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The Early Days
Cooley High School's history dates to the late-1920's, during a period when thousands of homes were built upon land acquired through Detroit's aggressive annexation
Annexation

Annexation is the legal incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity . Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities....
 efforts in the former Greenfield Township
Greenfield Township

Greenfield Township may refer to the following Township in the United States:...
 and village of Strathmoor, Michigan.






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Encyclopedia


Thomas M. Cooley High School



Thomas M. Cooley High School is located at the intersection of Hubbell and Chalfonte Street, on the northwest side of Detroit, Michigan
Detroit, Michigan

Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Wayne County, Michigan. Detroit is a major port city on the Detroit River, in the Midwestern United States of the United States....
. The aesthetically pleasing, three-story structure is operated by the Detroit Board of Education. The facility was named in honor of Thomas M. Cooley
Thomas M. Cooley

Thomas McIntyre Cooley, LL.D., was the 25th Justice and a Chief Justice of the Michigan Supreme Court, between 1864 and 1885. He was father to Charles Cooley, a distinguished American sociologist....
, a nineteenth-century jurist
Jurist

A jurist or jurisconsult is a professional who studies, develops, applies, or otherwise deals with the law. The term is widely used in American English, but in the United Kingdom and many Commonwealth of Nations countries it has only historical and specialist usage....
 and Chief Justice
Chief Justice

The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of the United States, the Supreme Court of Canada, the Supreme Court of India, the Supreme Court of Pakistan, the Supreme Court...
 of the Michigan Supreme Court
Michigan Supreme Court

The Michigan Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is known as Michigan's "court of last resort" and consists of seven justices, who are elected to eight-year terms....
.

The Early Days


Cooley High School's history dates to the late-1920's, during a period when thousands of homes were built upon land acquired through Detroit's aggressive annexation
Annexation

Annexation is the legal incorporation of some territory into another geo-political entity . Usually, it is implied that the territory and population being annexed is the smaller, more peripheral, and weaker of the two merging entities....
 efforts in the former Greenfield Township
Greenfield Township

Greenfield Township may refer to the following Township in the United States:...
 and village of Strathmoor, Michigan. Cooley High constructed to accommodate a rapidly growing populace on the city's burgeoning northwest side. The Mission Revival styled school opened its doors on September 4, 1928; from that day forward, the faculty and students have maintained a long-standing reputation for exceptional scholastic and athletic achievement.

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. That same year, noted author and motion picture celebrity, Frank Buck
Frank Buck (animal collector)

This article is about Frank Buck, whose philosophy of hunting wild animals was to "bring 'em back alive". For other people with the same name, see Frank Buck....
  visited Cooley High School; Buck thrilled a packed auditorium audience with travelogues of recent African excursions. In the early years, Cooley students enjoyed a diverse offering of extracurricular activities; including such pursuits as fencing
Fencing

Fencing is a family of sports and activities that feature armed combat involving cutting, stabbing, or slapping Club ing weapons that are directly manipulated by hand, rather than shot, thrown or positioned....
, table tennis
Table tennis

Table tennis, also known as ping pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth with rackets ....
, indoor track and field, swimming and diving, speed skating and ice hockey.

Throughout much of the twentieth century, in a wide variety of sports, Cooley student-athletes regularly finished at or near the top in the quest for Detroit city league supremacy. Hyperbole aside, records indicate that the Cardinals of Thomas M. Cooley High School rank historically as one of the most successful interscholastic athletic programs in the state of Michigan.

Cooley Cardinals: Legends of the Red and Black


In 1932, the Cooley Cardinal football team won the Metropolitan League-Northern Division Championship; finishing the regular season at 7-0. In those seven games, only Mackenzie High School
Mackenzie High School (Michigan)

Mackenzie High School is in Detroit, Michigan....
 was able to put points on the board versus the Cardinals. That same school year, Cooley won the Detroit Public Secondary Schools Athletic League title in ice hockey and tennis; adding DPSSAL runner-up trophies in track and field and cross-country.

During the 1941 football season, Coach Herb Smith led the Cooley Cardinals to a 9-0-1 record; Michigan sportswriters rewarded Cooley High with a consensus state championship.

A veteran of seventeen Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of play in American professional baseball. Specifically, Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates the National League and the American League, by means of a joint organizational structure that has developed gradually between them since 1903 ....
 seasons, pitcher Milt Pappas
Milt Pappas

Milton Stephen Pappas A control specialist, Pappas pitched in 520 games, starting 465, with 209 wins, 164 losses, 43 shutouts, 1728 strikeouts and a 3.40 Earned run average in 3186.0 innings pitched....
 was a 1957 graduate of Cooley. Pappas won a total of 209 MLB games during his professional career; he pitched a no-hitter as a member of the Chicago Cubs
Chicago Cubs

The Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball franchise based in Chicago, Illinois. They are members and currently the two-time defending champions of the National League Central of Major League Baseball's National League....
 in 1972.

