Cooley High School
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Thomas M. Cooley High School is located at the intersection of Hubbell and Fenkell Avenue, on the northwest side of Detroit, Michigan. The impressive three-story structure is one of the more aesthetically pleasing buildings operated by the Detroit Public Schools. Cooley High's history dates back to the late-1920's, during a period when thousands of homes were built upon land acquired through Detroit's aggressive annexation efforts in the former Greenfield Township and village of Strathmoor, Michigan. Cooley High School was subsequently constructed to accommodate a rapidly growing populace on the city's burgeoning northwest side. Named in honor of Thomas M. Cooley, a nineteenth-century jurist and Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, the school opened its doors on September 4, 1928. From that day forward the students and faculty of Cooley High went about the business of establishing a fine reputation for high academic standards and exceptional scholastic achievement; the school was marching in-step with a thriving and vital Detroit.
The first five years of Cooley's existence was marked by exponential growth; in 1928, the student population stood at 1570, by 1932 the figure had climbed to 3750. In the early days, Cooley students enjoyed a diverse offering of extracurricular activities; including such esoteric pursuits as fencing, table tennis, indoor track and field, swimming and diving, speed skating and ice hockey. During 1932-33, the Cooley Cardinal football team won a Northern Division Championship, finishing the regular season at 7-0; only Mackenzie High School was able to put points on the board versus the Cardinals. In 1933, Cooley won Detroit Public Secondary Schools Athletic League titles in ice hockey and tennis; Cooley also claimed the DPSSAL runner-up trophy in track and field and cross-country.
Throughout much of the twentieth century, Cooley student athletes regularly engaged in titanic struggles for Detroit city league supremacy with rival Redford, Mackenzie, Northwestern, Central and Denby High School; indeed the Cooley Cardinals rank historically as one of the most successful interscholastic athletic programs in the state of Michigan.
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[edit] Cooley Cardinal Athletic Legends
Coach Herb Smith led the Cooley Cardinals to a 9-0-1 record during the 1941 football season; Michigan sportswriters rewarded Cooley High with a consensus state championship.
A veteran of seventeen Major League Baseball seasons, pitcher Milt Pappas was a 1957 graduate of Cooley High. Pappas won a total of 209 MLB games during his professional career; he pitched a no-hitter as a member of the Chicago Cubs in 1972.
Between 1960 and 1963, Coach Harold Lindsay's Cooley swimming and diving program won four consecutive DPSSAL crowns. At the 1963 Michigan High School Athletic Association championships, senior All-American Bill Jennison established a state and national high school record in the 100-yard butterfly event; Jennison's time of :52.60 stood as the MHSAA record until 1971.
As the 1960s unfolded, Cooley football teams were a dominant force on the Detroit high school football scene. In 1961, the 7-1 Cardinals cracked the Associated Press Top-Ten rankings for the first time - finishing the season rated tenth. The 1962 and 1963 teams posted a combined record of 15-0; both squads were ranked fourth in respective final AP standings. Nearly twenty years later, the 1980 Cardinal football team boasted a perfect 9-0 record and a third place Associated Press ranking; the 1981 team went 8-1, ending the season rated tenth.
Throughout Cooley High School's eighty-year history, the basketball program has enjoyed top-level success. During the late 1980s, Cooley basketball reigned supreme; Coach Ben Kelso led the Cooley Cardinals to unprecedented success and consecutive Michigan High School Athletic Association titles in 1987, 1988, and 1989.
Over the years, numerous Cooley track and field athletes (male and female) have won individual DPSSAL and MHSAA gold medals; the Cardinals have also fared well in their quest for a state team title. Cooley's men finished as runners-up at the MHSAA Track and Field Finals in 1984 and 1985; six years later, Cooley High School brought home the 1991 MHSAA men's championship trophy.
[edit] Notable Alumni
- Margaret Ayers (1932), Cooley's first State Champion - 1930 Michigan Secondary Schools Declamation Tournament
- Stan Newsted; Bob Hamel; Ed Miller (1933), selected to the Detroit News All-City Football Team for 1932
- Britton Lux (1940), DPSSAL Champion & MHSAA Athlete of the Year; :05 off USA high school record (men's one-mile run)
- Richard Watson (1946), as a Wayne State University fencer, Watson was the sport's first four-time NCAA All-American, 1947-1950.
- Mike Ilitch (1947), Little Caesar's Pizza entrepreneur; owner of the Detroit Tigers and Detroit Red Wings.
- Bob Langas (1948), played collegiate football at Wayne State; played professionally with the 1954 Baltimore Colts.
- Milt Pappas (1957), former MLB pitcher; won 209 games during 17 seasons with Baltimore, Cincinnati and the Chicago Cubs.
- Milan Stitt (1959), Celebrated playwright, screenwriter and drama professor; best known for his play, The Runner Stumbles
- James P. Hoffa (1959), All-City & All-State football player; renowned lawyer, current President of International Teamsters Union
- Bill Jennison (1963), DPSSAL & MHSAA Champion swimmer; former National High School Record Holder in the 100 yard butterfly.
