:Vashon High School

Designed by Rockwell M. Milligan, the school opened on September 11, 1927, and it was named in honor of two African-American educators: George Boyer Vashon, the first black graduate of Oberlin College, and his son, John Boyer Vashon. Located at 3026 Laclede Avenue, the school was built for slightly less than $1.2 million (${{formatnum:{{Inflation|US|1200000|1927|r=0}}}} today{{Inflation-fn|US}}). Vashon was the second high school built for black students in the St. Louis Public Schools, after Sumner High School.{{cite news |title=Vashon: Past Glory May Figure In Future |author=Virginia Hick |newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |date=February 18, 1990 |at=News 1B}}{{Cite book | last = Dillon| first = Dan | title = So, Where'd You Go to High School: The Baby Boomer Years | publisher=Virginia Publishing | year = 2005| volume = 2 |location = St. Louis, Missouri | isbn = 1-891442-33-3 | pages = 236–237 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=qTuiFxwEgS4C}}

Four members of the Vashon glee club created the popular singing group The Four Vagabonds in 1933.{{Cite AV media notes |title=Four Vagabonds: Complete Recorded Works 1941–1951 Vol. 2: 1942/43 |others=The Four Vagabonds |year=1999 |first=Doug |last=Seroff |type=Liner notes |publisher=Document Records |id=DOCD-5636 |location=Austria }} From 1935 to 1949, Vashon's boys basketball program won six state titles as part of the Missouri Negro Interscholastic Athletic Association.{{cite news |title=Vashon Can Claim 14 Titles, With Six Before Integration – School Was Not Allowed to Play in MSHSAA Tournament Until 1954 |author=John Duxbury |newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |date=March 12, 2001}} Vashon was barred from joining the Missouri State High School Activities Association until 1949, and between 1949 and 1954, it was prohibited from participating in both MNIAA tournaments and MSHSAA state tournaments.

In June 1963, the school moved to the Hadley Vocational-Technical High School building at 3405 Bell Avenue, and the original building became part of Harris–Stowe State University. The Bell Avenue building had been built in the early 1930s with large shop classrooms that were subsequently divided into classrooms and offices with partition walls, causing noise problems throughout the school. Its architectural design also strongly resembled a factory, and according to a local newspaper report, "the main school building, gym and auditorium make one think the people inside might be manufacturing cars or widgets." The move was accompanied by protests in the local community and a student march against the transfer.{{cite news |title=Irons Has Made Vashon Basketball Something Special |author=Kevin E. Boone |newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |date=March 9, 2001 |at=Sports F4}}

After the transfer, Vashon students were offered more vocational classes, including auto repair, fashion design, cosmetology, dry cleaning, woodworking, shoe repair, drafting, and commercial cooking. From 1974 to 2006, Vashon's boys basketball team was coached by Floyd Irons, a Vashon alumnus who became one of the winningest basketball coaches in Missouri history.{{cite news |title=Irons Leaves Complicated Legacy at Vashon |author=Jake Wagman and Elizabethe Holland |newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |date=July 13, 2006 |at=News A1}} Irons coached the team to four state championships in the 1980s.{{cite news |title=Urban Institution |author=Clint Brunt |newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |date=March 3, 2004}}

In 1990, the Board of Education considered several options to deal with noise problems and facilities issues at Vashon; among the options were closure of Vashon, partial renovation, full renovation, or complete demolition and replacement. Ultimately the Board decided against closure and opted for partial renovation of the building; support from the school's alumni and the school's strong boys basketball program played a role in the decision to keep the school open. In 1994, the Vashon boys basketball team won another state championship under Irons.