Between 1960 and 1963, Coach Harold Lindsay's swimming and diving program won four consecutive DPSSAL crowns for Cooley High. At the 1963 Michigan High School Athletic Association
Michigan High School Athletic Association

The Michigan High School Athletic Association regulates the vast majority of high school athletic competition in Michigan and is headquartered in East Lansing, Michigan....
 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
Associated Press

The Associated Press is an Media of the United States news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, Radio station and Television station stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staffers....
 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
AP

AP may refer to:...
 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
Ben Kelso

Ben Kelso is an American former National Basketball Association player for the Detroit Pistons. He has coached basketball for schools in the Detroit, Michigan area and was involved in a scandal in this capacity....
 led the Cooley Cardinals to unprecedented accolades and consecutive Michigan High School Athletic Association Championship 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 track and field championship trophy.

Notable Alumni of Thomas M. Cooley High School - Detroit, Michigan

  • Margaret Ayers (1932), Cooley's first State Champion - 1930 Michigan Secondary Schools Declamation
    Declamation

    Declamation is a public speaking event of the National Catholic Forensic League. One can qualify for the annual NCFL Grand National Tournament in Declamation through their local qualifying tournament....
     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
    Wayne State University

    Wayne State University is located in Detroit, Michigan, in the city's Midtown, Detroit#Midtown Cultural Center, Detroit and is a 4th tier national university comprised of 12 schools and colleges offering more than 350 major subject areas to 33,000 graduate and undergraduate students....
     fencer
    Fencer

    Fencer may refer to:* Fencer, a person who participates in the sport of fencing* Fencer, a person who makes fences* Fencer, the NATO reporting name of the Sukhoi Su-24 fighter jet...
    , Watson was the sport's first four-time NCAA All-American, 1947-1950.
  • Mike Ilitch
    Mike Ilitch

    Michael "Mike" Ilitch Sr. is an entrepreneur and owner of the Detroit Red Wings and the Detroit Tigers. In addition to his sports ownerships, he is the founder and owner of Little Caesars Pizza since 1959, which has become an international fast food franchise....
     (1947), Little Caesar's Pizza entrepreneur
    Entrepreneur

    An entrepreneur is a person who has possession of an organization, or venture, and assumes significant accountability for the inherent risks and the outcome....
    ; owner of the Detroit Tigers
    Detroit Tigers

    The Detroit Tigers are a Major League Baseball team based in Detroit, Michigan. One of the American League's eight charter franchises, the club was founded in Detroit, Michigan in ....
     and Detroit Red Wings
    Detroit Red Wings

    The Detroit Red Wings are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit, Michigan, who are the current Stanley Cup champions.They are members of the Central Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
    .
  • Bob Langas (1948), played collegiate football at Wayne State; played professionally with the 1954 Baltimore Colts
    History of the Indianapolis Colts

    The Indianapolis Colts are a professional football team based in Indianapolis, Indiana. They are 2006 champions of the American Football Conference and the National Football League ....
    .
  • Milt Pappas
    Milt Pappas

    Milton Stephen Pappas A control specialist, Pappas pitched in 520 games, starting 465, with 209 wins, 164 losses, 43 shutouts, 1728 strikeouts and a 3.40 Earned run average in 3186.0 innings pitched....
     (1957), former MLB pitcher
    Pitcher

    In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throwsthe baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out a batter who attempts to either make contact with it or draw a base on balls....
    ; won 209 games during 17 seasons with Baltimore, Cincinnati and the Chicago Cubs.
  • Milan Stitt
    Milan Stitt

    Milan Stitt is an United States playwright and educator.Milan Stitt was born in Detroit, Michigan; he graduated from Cooley High School in 1959....
      (1959), Celebrated playwright, screenwriter and drama professor; best known for his play,     The Runner Stumbles
    The Runner Stumbles

    The Runner Stumbles is a 1979 in film film directed and produced by Stanley Kramer, based on the Broadway play by Milan Stitt. The film stars Dick Van Dyke, Kathleen Quinlan, Maureen Stapleton, Tammy Grimes, Beau Bridges and Ray Bolger....
  • James P. Hoffa
    James P. Hoffa

    James Phillip Hoffa is an United States Lawyer and trade union leader and the General President of the Teamsters. Hoffa was first elected in December 1998 and took office on March 19, 1999....
     (1959), All-City & All-State football
    American football

    American football, known in the United States and Canada simply as football, is a competitive team sport known for mixing strategy with physical play....
     player; renowned lawyer
    Lawyer

    A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an Attorney at law, counsel or solicitor; a person licensed to practice fraud." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain stability, and deliver justice....
    , current President of International
    International

    International or internationally most often describes interaction between nations, or encompassing two or more nations, constituting a group or association having members in two or more nations, or generally reaching beyond national boundaries....
     Teamsters Union
    Teamsters

