Misplaced Pages

#202797

67-527: [1] [2] Origins of the Chicago Public League can be traced back to its predecessor, the Cook County High School League , which started during 1889-90. Some of the schools that participated in the Cook County League still exist today: Crane (as English High and Manual Training), Englewood , Lincoln Park (as North Division) , Hyde Park , Phillips (as South Division), Calumet , Marshall , Austin , Lake (now Tilden ), and Lake View . Three other schools from this League have since gone to other leagues around

134-423: A conference. The person credited as being most instrumental in launching of the baseball league was Christian Miller, principal and baseball coach at Evanston High. He was an early advocate of athletic competition for schoolboys, and during the 1880s wrote such advocacy pieces for the education journals of the day. Evanston was the league champion and dominated the first several years of competition. Track and field

201-479: A fight with teammate Mark Bortz during a practice, but didn't miss any games. On August 26, 1991 , he was waived after being passed on the depth chart by Mike Stonebreaker . On August 27, 1991 , he was claimed off waivers by the Dallas Cowboys , to improve the linebackers depth and help on special teams . On September 10, he was placed on the injured reserve list with a pulled left hamstring, but

268-479: A gold or silver plate notating champion or runner-up finish. Since 2004, it is now made of black marble with gold trimming and plated with a silver sculpture of the sport the trophy was earned in. Between 1972 and 2002, the holder of The Shield gained automatic entry into the Illinois State Finals in most sports (except football). Since then, the city championship has been decided prior to the start of

335-747: A great league that nurtured high school sports from infancy to maturity. The suburban schools formed the Suburban League (Chicago area) . Mickey Pruitt Mickey Pruitt (born January 10, 1965) is an American former professional football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Bears and Dallas Cowboys , winning a Super Bowl ring with the Cowboys in Super Bowl XXVII over

402-653: A key touchdown in the 26–17 against Washington State University . Pruitt finished ranked as school's All-time tackler (340 tackles) among defensive backs and third in Big Eight Conference history for defensive backs . He registered 41 starts. In 1989, he was named to the University of Colorado All-Century football team and to the Big Eight Conference All-Decade team. Pruitt was signed as an undrafted free agent by

469-409: A matter of a bunch of kids getting together for games. Hyde Park won the first Cook County championship, beating out neighboring Englewood, beginning one of the most legendary and intense rivalries in the history of Illinois high school football. The two schools dominated competition in football and other sports in the league. In the fall of 1890, South Division and Evanston joined the league and football

536-403: A pair of state wrestling titles for the city in 1946 and 1952. Most recently, CPS wrestling has gained notoriety with Bowen racking up regional titles. The last individual state champions have been Travis Hammons of Hubbard (2005) and Max Schneider of Lane Tech (2009, 2012). There are many websites and other sources to get school apparel. Going to the school directly or if some schools offer it

603-433: A redshirt freshman and would not relinquish the position for the rest of his college career. The next year, he posted 63 tackles, after missing two games because of injuries. As a junior, he registered 106 tackles (73 solo), 5 forced fumbles and 13 passes defensed (second in school history). As a senior, he set a school mark for tackles by a defensive back with 116. He had 5 interceptions, including one returned 18 yards for

670-477: A row. CPL schools have enjoyed the top of the podium 22 times, 14 of those on the boys side. Eight of the ten girls' titles also belong to Marshall, thanks to the state's all-time winningest coach in the sport, Dorothy Gaters , who at last count was near 830 wins for her career after winning the state championship in class 3A in 2008 along with the Whitney Young girls team who won the class 4A state title in

737-426: A sandlot variety had gone on for nearly a decade. During the years of this sandlot phase Chicago schoolboys were inventing interscholastic sports, undoubtedly patterning their approach after what they saw in the universities at the time. The first two sports that Chicago area schools adopted for competition were—not surprisingly-- football and baseball . No conclusive evidence has surfaced as to what year either sport

SECTION 10

#1732798437203

804-475: A state championship until the 1926-27 school year, when it first gained entry into the IHSA. The basketball ranks have enjoyed the most success at the state tournament of any sport sanctioned by CPS. The first state title for CPL basketball came in 1958 with Marshall , four years after Du Sable earned the league's first ever state championship berth. Beginning in 2010 Simeon won the state championship four times in