In August 2002, Vashon moved again, to a new building at 3035 Cass Avenue designed by Kennedy and Associates and built at a cost of $47.3  million. The boys' basketball team won five state championships in the 2000s: in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2006. In 2005, the school's boys' basketball program was ranked as the top program in the United States by USA Today.{{cite news |title=Vashon Reaches Top Spot in USA Today Rankings |author=Cameron Hollway |newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |date=January 26, 2005 |at=Sports D1}}

In 2006, the Riverfront Times, a local newspaper, published an investigative report that detailed extensive allegations of misconduct by Floyd Irons as coach at Vashon.{{cite news |title=Basketball by the Book: a Riverfront Times Investigation |author=Kristen Hinman |newspaper=Riverfront Times |date=November 1, 2006 |access-date=January 15, 2012 |url=http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2006-11-01/news/basketball-by-the-book-a-riverfront-times-investigation/}} The allegations eventually led the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) to strip Vashon of its 2001, 2002, and 2006 titles due to violations of MSHSAA rules on recruiting and eligibility.{{cite news |title=Basketball by the Book, Part 6: Fouled Out |author=Kristen Hinman |newspaper=Riverfront Times |date=June 18, 2008 |url= http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2008-06-18/news/fouled-out-vashon-high-is-stripped-of-three-missouri-state-basketball-titles/ |access-date=January 15, 2012}} In July 2006, Irons was dismissed as coach and administrator at Vashon, and he was replaced as head coach by Anthony Bonner, a retired NBA player and Vashon alumnus.{{cite news |title=Anthony Bonner Bids Adieu to Vashon |author=Kristen Hinman |newspaper=Riverfront Times |date=February 11, 2009 |access-date=January 15, 2012 |url=http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2009/02/anthony_bonner_bids_adieu_to_vashon_high_school_heading_to_new_york_knicks.php}} Bonner himself resigned in 2009.

Since 1934, the school has won 14 state basketball championships – six as a member of the Missouri Negro Interscholastic Athletic Association and then eight as a member of the Missouri State High School Activities Association.Prior to its integration in 1954, the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA) did not permit black schools to participate in postseason tournaments, and Vashon competed in the Missouri Negro Interscholastic Athletic Association (MNIAA), a state athletic association for black schools. For MSHSAA championship counts for Missouri high schools, see

{{Cite report |author=Missouri State High School Activities Association |date=2007 |title=State Championship Histories by Sport |url=http://www.mshsaa.org/resources/pdf/State%20Championship%20Histories%20by%20Sport.pdf |publisher=MSHSAA |pages=129–133 |access-date=January 15, 2012}}; for MNIAA championship information, see {{cite news |title=Vashon Can Claim 14 Titles, With Six Before Integration – School Was Not Allowed to Play in MSHSAA Tournament Until 1954 |author=John Duxbury |newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |date=March 12, 2001}} Vashon had previously held the state championships for 2001, 2004, and 2006; however, its titles were removed due to violations of MSHSAA rules, leaving the team with 8 MSHSAA championships (1971, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1994, 2000, 2002) and 6 MNIAA championships (1935, 1936, 1944, 1947, 1948, 1949). For information on the violations, see {{cite news |title=Basketball by the Book, Part 6: Fouled Out |author=Kristen Hinman |newspaper=Riverfront Times |date=June 18, 2008 |url= http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2008-06-18/news/fouled-out-vashon-high-is-stripped-of-three-missouri-state-basketball-titles/ |access-date=January 15, 2012}}

For the 2011–2012 school year, the school offered 18 activities approved by the Missouri State High School Activities Association (MSHSAA): baseball, boys and girls basketball, cheerleading, boys and girls cross country, football, music activities, boys and girls soccer, softball, speech and debate, boys and girls tennis, boys and girls track and field, girls volleyball, and wrestling.{{cite web|url=https://www.mshsaa.org/Schools/Navigation.aspx?s=206&filter=-1 |title= MSHSAA: Vashon High School |publisher=mshsaa.org|access-date=March 15, 2016}} In addition to its current activities, its students have won several state championships:{{cite web|url=http://www.mshsaa.org/resources/pdf/State%20Championship%20Histories%20by%20Sport.pdf |title= MSHSAA: Championship Histories by Sport |publisher=mshsaa.org|access-date=March 15, 2016}}