    The International Brotherhood of Teamsters is a trade union in the United States and Canada. Formed in 1903 by the merger of several local and regional locals of teamsters, the union now represents a diverse membership of blue-collar worker and white-collar worker workers in both the public sector and private sectors....
  • 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
    AAU

    AAU is a three-letter acronym that may refer to:...
     National 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
    Television

    Television is a widely used telecommunication mass-media for transmitting and receiving moving , either monochrome or color, usually accompanied by sound....
     News Anchorman with WXYZ
    WXYZ-TV

    WXYZ-TV, channel 7, is the American Broadcasting Company affiliated television station in Detroit, Michigan. It is owned by The E.W. Scripps Company and is the media company's largest TV station....
    , WJBK
    WJBK

    WJBK, channel 2, is the Fox Broadcasting Company-owned and operated station television station in Detroit, Michigan. Its studios and 1003-foot tower are co-located in Southfield, Michigan while its signal covers the Metro Detroit area....
    , and WKBD
    WKBD

    WKBD, channel 50, is an owned-and-operated station of the CW Television Network, based in Detroit, Michigan. The station is owned and operated by the CBS Corporation, and is one-half of a duopoly with sister station WWJ-TV ....
    .
  • S. Epatha Merkerson
    S. Epatha Merkerson

    S. Epatha Merkerson is an United States Golden Globe-, Screen Actors Guild-, NAACP Image Award- and Emmy Award-winning actress. She has also received two Tony Award nominations....
     (1970), critically acclaimed Emmy & Golden Globe Award winning actress; star of NBC-TV series, Law & Order
    Law & Order

    Law & Order is an United States police procedural and legal drama Television program created by Dick Wolf. It has been broadcast on NBC since its debut on September 13, 1990....
  • 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
    University of Pittsburgh

    The University of Pittsburgh, commonly referred to as Pitt, is a Commonwealth System of Higher Education research university located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania, United States....
    ; played professionally with the 1987 Cleveland Browns
    Cleveland Browns

    The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland, Ohio, Ohio. They play in the AFC North division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League ....
  • Ted Harris (1984), MHSAA State Champion (men's high jump
    High jump

    The high jump is an athletics event in which competitors must jump over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without the aid of any devices....
    )
  • Derrick Harris (1988), MHSAA State Champion (men's 400 meter dash)
  • Dawn Adams (1988), MHSAA State Champion (women's 300 meter hurdles)
  • Michael Talley (1989), Detroit Free Press - Mr. Basketball - 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 meters)
  • Lionel Boston (1994), MHSAA State Champion (men's shot put
    Shot put

    The shot put is an athletics event involving "putting" a heavy metal ball as far as possible. It is common to use the term "shot put" to refer to both the shot itself and to the throwing motion....
    )
  • Shree Jones (1994), MHSAA State Champion (women's 200 meter dash)
  • Willie J. Green (1999), professional basketball player with the Philadelphia 76ers
    Philadelphia 76ers

    The Philadelphia 76ers are Major North American professional sports teams basketball team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They play in the National Basketball Association ....
  • Demetrius Addison (2008), MHSAA silver medalist (men's 110 meter high-hurdles)


Additionally

  • Roy Tarpley
    Roy Tarpley

    Roy James Tarpley is an American former professional basketball player, who was notable during his career for being banned from the National Basketball Association....
    , former NBA player
  • Chris Floyd
    Chris Floyd

    Chris Floyd is an American journalist and author known chiefly for his strong polemical writings critical of George W. Bush and his administration....
    , former NFL player
  • Obie Trice
    Obie Trice

    Obie Trice III is an United States rapping from Detroit, Michigan. He began rapping at the age of 11, and had a number of underground hits such as "Respect", "My Club", "Dope Jobs Homeless", and "The Well Known Asshole" before he signed to Shady Records in 2000....
    , Rap Music artist
  • Lional Dalton
    Lional Dalton

    Lional Deshaun Dalton is a former American football defensive tackle in the National Football League....
     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 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.
  • Black Milk
    Black Milk

    for Black Milk song.Curtis Cross, better known as Black Milk, is a hip hop music producer and Master of Ceremonies from Detroit, Michigan....
    , hip-hop producer/rapper affiliated with Slum Village, Phat Kat, and Guilty Simpson


Cooley High movie


Writer Eric Monte
Eric Monte

Eric Monte is an United States television writer who has written for and created notable shows depicting 1970s African American culture.Born in Chicago and raised in the Cabrini-Green housing project, he dropped out of high school and hitchiked to Hollywood....
's 1975 feature film Cooley High
Cooley High

Cooley High is a 1975 in film feature film produced and released by American International Pictures and written by Eric Monte . The film, set in 1964 Chicago, Illinois, stars Glynn Turman and Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, and featuring a soundtrack primarily comprised of 1960s Motown Records hits....
, is loosely based upon his experiences at Cooley Vocational High School, which formerly stood in Chicago, Illinois. The inspiration for the movie's Edwin G. Cooley High and its screenplay are unrelated to Detroit's Thomas M. Cooley High School.

External links