle SuperSonics
• Rufus Mayes (1965): NFL football player that was a member of the 1968 Ohio State national champions team
• Mel Long (1964):^[13] football player for the University of Toledo during their 35-game undefeated streak
• Leo Kubiak (1944): former NBA player

References

1. Grigsby, John N. (June 9, 1991). "Pioneering idea that kept working". Toledo Blade. Retrieved May 29, 2010.
2. 1936-37 Vocational HS yearbook
3. 1937-38 Vocational HS yearbook
4. Hughes, Clyde (November 19, 2003). "Heat problems cause TPS to move classes from Whitney to DeVilbiss". Toledo Blade. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
5. Bergener, John (June 9, 1991). "Speedy, tough, proud: Macmen". Toledo Blade. Retrieved January 31, 2011.
6. Lane, Tahree (April 26, 1989). "School board gives reprieve to Macomber". Toledo Blade. Retrieved May 29, 2010.
7. Gugger, John (September 2, 1990). "Uncertain times for Macomber". Toledo Blade. Retrieved May 29, 2010.
8. Emch, Dale (August 12, 1998). "Macomber school's sale to roofing firm backed". Toledo Blade. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
9. "Cherry Street Mission to buy old Macomber HS building". 13abc.com. February 19, 2013. Archived from the original on February 22, 2014. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
10. Burris, Keith C. (January 26, 2014). "Romules Durant: Heroic leader on an urgent mission". Toledo Blade. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
11. Burris, Keith C. (February 7, 2014). "Time is right to revive Macomber". Toledo Blade. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
12. Schooley, Duane (March 19, 1989). "75-72! Macomber wins it all". Toledo Blade. Retrieved July 18, 2010.
13. Martinez, Frederico (November 11, 2013). "Toledo Marine keeps honors in perspective: Ex-UT player awarded Navy Cross after Vietnam". Toledo Blade. Retrieved November 11, 2013.

External links

• District Website
• All-Time Macomber City League Titles
• TPS School History and Assessments