• Boys basketball: 1935, 1936, 1944, 1947, 1948, 1949, 1971, 1983, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1994, 2000, 2004, 2016, 2017Prior to its integration in 1954, the Missouri State High School Activities Association did not permit black schools to participate in postseason tournaments; prior to 1949, Vashon competed in the Missouri Negro Interscholastic Athletic Association, a state athletic system for black schools. See John Duxbury (March 12, 2001).Vashon had previously held the state championships for 2001, 2004, and 2006; however, its titles were removed due to violations of MSHSAA rules. {{cite news |title=Basketball by the Book, Part 6: Fouled Out |author=Kristen Hinman |newspaper=Riverfront Times |date=June 18, 2008 |url= http://www.riverfronttimes.com/2008-06-18/news/fouled-out-vashon-high-is-stripped-of-three-missouri-state-basketball-titles/ |access-date=January 15, 2012}}
• Boys cross country: 1956, 1958, 1960
• Boys track and field: 1984

The school also has produced one individual wrestling state champion.

File:Henry Armstrong.jpg became a world champion boxer.]]

• Anthony Bonner, professional basketball player{{cite news| title=Vashon's Tradition Defended – Threat Of Closing United Alumni With Current Students |author=Virginia Hick |newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch |date=August 18, 1992}}