871-617: A tennis club, and 1888 tennis was part of some of the high school intramural field days along with track and field events. On June 18, the Tribune reported on the "first annual tournament of the Cook County High School Lawn Tennis Association," held in Oak Park. Participating were Lake View, Englewood, English, Evanston, North Division, and Oak Park. The championship, both singles and doubles,

938-468: Is a dead heat as Crane and Marshall each have 11 Shields. There's no question who is the top team in the girls' ranks: Marshall, with 23 championships - the most by a single sports team (boys or girls) in league history. CPL sanctioning of baseball goes back to the spring of 1914, and it entered the state tournament when that was formed in 1940. The league has had its share of state titles, with Lane , Fenger , Schurz and Hubbard taking their place atop

1005-703: Is headed by the Director of Sports Administration and Facilities of the Chicago Public Schools. Calvin Davis currently holds this position. Davis, who has 25 years of teaching, coaching, and administrative experience in the Chicago Public Schools took over in 2003 after being selected by CEO Arne Duncan to replace Dr. J.W. Smith who retired that year. Under the Director are the City Wide Sport Coordinators, who govern competition in

1072-485: The Buffalo Bills . Pruitt attended Chicago 's Paul Robeson High School , where his father George was an assistant football coach. He played as a running back and free safety . He also played at wide receiver . In his senior season, he rushed for over 1,000 yards, scored 18 touchdowns and made 7 interceptions. He was part of a team that had 14 of the 26 players playing both ways, while finishing second in

1139-407: The Chicago Bears after the 1988 NFL draft . He was not selected because he was considered slow for a defensive back and not big enough to be a linebacker . As a rookie, he was converted into an outside linebacker . He was a backup to Jim Morrissey , playing mostly on special teams and on passing downs. He started in 3 games and suffered a sprained ankle that forced him to miss 2 contests. In

1206-497: The 1880s, but none of them lasted. In May and June 1889, however, there was a plethora of games reported in the Chicago Tribune , involving North Division, West Division, Manual Training, Hyde Park, and Northwest Division teams, but no league was evident. There is firm evidence of an organized league in 1890. Evanston, Englewood, Hyde Park, South Division, West Division, Manual Training, and Harvard met on February 7 and formed

1273-419: The 1880s, but they were of the sandlot variety and more often than not they never lasted through the season. A true football league was finally established in the fall of 1889, when the "Cook County High School Football League" was formed and a schedule of games adopted. Participating schools in the league were West Division, Hyde Park, Manual Training, Lake View, and Englewood. No longer were football games just

1340-465: The 1930s and 1940s. Walter Payton Girls Volleyball finished fourth in state in 2008. State track and field titles have come in bunches for the CPL. The earliest known state track championship for a Chicago school dates to 1895 with Englewood. Since then, Hyde Park, Phillips, Lane, Senn, Tilden, Harlan, South Shore, and Morgan Park have earned the gold medal at the state championships. Also, Tilden earned

1407-568: The 20–12 playoff win against the Philadelphia Eagles , popularly known as the " Fog Bowl " for the nearly unseeable conditions during the game, he made an important interception of quarterback Randall Cunningham . Pruitt also received the Brian Piccolo Award , given annually to a Bears rookie and a veteran who best exemplify courage, loyalty, teamwork and dedication. On November 14, 1990 , he broke his left hand in

SECTION 20

#1732798437203

1474-423: The CPL actively recruit the elementary division to fill their ranks, as opposed to earlier years where most kids came into the high school athletic arena with little or no experience. The championship trophy of the CPL is noted by "The Shield". A school holding one of these trophies is recognized as having beaten a very large field of competitors for the city title. Until 2004, the trophy was made of wood with either

1541-701: The CPL football champion met the CCL champion at Soldier Field for the city title. The game would be later dubbed the Chicago Prep Bowl in 1934 by Mayor Edward Kelly as a Thanksgiving fundraiser for the city's poor. Until the advent of the Illinois state playoffs in 1974, the Prep Bowl was the main attraction of the fall season, attracting crowds in upwards of 100,000 in its heyday and averaging close to 65,000. Since 1974, crowds have dramatically dwindled with

