Washington High School, commonly referred to as Massillon High School or Massillon Washington High School, is a 9th to 12th grade secondary school within the Massillon City School District in the city of Massillon, Ohio.
The school colors are orange and black, and the school's athletic teams are known as the Massillon Tigers.
History
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The original Washington High School was constructed in 1913 and used to sit on the corner of Oak and 1st street southeast in downtown Massillon. The current Washington High School was constructed in 1992 adjacent to Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.[citation needed]
Washington High School provides programs including college readiness and vocational technical careers. Developing Resources for Education and Athletics in Massillon (D.R.E.A.M) is a collaborative effort through the Paul & Carol David Foundation, Massillon schools, Walsh University and the Aultman Health Foundation and provides students interested in a career in sports medicine to earn college credits in high school. Rated an "Excellent" school district by the Ohio Department of Education.
Activities
Football
Paul Brown Tiger stadium, named for 1925 graduate Paul Brown
Football came to the Massillon in 1894 with the first high school football game between Massillon High School and Canton Central High School. In the early years, the players consisted of working boys because most boys did not attend high school. By 1904 more boys began attending school past 8th grade. 1909 was Massillon's first undefeated football team. From 1910 to 1920 high school football in Massillon grew and improved, and by 1916 they were named the Scholastic Champions of Ohio.[3] The school mascot, the Tiger, was adopted from the city's former professional football team known as the Massillon Tigers.
Paul Brown, a 1925 graduate of Washington High School, returned to Massillon in 1932 to begin his renowned coaching career. In his nine years at Massillon, Brown posted an 80–8–2 record which included a 35-game winning streak and six state championships. The school's football stadium was named in Brown's honor.[citation needed]
The Tigers play their home games at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium. The stadium currently holds 16,600 people and is named after former Tiger player and head coach Paul Brown. Besides being the regular season home of the Massillon Tiger Football team, the stadium hosts Ohio High School Athletic Association state football playoff games, divisional championship games, as well as numerous other activities such as band shows and other sports including soccer.[citation needed]
Every fall, the booster club provides a live tiger cub named "Obie" who is on the sidelines for each home football game. So strong is the tradition and history, the booster club provides each baby boy born in Massillon a miniature football.[4]
In summer 2008, due to the success of the Tigers' athletic programs, ESPN nominated the city of Massillon as a candidate for Titletown USA.[5] The final results ended with Massillon finishing in the top 4.[citation needed]
Prior to the implementation of the playoff system in 1972, Massillon won 24 State Championships,[6] including two in 1950 and 1951 in American football under Coach Chuck Mather and with player Bobby Grier.[7] In 2023, the Tigers ended a 53-year drought, winning their first state title in the OHSAA Playoff era, defeating Archbishop Hoban by a final score of 7–2.[6] The Tigers had previously been playoff runners-up in 1980, 1982, 2005, 2018, 2019 and 2020.[citation needed]
Massillon has been recognized as the AP High School Football National Champions nine times - 1935, 1936, 1939, 1940, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1959, 1961.[citation needed]
Rivals
McKinley Bulldogs
The rivalry between these schools has been ongoing for over a century.[citation needed] Massillon leads the series 76-53-5. Rivalry is known as one of the first rivalries in high school football history.[citation needed] The rivalry between them is one of the most popular rivalries in the country[citation needed] and the state of Ohio.[citation needed] One of the most notable people part of the rivalry is former Massillon alumni and Cleveland Browns coach Paul Brown.[citation needed]
The Massillon Tiger Swing Band was created by George "Red" Bird in 1938 during the Paul Brown era of Massillon football. The band became known as "The Greatest Show in High School Football" and is still a very important part of the Massillon football tradition. The band's swing style includes moving formations and musicians marching with a swing step. The Tiger Swing band begins every home football game with the traditional hometown songs of "Massillon Will Shine", "Stand Up and Cheer" (to acknowledge the other team), “Eye of the Tiger”, “Seven Nation Army”, The W.H.S. Alma Mater, and The Star Spangled Banner/ The National Anthem. At the beginning of each half time show, they perform what is known as "Opening Routine". This is a tradition that goes back for decades and consists of the band's entrance ("Turn Arounds") followed by "Fanfare", "Tiger Rag" and "Carry On". This entire routine is marched at 180 beats per minute and is practiced from the beginning of the rehearsals through the entire season. Each home game the Swing Band performs a new halftime show for the crowd, always with a theme. The 2020 edition of the band includes two Drum Majors, four Majorettes, and the mascot, Obie.
The Swing Band is currently directed by Jason Neel, who has been the head director since 2006. The 2020 edition of the Massillon Tiger Swing Band had an enrollment of 135.
Notable alumni
This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations.(October 2016)
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