• Virgil Akins, world champion boxer{{cite news |author=John Aaron Wright |date=2002 |title=Discovering African American St. Louis: A Guide to Historic Sites |edition=Second |at=p. 40 |publisher=Missouri History Museum Press}}
• Devon Alexander, world champion boxer{{cite news |author=Tom Wheatley |date=February 17, 2004 |title=St. Louis Will Send Three to Olympic Boxing Trials |at=Sports C7 |newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch}}
• Henry Armstrong, world champion boxer
• Anthony Bonner, professional basketball player (later became faculty and basketball coach at Vashon){{cite news |author=Kristen Hinman |date=February 11, 2009 |title=Anthony Bonner Bids Adieu to Vashon |newspaper=Riverfront Times |url=http://blogs.riverfronttimes.com/dailyrft/2009/02/anthony_bonner_bids_adieu_to_vashon_high_school_heading_to_new_york_knicks.php |access-date=January 15, 2012}}
• Jerry Jerome Brown Jr, NFL and CFL football player; last played with the Dallas Cowboys.
• Butler By'not'e, professional football player{{cite news |author=Kevin E. Boone |date=June 21, 1993 |title=On Track: By'not'e Running with the Best at Ohio State |at=Zone North 13 |newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch}}
• Jason Chorak, former professional football player{{cite web|url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/C/ChorJa20.htm|title=Jason Chorak|website=pro-football-reference.com|access-date=July 29, 2023}}
• Mac Cody, professional football player{{cite web |title=Mac Cody |url=http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=CODYMAC01 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131031141706/http://www.databasefootball.com/players/playerpage.htm?ilkid=CODYMAC01 |archive-date=October 31, 2013 |access-date=April 18, 2014 |publisher=databasefootball.com}}
• Chick Finney, jazz pianist
• Will Franklin, professional football player{{cite news |author=Kathleen Nelson |date=April 28, 2008 |title=Franklin, Rucker, Omon Are Picked |at=Sports C6 |newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch}}
• Lloyd L. Gaines, key player in Missouri ex rel. Gaines v. Canada, which desegregated the University of Missouri School of Law{{Cite book |last=Dillon |first=Dan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qTuiFxwEgS4C |title=So, Where'd You Go to High School: The Baby Boomer Years |publisher=Virginia Publishing |year=2005 |isbn=1-891442-33-3 |volume=2 |location=St. Louis, Missouri |pages=236–237}}
• Vivian Gibson, Author of "The Last Children of Mill Creek" documenting her childhood growing up in Mill Creek Valley, a segregated community in the heart of St. Louis that was destroyed by Urban Renewal. https://www.vivian-gibson.com/===Alumni===
• Grant Green, jazz guitarist{{cite web |date=Feb 7, 1979 |title=Obituary for Grant Green |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/43753596/obituary-for-grant-green-aged-42/ |newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch}}
• Donny Hathaway, singer and songwriter
• Eddie Hopson, Olympic boxer (class of 1990) and IBF Super Feather weight Champion (1995){{citation needed|date=February 2012}}
• Elston Howard, professional baseball player, first African-American player for the New York Yankees
• Oliver Lee Jackson, painter, sculptor, printmaker, and educator.{{Cite web |last=Vaughn |first=Kenya |date=July 16, 2021 |title=‘It’s meant to move you’ |url=http://www.stlamerican.com/arts_and_entertainment/living_it/it-s-meant-to-move-you/article_7c138bf2-e687-11eb-bd5c-8be63f37e075.html |access-date=2022-02-03 |website=St. Louis American |language=en}}{{Cite web |title=Oliver Lee Jackson |url=https://art.seattleartmuseum.org/people/4178/oliver-lee-jackson;jsessionid=56CA47E8BF7B57BF722047C55EC32B40 |access-date=2022-02-03 |website=Seattle Art Museum |language=en}}
• Terry Kennedy, politician, former activist, and journalist
• Roscoe L. Koontz, pioneer in health physics{{Cite book |last=Carwell |first=Hattie |url=https://archive.org/details/blacksinsciencea00carw/page/32 |title=Blacks in science : astrophysicist to zoologist |publisher=Exposition Press |year=1977 |isbn=9780682489119 |location=Hicksville, N.Y |pages=[https://archive.org/details/blacksinsciencea00carw/page/32 32–33] |url-access=registration}}
• Jimmy McKinney, professional basketball player{{cite news |author=Bill Coats |date=December 20, 2002 |title=Jimmy McKinney |at=Sports B1 |newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch}}
• Theodore McMillian, judge of the Missouri Court of Appeals and United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit; first African-American judge on either court{{cite news |last1=Reid |first1=Alvin A. |title=Judge Theodore McMillian passes at 86 |url=https://www.stlamerican.com/news/local_news/judge-theodore-mcmillian-passes-at-86/article_a6576bcd-722b-533b-b21c-3ecd67204e9a.html |work=The St. Louis American |date=January 19, 2006}}
• Leon Spinks, U.S. Olympic and professional boxer best known for beating Muhammad Ali
• Michael Spinks, champion Olympic and professional boxer{{cite web |title=Michael Spinks |url=http://www.nndb.com/people/255/000023186/ |access-date=March 15, 2016 |publisher=nndb.com}}
• Norris Stevenson, first African-American scholarship athlete for the University of Missouri football program{{cite web |title=Norris Stevenson, Mizzou's first black football player, dies | Mizzou | stltoday.com |url=http://www.stltoday.com/sports/college/mizzou/tiger-tracker/norris-stevenson-mizzou-s-first-black-football-player-dies/article_1f47815e-6580-11e1-b1e5-001a4bcf6878.html |access-date=March 15, 2016 |publisher=stltoday.com}}
• Clark Terry, jazz musician
• Morris Towns, professional football player{{cite news |author=Cathie Burnes Beebe |date=May 15, 1991 |title=25 Years of Scholar Athletes |at=Everyday E1 |newspaper=St. Louis Post-Dispatch}}
• Quincy Troupe, author and poet (attended Vashon, but transferred to Beaumont){{cite web |title=Quincy Troupe: an interview by Jan Garden Castro. - Free Online Library |url=http://www.thefreelibrary.com/Quincy+Troupe%3A+an+interview+by+Jan+Garden+Castro.-a0130276925 |access-date=March 15, 2016 |publisher=thefreelibrary.com}}
• Quincy Trouppe, former MLB player (Cleveland Indians)
• Maxine Waters, member of the United States House of Representatives

{{reflist|30em}}

• [http://slpshs.schoolwires.net/vashonhs/site/default.asp School website]
• [http://www.builtstlouis.net/vashon.html Photographs of the Bell Avenue building]

{{Education in St. Louis}}

{{St. Louis Metro Area High Schools}}

{{authority control}}

Category:High schools in St. Louis

Category:Educational institutions established in 1927

Category:School buildings completed in 2002

Category:Historically segregated African-American schools in Missouri

Category:Public high schools in Missouri

Category:1927 establishments in Missouri

Category:Buildings and structures in St. Louis