1608-716: The Cook County League again held a league-sponsored championship tourney. Tennis was a privileged sport and the pattern in most of the country showed greater development in the private schools than in the public schools. In the Chicago area basketball did not take hold among the Cook County schools until 1895, and then curiously only as a girls sport. In the fall of 1895, Austin (and reportedly Englewood as well) started up teams and played against squads from University of Chicago, Lake Forest College, and Hull House. In

1675-524: The Farragut Boat Club on Chicago's South Side. By 1892 there were flourishing amateur leagues involving more than 100 teams in the city. Indoor baseball was a late development in the Cook County League. West Division had a team as early as 1892, but it was not until December, 1895, that representatives of ten schools formed a league. Only five schools actually participated the first year—Austin, Lake View, Evanston, Oak Park, and English—because of

1742-589: The Illini (red) Conference, the Chicago (blue) Conference and the Intra-City (green) Conference. In baseball, various divisions are notated by the names of famous major league baseball players, with the highest competition division being the Jackie Robinson conference. In girls' basketball, there are three divisions: Red, Blue, and Green. CPL sanctioning of football dates back to 1913. As early as 1927,

1809-520: The League first gained entry into the state playoffs - and 1983, at least one Chicago Public school earned a state semifinal berth, with Robeson making it all the way to the Class 6A championship in 1982 before losing to (Rockford) Guilford. Since 1983, only three schools have made it to the state semifinals: Morgan Park (2005), Hubbard (2000, 2006) and Simeon (2014). On November 27, 2015, Phillips became

1876-655: The University of Chicago, Morgan Park Academy, which was competing against its parent school and YMCAs during 1893 and 1894. Its enthusiasm for the game did not last, however, because in 1896 when the Morgan Park Academy helped form the Academic League the only sports played were football, baseball, tennis, and track and field. The earliest basketball played by a public high school was in 1896, when North Division competed against YMCAs and other athletic clubs. Meanwhile, championship competition continued for

1943-734: The adoption of such exotic sports as gymnastics , rifle marksmanship , fencing , indoor golf , and speed skating , but none of these sports ever attracted more than a small percentage of the schools. During the 1920s, the Chicago Public League, which had unofficially abided by the Illinois High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) ban on all girls interscholastic contests, began to relax its strictures against interscholastic sports for girls. The league in 1922 began sponsoring tennis, golf, and swimming competition, and became lax in its ban on

2010-561: The advent of the Chicago Conference Championship game in 2004 has given the second division an opportunity to earn at least one piece of hardware before being seeded into the Prep Bowl tournament. The Intra-City Conference championship is the only title that that division can attain, having no opportunity to vie for the Varsity or State championships. As recent as 2009, due to the explosion of new high schools in

2077-710: The area: University High, which plays in the Independent League; and Lyons Township High of LaGrange and Oak Park–River Forest High, both of which now play in the West Suburban Conference . The Chicago Public High School League was formed in the summer of 1913, when the Cook County High School League broke apart as a result of the Chicago Board of Education 's desire to be responsible for a league in which all

Chicago Public High School League - Misplaced Pages Continue

2144-471: The championship five of those seven years. Even the West Side girls got involved, because as early as 1895 West Division had a girls team and in 1899 was joined by another West Side school, Medill. The two schools competed against each other for a half decade or so. Tennis never generated a lot of enthusiasm in Cook County schools, but it was a recognized sport early on. As early as 1884 Lake View High had

2211-725: The crown against Whitney Young. To date, every championship game that was held at the United Center earned more fans than the present state championship sites of Carver Arena in Peoria and Redbird Arena in Bloomington combined. As of the 2010-11 school year, the Jones Convocation Center at Chicago State University is the current host of the CPS basketball title games. The most city basketball championships for boys

