Louisville Male High School


Louisville Male Traditional High School is a public secondary school serving students in grades 9 through 12 in the southside of Louisville, Kentucky, USA. It is part of the Jefferson County Public School District.

History

Ninth and Chestnut (1856–1897)

Founded in 1856, Louisville Male High School became the first high school west of the Allegheny Mountains. Therefore, Male was known originally as "High School." In 1861, Male was designated The University of Public Schools of Louisville and awarded bachelor's degrees until 1921. After other high schools were established in the years following, the school was named Louisville Male High School. The "H" was kept as the school's letter for tradition and to honor the origins of the school.

First Street near Chestnut (1898–1915)

Corner of Brook Street and Breckinridge Street (1915–1991)

In the 1970s, Male was chosen as the Traditional High School, becoming the first magnet program in the school district.
In 1976, an early-morning bomb explosion on Labor Day caused damage to the school's gymnasium; it occurred during several days of anti-busing protests in the Louisville area. The FBI was called in to investigate.
This location is now owned by Salvation Army and is a historic landmark in Louisville.

4409 Preston Highway (1991–present)

In August 1991, Male moved to its current campus at 4409 Preston Highway, an educational facility that doubled the instructional, laboratory, library and campus space. Since it has moved to this location, the school has won two U.S. Department of Education Blue Ribbon awards. The site was previously Sallie P. Durrett High School, which became the Durrett Education Center in the early 1980s and was used by Jefferson County Public Schools Library Media Services until 1991. The adjoining Gheens Academy, which opened in 1983, was previously Prestonia Elementary School.

Academics

The school runs a unique curriculum that is different from the other public high schools in the city. All students participate in the College Preparatory Program so as to aid in a smooth the transition to higher education.
Students have an opportunity to graduate with a Commonwealth Diploma, which demands more than the required units for graduating high school in JCPS. One of the stipulations is the successful completion in 6 AP courses in the areas of English, science/mathematics, foreign language, and elective.

Athletics

On Saturday, November 18, 1893, the annual Male-Manual football rivalry, the longest running, continuously played, high school football series in Kentucky, began. Their football team is a perennial state power, and in addition to its long-running rivalry with Manual, Male is also a close rival with St. Xavier High School, with the annual contest usually determining the fate of the district champion; however, due to the state's realignment of high school football into a six-class system starting in 2007–08, Male is the third winningest football program in the United States and the second winningest program in Kentucky behind Highlands High School.
Male also has a rivalry with Trinity High School in football.
The school offers football, basketball, baseball, softball, bowling, tennis, soccer, field hockey, wrestling, swimming, track and field and lacrosse.

Venues

Maxwell Field, formerly called High School Park, was the football stadium located behind Male's former location on Brook Street. This is now the site of the Dawson Orman Education Center.

Sports championships

SportSexYears won
BaseballMen1944
BasketballMen1945, 1970, 1971, 1975
FootballMen1924, 1937, 1943, 1944, 1945, 1951, 1954, 1960, 1963, 1964, 1993, 1998, 2000, 2015, 2018
GolfMen1941, 1942, 1944, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948
SoccerMen1983
SoccerWomen1993, 1994
Track and fieldMen1921, 1923, 1924, 1927, 1929, 1932, 1936, 1942, 1943, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1952, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1998, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2017
Track and fieldWomen1966, 1968, 1972, 2016, 2017, 2018
SoftballWomen2019

Notable alumni

NameClassNotability
General James R. Allen1943Commander-in-Chief of the Military Airlift Command
Chris Barclay2002professional football player
Ralph Beard1945professional basketball player
Winston Bennett1983professional basketball player
Porter Bibbthe first publisher of Rolling Stone
Rick Bolus1968Nations Top Prep Basketball Analyst
Emery Bopp1942artist
Louis Brandeis1870U.S. Supreme Court Justice
Michael Bush2003professional football player
Valerie Coleman1989Classical Flutist and Composer. Founder of the 2005 nominated ensemble Imani Winds
Tony Driver1996professional football player for Notre Dame and the Buffalo Bills
Trent Findleyprofessional football player
Abraham Flexnerreformed medical education in the United States
Charles Grawemeyer1929.5industrialist, entrepreneur and investor, created the Grawemeyer Award
Marcus Green2001professional football player
Sean GreenMajor League Baseball Pitcher
Darrell Griffith1976professional basketball player
John R. Harperengineer, inventor, politician
William B. Harrisonformer mayor of Louisville
D.J. Johnson1984Professional football player
Kenny Kuhn1955professional baseball player
Neville Miller1912former mayor of Louisville
William Burke MillerPulitzer Prize winner
Warren Oates1945noted film actor
Larry O'Bannonbasketball player who plays for Hapoel Eilat B.C. in Israel
Joseph T. O'Nealformer mayor of Louisville
Chris Redman1995professional football player
Lee Roberson1923notable Baptist pastor, and founder, president and chancellor of Tennessee Temple University and Temple Baptist Seminary
Drane Scrivener1968professional football player
Edliff Slaughter1920LMHS's first All-American football player
George Weissinger Smith1883former mayor of Louisville
Hunter S. Thompson1955gonzo journalist, writer, novelist, political commentator https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/hunter-s-thompson-growing-up-gonzo-69115/
Wilson Wyattformer mayor of Louisville