Shortridge High School is a public high school located in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States. Opened in 1864 as Indianapolis High School, it is the oldest public high school in the state of Indiana. Shortridge is the home of the International Baccalaureate program of the Indianapolis Public Schools district (IPS) and, beginning in 2018, will also house the system's magnet program for the arts and humanities.
Author Kurt Vonnegut was a notable Shortridge high school alumni, graduating in 1940, and he once said of his alma mater:
[Shortridge High is] my dream of an America with great public schools. I thought we should be the envy of the world with our public schools. And I went to such a public school. So I knew that such a school was possible. Shortridge High School in Indianapolis produced not only me, but the head writer on the I LOVE LUCY show (Madelyn Pugh). And, my God, we had a daily paper, we had a debating team, had a fencing team. We had a chorus, a jazz band, a serious orchestra. And all this with a Great Depression going on. And I wanted everybody to have such a school.
History
Shortridge High School 2014 Blue-White Scrimmage - In The Gym Hoops presents the 2014 Shortridge High School Blue - White Scrimmage.
19th century
Indianapolis High School (which was renamed as Shortridge High School in 1881) was opened in 1864, as the state of Indiana's first free public high school. Its original location was the Marion County Seminary Building. Abraham C. Shortridge was recruited to become school superintendent in 1863. Shortridge was a strict educator when it came to drilling students and faculty alike. However, he was also innovative in many ways, including the hiring of female teachers and the admission of African-American students. By 1878, Shortridge High School served 502 students. Roda Selleck, who began teaching art at the school in the 1880s, soon won acclaim for introducing "craftwork" â€" leather, pottery, jewelry, and metalwork â€" to the curriculum, and later developed a line of pottery, "Selridge Pottery", designed by students. She remained at the school until her death in 1924.
Early 20th century
In a 1903 football game against Wabash College, Wabash College coash Tug Wilson substituted an African-American left tackle by the name of Samuel Gordon, and the Shortridge captain "made a scene", forfeiting the game.
Although minority students attended Shortridge from its opening, the majority of Shortridge High School students were white. This changed in 1927, when Indianapolis opened its first purposely-segregated all-black school, Crispus Attucks High School; up until then, the city had only followed school segregation by custom and not by law. Notably, the creation of Crispus Attucks was in large part due to the influence of a branch of the Ku Klux Klan led by D.C. Stephenson, on the city's school board. Regardless, those who lived in an area where they could attend either Crispus Attucks High School or Shortridge High School were allowed to choose which school they wanted to attend; many of these students chose to attend Shortridge.
In 1928, Shortridge High School moved from downtown Indianapolis to a new building at its current location at 34th and Meridian Street on the north side of Indianapolis.
The environment in the school in the 1950s was described in the novel Going All The Way by Shortridge High alumnus Dan Wakefield (published in 1970 and adapted to film in 1997). In 1957, a Time Magazine article named Shortridge High as one of the top 38 high schools in the United States. At the same time, however, the school began to lose students to other schools, notably the newly opened North Central High School on the city's far-north side.
Civil Rights movement
Due to the changing racial makeup of the neighborhoods that fed Shortridge, some parents on the school's Parent-Teacher Association supported redrawing the Shortridge district to find a more even racial balance. By 1964, some felt that the school had reached a crisis. A protest march that fall from the school to Indianapolis Public Schools offices was supported by 200 students. In 1965, the Indianapolis Board of School Commissioners turned Shortridge into an all-academic high school. Beginning in the 1966â€"67 school year, an entrance examination was required for enrollment. In the 1966â€"67 school year only 272 freshmen enrolled, 46% of whom were black. Though efforts were made over the next four years to increase enrollment, they were not effective. The 1966 elections saw the school board change, including the loss of Richard Lugar, a Shortridge High graduate and academic plan supporter, who ran for, and was elected as, mayor of the city of Indianapolis. By 1967, the new school board voted 5â€"2 to abolish the short-lived ‘Shortridge Plan’.
As the 1960s progressed, so-called "white flight" in the neighborhoods immediately surrounding the school led to a predominantly-black student body. During the 1950â€"1970 period, the racial demographics of the Shortridge district began to change rapidly. As an example, the Mapleton-Fall Creek neighborhood, a part of the Shortridge district, changed from 82% white to 20% white).
The United States Department of Justice filed a suit in 1968 charging de jure segregation in Indianapolis. IPS responded with a desegregation plan which addressed only one of the three underlying charges. In 1971, U.S. District Judge S. Hugh Dillin found the IPS Board of School Commissioners to be guilty of de jure segregation.
Many large and small protests and causes occurred at Shortridge during the late 1960s. This was a trend seen at other local high schools, colleges, and American society in general. One in particular is sometimes referred to as "The Shortridge Incident."