2278-621: The difficulty of the schools in obtaining playing facilities. The first year Austin won the banner. The sport was conducted annually until the demise of the league in 1913, and lingered on for two to three years afterwards. One peculiarity of competition was how the high schools on the West Side—West Division (McKinley), English (Crane), Medill, and Austin—dominated the league. In the years 1907 to 1913, Crane High—with brothers Walter and Frank Halas and later brother George Halas (of professional football fame)--was in every title game and took

2345-473: The earliest domination of any sport by any CPL team. Jones College Prep in 2012 and Lane in 1963 earned the only state cross country titles; Englewood earned runner-up status in 1955. Harrison earned the city's first boys' state soccer title in 1973 and Schurz finished second in 1977; Lake View finished fourth in 2008. Mather ended the city's state championship drought by winning the title in the fall of 2011. Parker and Senn earned boys' state tennis titles during

2412-481: The emphasis switching to earning a state championship. Renovation of Soldier Field in 2003 has seen a steady resurgence in crowds for the game, averaging around 20-25,000. Success in the state playoffs for the Public League has been fleeting at times, but since elementary football came on board in the late 1990s, the league has seen considerable progress in competing with outside competition. Between 1979 - when

2479-477: The exception of soccer, football, girls basketball and baseball, each sport in the CPL has two distinct playing divisions: Red and Blue. The Red division is considered the highest level of competition citywide, while the Blue features programs just starting or not quite as talented. In soccer, there are 4 divisions: Premier, 1st Division, 2nd Division, and 3rd Division respectively. In football, there are three divisions:

2546-559: The fall of 1889, and its first baseball championship in the spring of 1890. The formal date for the establishment of the Cook County High School Athletic League, which served Chicago and its suburbs, is 1898. Its creation, however, was really a matter of consolidation and rationalization of a conference that had already been in place for a decade. But even before the emergence of the Cook County League during 1889 and 1890, interscholastic competition of

2613-410: The fall of 1896, Oak Park organized a team and the first interscholastic girls' game in Illinois, and perhaps the first in the nation, was played on December 18 between Oak Park and Austin. The extra year's experience of Austin was telling as Oak Park was beaten 16 to 4. Englewood and Evanston also joined in interscholastic competition that year. The 1898 constitution recognized girls' basketball as one of

2680-505: The fall of 1910, and golf in 1911. In each case, however, competition in each sport preceded by several years the formal adoption by the league. Swimming competition under the sponsorship of private athletic clubs and YMCAs was conducted as early as 1902. In 1913 the suburban schools were expelled from the league and the Cook County League was reorganized as the Chicago Public High School League . Thus ended

2747-503: The first Chicago Public school to win an Illinois state title with a 51-7 win over Belleville Althoff to win the Class 4A state championship. On the city level, football has been long dominated by schools south of Madison Avenue, but north side powers like Lane and Schurz have also hoisted The Shield as league titleholders. As of the end of the 2006 season, Chicago Vocational holds the record for most football city titles with nine, with Lane and Julian tied for second with eight. In addition,

Chicago Public High School League - Misplaced Pages Continue

2814-543: The first year of the class expansion from 2 classes to 4. Among the stadiums used to stage the city championship were the Chicago Coliseum, International Amphitheater, the UIC Pavilion, and recently the United Center. When the boys championship was contested for the first time at the United Center in 2000, the league set a new state attendance record in basketball as 20,002 patrons watched Westinghouse earn

2881-427: The following year Cooley prevailed and the league contests were ended, and schoolgirl basketball in the city went into rapid decline. A few schools, notably Hyde Park and North Division, continued to field teams to at least 1910. Meanwhile, boys' competition grew dramatically after it finally took hold in 1900. The first interscholastic game on record in Illinois was that between Englewood and Elgin on March 2, 1900, and

2948-414: The following year a team championship was recognized, Lake View. Clearly track and field established itself during 1889 to 1891 as an organized sport in which participating schools thought themselves members of a Cook County conference, paralleling similar developments in football and baseball. During the 1890s, Lake View, Hyde Park, and Englewood dominated competition. Indoor baseball to the uninitiated

