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Cooper High School (commonly referred to as Abilene Cooper) is a public, co-educational secondary school in Abilene, Texas. It opened in 1960, in part to handle the increase in school age youth resulting from the Post World War II Baby Boom. It is one of two 4-year High Schools within Abilene Independent School District. Cooper High is named for Oscar Henry Cooper, who was president of Baylor University from 1898 to 1902.[1] Prior to such time, his advocacy for a state-supported and state-controlled university led to the establishment of the University of Texas.[2] After his time at Baylor, Dr. Cooper was president of Hardin-Simmons University in Abilene until 1909. Thereafter, he headed "Cooper's Boys' School" in Abilene until 1915.[3]
[edit] Faculty and academicsEducators at Cooper who taught from the time the school opened through 2006 included Robert Holladay and Rose Williams. Cheryl Haynes taught for 30 years at Cooper. Jim Short, who taught Government, was later principal of Cooper (1995–1997) and L. D. Bell High School (Hurst, Texas), and is currently an Assistant Superintendent in the Hurst-Euless-Bedford Independent School District.[1] Texas author Lou Halsell Rodenberger (1926-2009) taught English and journalism at Cooper High School from 1982-1984. Abilene is the home of Dyess Air Force Base [2], and Cooper students have benefited from retired officers, and spouses of officers, from Dyess becoming teachers at Cooper. Retired US Air Force Colonel James Alderman, a mathematics and science teacher at the school, explained to his students that he worked on the development of the Gamma Ray Spectrometer and did research relating to nuclear fusion while in the United States Air Force. Retired US Air Force Colonel James Zumwalt taught Honors Calculus and, in 1981–1982, was zoo keeper over his homeroom class that called itself the "Zoo." Members of the Zoo included many of the top graduating students in 1982 and yet still managed to win the intramural sports championship.[4] In the years 1979 to 1982, Cooper consistently fielded teams for UIL competitions that finished in the top of their subject areas, including Speech, Creative Writing, Orchestra, Math, Band, and Choir.[citation needed] Cooper graduates frequently were named as Scholars, Finalists, Semi-finalists, and Commended by the National Merit Scholarship Program. Six members of the Class of 1982 received the Scholar designation.[citation needed] [edit] Athletics[edit] VolleyballThe Cooper High School Volleyball Team won the state 4A championship in 1967, defeating San Antonio Harlandale 15-0; 11-15; 15-7. [edit] GolfThe Cooper High School Golf Team won the 5A State Championship in 1982, 1983, and 1984. Bob Estes, Class of 1984, won the individual state title in 1983.[5] As a collegiate golfer at the University of Texas, Bob was selected as an All-American[6], received the Jack Nicklaus award, and was named 1988 College Player of the Year.[7][8] Mike Standly, Class of 1982, played for the University of Houston, finished in second place to Scott Verplank at the 1986 NCAA championship, won his first tournament in 1993, the Freeport-McMohan Classic in New Orleans,[9] and can still be found on professional golf tours.[10] [edit] TennisThe Cooper High School Tennis Team has made appearances at the Texas state competition 8 times in its history, ranking 5th in the state for all-time appearances in conference 5A. It competed in 1985, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1992 and won the championship for three consecutive years in 1993, 1994 and 1995. Ricky Meyers won the state singles title in 1976 and Ryan Hughes did the same in 1995. David Meyers and Scott Meyers (identical twins) won boys doubles state in 1982. [3] Jana Hanks won the state singles title in 1975 and 1976, Susie Ingram and Julie Jones won the state doubles title in 1976, and Leanne Hill and Stephanie Burnam won the state doubles title in 1982. [4] As of November, 2009, The Cooper Tennis Team is ranked 8th in the state in conference 4A. [edit] Tennis State Championships
[edit] BaseballIn the late 1970s and early 1980s, the team consistently finished near the top in District. Baseball teams from Cooper have played in four state championship games, 1967, 1987, 1988, and 1993, winning the 5A state championship twice with consecutive wins in 1987 and 1988. Consecutive championships have only been accomplished by 3 other schools in the history of Texas high school baseball (one being crosstown rival Abilene High School). [edit] Baseball State Championship Appearances
Cooper players recognized in UIL records include Chris Feris and Robert McAdams in 1987 for Most Extra base hits (doubles) in tournament play, Chris Feris in 1987 for Most Hits in a Game (3), Philip Carpenter in 1988 for Most Hits in a Game (3) and Robert McAdams in 1987 for a .600 batting average in a two game series with at least 5 at bats. [5] [edit] GymnasticsIn the late 70s and early 80s, the team consistently finished in the top 3 in Texas. [edit] SwimmingIn the late 70s and early 80s, the team consistently finished near the top in District. [edit] Football[edit] Active Professional PlayersDominic Rhodes[11] and Justin Snow[12] were members of the 2007 NFL champion Indianapolis Colts. Rhodes joined the Oakland Raiders for the 2007 NFL season, rejoined the Colts for the 2008 Season and has signed with the Buffalo Bills for the 2009 Season [edit] Appearances in the state championship gameWith the exception of a few periods, the Cougars have been a team which contended for the district title. The teams of the mid 90s to the early 2000s were consistently in the playoffs. The 1996 team featuring Dominic Rhodes made it to the state championship game, playing Austin Westlake led by quarterback Drew Brees. Randy Allen, Head Coach at Cooper from the 1991 season through the 1998 season [6], was named to the Texas High School Coaches Association's Hall of Honor in 2006. [7] History came full circle, as Coach Allen was on the 1967 team, the only other Cooper team to advance to the state finals to date. The 1967 game was a thriller. The Cougars lost by one point to then powerhouse Austin, Texas Reagan High School (Reagan went on to defeat Permian High School in the 1968 and 1970 state championship games) when the officials declined to rule a possible touchdown in favor of Cooper on the final play of the game. [8] [edit] District Championships1967 - District 2-4A - District Record 7-0 [edit] Postseason Performance[edit] Bi-District1967 - def. El Paso Burges 52-21 [edit] Area1993 - def. El Paso Riverside 61-22 [edit] Regional1969 - def. El Paso Coronado 36-0 [edit] Quarter-Finals1967 - def. Amarillo Tascosa 37-0 [edit] Semi-Finals1967 - def. Richardson 42-0 [edit] Finals1967 - lost to Austin Reagan 19-20 [edit] The Awesome Cooper BandBand has a rich and proud history at Cooper High School. Often the largest high school marching band in Texas throughout the 1980s, the band made frequent appearances at the State Marching Contest. The band marched in the 1990 Rose Bowl Parade, one of only 10 Texas High School bands to have ever done so. 85 Cooper students have been named to the TMEA All-State Bands over the years. [edit] References
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