- Joanne Scarborough (1966), record-breaking Patton Club swimmer; represented Cooley at the 1966 AAU National Championships
- Ben Kelso (1967), former NBA player; coached at Cooley High School for 14 years, leading the team to three state championships.
- Sandra Blount (1968), MHSAA Track & Field Athlete of the Year; set state record (:54.7) in 400 meter dash at USA Championships
- Rich Fisher (1968), longtime Detroit Television News Anchorman with WXYZ, WJBK, and WKBD.
- Epatha Merkerson (1970), professional actress; appeared on television's Pee Wee's Playhouse and Law & Order.
- Nick Ellis (1972), MHSAA Track & Field Athlete of the Year; 1972 MHSAA & Golden West Meet Champion (men's two-mile run)
- Larry Fogle (1972), voted Michigan High School Basketball Player of the Year; selected to Detroit News All-State Team
- Keith Tinsley (1983), went on to play college football at the University of Pittsburgh; played professionally with the 1987 Cleveland Browns
- Ted Harris (1984), MHSAA State Champion (men's high jump)
- Derrick Harris (1988), MHSAA State Champion (men's 400 meter dash)
- Dawn Adams (1988), MHSAA State Champion (women's 300 meter intermediate hurdles)
- Michael Talley (1989), Detroit Free Press - Mr. Basketball for 1989; led Cooley to three straight MHSAA titles ('87, '88, '89)
- Marco West (1991), MHSAA State Champion (men's 400 meter dash)
- David Norman (1992), MHSAA State Champion (men's 800 meter run)
- Lionel Boston (1994), MHSAA State Champion (men's shot put)
- Shree Jones (1994), MHSAA State Champion (women's 200 meter dash)
- Willie J. Green (1999), professional basketball player with the Philadelphia 76ers
Other notable Cooley High School graduates and/or former students include:
- Roy Tarpley, former NBA player
- Chris Floyd, former NFL player
- Black Milk, hip-hop producer/rapper affiliated with Slum Village, Phat Kat, and Guilty Simpson
- Obie Trice, Rap Music artist
- Lional Dalton is an alumnus of Cooley. Lional nicknamed "Jelly Roll" graduated in 1994. He spent fours years at Eastern Michigan before being signed as a non drafted free agent with the NFL's Baltimore Ravens. Lional was part of the the 2000 Super Bowl Championship team that included Ray Lewis and Shannon Sharpe. He also spent time with the Denver Broncos, Washington Redskins, Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans. Lional now resides in Boca Raton, FL with his wife Kim and their daughter Laila. He also has a son from a previous relationship.
- Erv Johnson was a member of the class of 1999, he later went on to attended Michigan State University in which he graduated in 2004; After Completing his degree at Michigan State University Erv Johnson worked with the juvenile corrections system for a stint, before moving on to a management position. After being in the workforce for 3 years Erv Johnson decided to further his education and is now pursing his MBA with aspiration of being done in 2009. Currently Erv Johnson is working in a management position, within an undisclosed company, and residing in one of the neighboring suburbs of Detroit. Erv Johnson was married in 2006, and has one child. Erv Johnson is also a distant relative to Cooley High alumnus Lional Dalton.
- Michael Person (2000), award winning up and coming artist and writer.
Cooley High School: In The News:
[edit] Gang-related violence
- On September 26, 1994, the squad leader of Cooley's JROTC shot another student in the thigh. [1]
- On November 4, 2004, a 16-year old boy was stabbed in the chest, puncturing his lung in what police believed was a gang-related attack. [2]
[edit] Inexplicable retention
- In 1998, the school reported enrolling 618 new freshmen, and failing 711 freshmen at the conclusion of the school year. The school principal at the time said the number of retentions in the state report for the class was "definitely wrong." "I know it wasn't that high," he said, adding that the actual number was closer to 200 rather than 711.
[edit] Truancy problems
- On March 2, 1998, six police squad cars and approximately 50 police officers raided the school in an attempt to curb truancy problems at the school. Ninety (90) students were searched, handcuffed, and driven to jail. Two weeks later a second sweep was instituted by the school principal, with 17 more students arrested.
Current to 2005, the school principal is Mr. Thomas Woodhouse. According to statistics from the Detroit Board of Education, 98% of Cooley's student population is African American; nearly 50% qualify for the free or reduced lunch program.
The 1976 feature film, Cooley High, is unrelated to this school. [3]
[edit] References
- Audit: 5 high schools in Detroit misspent thousands, Detroit Free Press (February 3, 2004)
- Detroit graduation rate elusive, Detroit Free Press (May 13, 2000)
- High schools or holding pens?, World Socialist Web Site (March 20, 1998)
- Derelict buildings haunt school kids, Detroit News
[edit] External links
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