3015-540: The girls through the 1905–06 season, but the Victorian attitudes of educators put an end to it. Chicago superintendent of schools Edwin G. Cooley, who was making it his crusade to bring interscholastics under control, began putting pressure on the principals to stop the formation of the league in January, 1906. The girls managed to persevere with a league that season, probably with the support of sympathetic principals, but

3082-417: The league's sports, but it was not until February, 1900, that league competition leading to a championship was established. The teams competing in the league the first year were Austin, Englewood, Hyde Park, and West Division. Oak Park had a team but chose not to join that first year. Englewood beat Austin for the title in 1900. The earliest schoolboy basketball in Illinois was played by an affiliated school of

3149-542: The league, changes in state qualification have now allowed the division champions in the Chicago Conference to also participate in the state tournament, which means at least eight CPS programs will battle in the Downstate Dance. The Intra-City Conference still cannot vie for either a state or city title. CPL sanctioning of basketball dates back to 1913, when the CPL was formed. The CPL didn't play for

3216-463: The most city titles in the sport of any school, having won its 24th title in 2022. It is the most titles for any sports team in league history. Between 1972 and 2002, the CPL had enjoyed status as sending its city champion to the Illinois State Finals in numerous other sports, including soccer, wrestling and softball. Prior to 1972, the Lane boys' swim team enjoyed nine state titles in the 1930s and 1940s,

3283-518: The other sports, so that the girls began interschool competition in basketball, volleyball, and softball. However, when the CPL schools began joining the IHSAA in 1926 (so as to participate in the state golf, tennis, and track and field contests, in which the IHSAA that year assumed joint sponsorship with the University of Illinois) the league then ended its sponsorship of girls' golf, tennis, and swimming, and cracked down on girls' interscholastic contests in

3350-480: The other sports. The CPL did not return to girls' interscholastics until the early 1970s, with the passage of Title IX by the federal government in 1972. Beginning with the Great Migration coming in the 1920s, a number of schools became predominantly African-American, notably Phillips (started as South Division), DuSable (started as New Phillips), Dunbar , Forrestville (now King), Carver; and later into

3417-408: The podium. The last state title earned by the CPL was 1973 (Hubbard); since then, the closest the league has come to a state championship was Fenger's second-place finish in 1986. A tradition that has been a staple of the CPL baseball ranks has been the city title game played in either of the major league stadiums, Wrigley Field or Guaranteed Rate Field (formerly Comiskey Park ). Lane Tech has

SECTION 50

#1732798437203

3484-480: The same with sophomores for the varsity. The elementary school sports program which offers 17 sports for girls and boys in grades five through eight for 500 schools was developed in the late 1990s by the league as a way to close the athletic gap between the CPL and its parochial counterpart, the Chicago Catholic League / Girls Catholic Athletic Conference . Today, coaches in the high school sector of

3551-534: The school webpage, is one source to get school or team apparel. However, an unofficial online source is the CPS fan store . Cook County High School League The Cook County High School League in Chicago and its suburbs was one of the pioneer interscholastic leagues in the country. It came together during 1889–1890, conducting its first track and field meet in the spring of 1889, its first football championship in

3618-465: The schools would be under its jurisdiction. The suburban schools joined by University High formed the Suburban League (Chicago area) . In the first 15 years of the Public league's history a full plethora of sports were offered. The dominant powers were such traditional powers as Hyde Park, Lane Tech, Crane Tech, Englewood, joined by new powers Senn , Lindblom, Schurz , and Tilden Tech. The mid-1920s saw

3685-440: The second half of the 20th century with Julian , Simeon , Curie , Orr , and Kennedy . The advent of charter schools in the late 1990s and early 2000s yet saw another expansion of the league as schools such as CICS, Noble Network of Charter Schools , and ACE Technical Charter High School were included. The CPL as it stands today is very diverse with nearly every major nationality and race represented in all sports. The CPL

3752-591: The sports that they are assigned. Some coordinators handle multiple sports: one example is Mickey Pruitt , a graduate of Robeson and former member of the Chicago Bears . Pruitt currently governs competition in football, wrestling and lacrosse. David Rosengard currently serves as the Executive Director of Sports Administration for Chicago Public Schools. Nearly every sport has four playing levels: Varsity, Sophomore, Freshman and Elementary. Incoming freshmen can 'play-up' to either sophomore or varsity levels;

3819-492: The state of Illinois, the best showing ever by a Public League team. He finished his high school career with more than 2,000 rushing yards and 32 touchdowns. He was named All-state once and All-city twice. He also practiced basketball . Pruitt accepted a football scholarship from the University of Colorado , becoming a part of Bill McCartney 's first recruiting class. He was named a starter (8 starts) at strong safety as

3886-515: The state tournament. Another reason schools play for The Shield is the venues that they play in. Every year The Shield is contested in a number of professional or major college stadiums. Over the years they have included Soldier Field, the UIC Pavilion, United Center , International Amphitheater , Chicago Coliseum , Chicago Stadium , Wrigley Field, Comiskey Park-US Cellular Field, Loyola University Chicago , Chicago State University , Northeastern Illinois University , and DePaul University . With

3953-403: The very next year the game had mushroomed so much that a league of eight schools was formed—Englewood, English High, Evanston, Hyde Park, Marshall, Medill, North Division, and West Division. The number of schools steadily increased each year and the competition intensified until the demise of the league. Other sports added by the league in subsequent years were cross country in 1908, soccer in

4020-404: The winning Super Bowl XXVII team. He was cut on August 29, 1993 . On July 20, 1994 , he was signed as a free agent by the Philadelphia Eagles . He was released on August 23. From 1995 to 1996, he was a football graduate assistant for the University of Colorado. From 1997 to 1999, Pruitt joined the University of Hawaii Warriors football team as an assistant football coach. In 1999, he

4087-494: Was adopted, but it was probably sometime around 1881, at least for some of the suburban schools. One should not imagine that the competition was anywhere near as organized as it is today. Instead, boys in each of the schools formed a club with an "eleven"—to use the vernacular of the day. The clubs then issued challenges to other schools to participate in games. There were no teachers, no coaches, no uniforms, no laid-out fields, and no schedules. There were various league set up during

SECTION 60

#1732798437203

4154-466: Was re-activate on October 11. He appeared in 12 contests, starting at strongside linebacker in the twelfth game against the New York Giants , posting a single-game career-high 9 tackles. On September 1, 1992 , he was released to make room for linebacker Bobby Abrams . He was re-signed on November 18. He appeared in the last 6 games, registering 5 special teams tackles. He was a part of

4221-416: Was the predecessor sport of softball and popular in Chicago during the 1890s and during the first decade after the turn of the century. A 17-inch ball and a narrow bat was used so as to facilitate play inside armories and similarly large indoor facilities. (Later, when the game was moved outdoors, the ball's circumference was reduced to 16 inches.) The game had been invented by George Hancock in 1887 at

4288-400: Was the third sport to garner interscholastic interest, with the earliest references dating back to December 1886. The first activities were intramural field days conducted by such schools as Evanston, Hyde Park, and North Division. These activities by the various schools built up to an interscholastic field day on June 8, 1889, for all the Cook County schools. No team champion was determined, but

4355-533: Was then hired by Polytechnic to coach their team for the following season. The following year North Division met Brooklyn Boys' High in New York and beat them 75 to 0, which was not as close as the score indicated according to the New York Times report. The story of the development of baseball among Cook County schools was similar to that of football. There were several baseball leagues that were formed in

4422-516: Was thoroughly established among Cook County high schools. A true measure how well the game progressed in Chicago can be found by leaping ahead a few years to take a look at a couple intersectional competitions in which Cook County schools participated, in what were then pretentiously billed as "national championships." In the fall of 1902 Hyde Park, featuring the great Walter Eckersall at quarterback, slaughtered Brooklyn Polytechnic 105 to 0 at University of Chicago 's Marshall Field. The Hyde Park coach

4489-413: Was won by Oak Park. The next year there was no follow-up Cook County tourney. Instead a "Western Interscholastic Tennis Games" was held involving "high and preparatory schools" at the University of Chicago. Clearly, by 1894 tennis had been established as a regular sport among the Cook County schools, even though an annual tournament specifically for these schools was not being held. It was not until 1909 that

#202797