In February 1969, Shortridge student Otto Breeding was arrested for "disorderly conduct" after a disagreement with school officials over appropriate clothing. He had been asked to not wear a T-shirt advertising a radical black organization. Students who felt this was unfair attempted to disrupt the school, pulling fire alarms, and chanting “Black Power†in the halls. The next day an ad hoc group of students presented the assistant principal with four demands. The response to the petition did not satisfy them. The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra was scheduled to present a concert the next day in the school's historic auditorium, Caleb Mills Hall. Approximately twenty students rose and left as the orchestra played "The Star Spangled Banner". The protesters then congregated at a youth project run by the Reverend Luther Hicks. Reverend Hicks calmed the students and helped them to plan a non-violent protest. The students returned to Shortridge and gathered in front of the building and shouted various protest chants (e.g. “Say it loud! I’m black and I’m proud.â€). As the protest continued, the police were called, and thirty students and adults were taken to the Marion County Jail. Most were charged with resisting arrest and disorderly conduct. One civil rights leader, Griffin Bell, was charged with inciting a riot. Marion County Prosecutor Noble Pearcy attempted to have the minor students declared "incorrigible" in an attempt to stop school unrest. This caused mixed reactions within the community, leading some of the city's religious leaders to side with the students. While the charges wound their way through the courts, a "freedom school" was set up to help the suspended students keep up with their academic work. The case eventually reached the Indiana Supreme Court to decide jurisdiction. Eventually, all charges against the students were dismissed and three civil rights leaders were given fines, with one receiving six months at the Indiana State Prison Farm.
Recent years
Shortridge High School closed in 1981, although it reopened a few years lateras Shortridge Middle School (grades 6 to 8). In 2009, the school added a high school magnet (grades 9 to 12) focused on law and public policy. ; in 2015, the magnet program was moved to Arsenal Technical High School, as the Indianapolis Public Schools board voted to move their International Baccalaureate (IB) program from Gambold Preparatory High School to Shortridge High School. This plan proved controversial by Shortridge families at the time, who argued the move was primarily designed to cater to wealthier white families while forcing poorer children and children of color out of the school.
The Shortridge Daily Echo
In 1898, the school established a daily newspaper, The Shortridge Daily Echo. It was the first daily high school newspaper in the entire country. It continued its daily status until the 1970s, when it was converted to a weekly publication. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., and Donald Ring Mellett are two notable alumni who served as editors of the Echo.
The paper won many awards over the years. In its final year, the Echo second place overall award by the Columbia University Scholastic Press Association. Michael N. Selby and Edie Cassell were the last co-editors-in-chief, and Chris Keys was the last sports editor of the Shortridge Weekly Echo when it ceased publication with the school's closure in 1981. However, this was not the Echo's last call. When Shortridge was reopened as a high school in 2009, students brought back the Echo as well, published weekly.
Sports
In a state where basketball is king, Shortridge High had its moment in the sun in the 1967â€"68 season. The Blue Devils won their way to the final game of the Indiana state championship, only to lose by eight points. However, over the years Shortridge High won state championships in golf (five titles, three times runners-up), wrestling (twice), track and field (twice, and runners-up twice), and cross country (twice, and runners-up twice).
Late in the 1970s the Blue Devils began to emerge as baseball power in the city. The Blue Devils reached the sectional finals in 1979, despite fielding a team of mostly sophomores. Notably Eric Johnson, a sophomore transfer from southern California, set a school record in 1979 by posting 12 Runs batted in, in a single game against Arsenal Technical High School.
IHSAA boys' wrestling
IHSWCA Hall of Fame wrestlers
- Frank Anderson, inducted 1990
- Charles Blackwell, inducted 1995
- James Hill, inducted 1976
- Dr. John Hobbs, inducted 1988
- David Jeter, inducted 1981
- Drayton Praed, inducted 1977
- Coach Paul Dill, inducted 1973
- Coach Harold Grundy, inducted 2009
- Indianapolis City championship (5) 1967â€"68 The 5 City Champions were, 98 lbs. George O'Neal
112Â lbs.John Bush,138Â lbs.Harold Grundy, 145Â lbs.James Gardner, 185Â lbs. William Coleman.
Team state wrestling championships
- 1958â€"59, Coach Paul Dill
- 1966â€"67, Coach George Bohlin
Individual state wrestling champions
- 1951â€"52, James Bose (138 lbs.), Richard Anthony (175)
- 1952â€"53, Drayton Praed (154), David Jeter (165)
- 1953â€"54, Drayton Praed (154)
- 1954â€"55, James Hill (112), Frank Anderson (133), David Jeter (165)
- 1955â€"56, James Hill (112)
- 1958â€"59, Melvin Jeter (165)
- 1962â€"63, James Blackwell (145), William Beacham (154)
- 1964â€"65, Earl Price (heavyweight)
- 1965â€"66, Charles Blackwell (154)
- 1966â€"67, James Gardner(145)
- 1969â€"70, Desmond Smith(165)
- 1970â€"71, John Hobbs(105)
- 1971â€"72, John Hobbs(105)
IHSAA boys' track & field
Team state champion
- 1903â€"04 Coach Parmalee
- 1907â€"08 runner-up
- 1908â€"09 runner-up
- 1914â€"15 Coach S. Roach
Individual champions
High Jump
- 1904â€"05 Murat DeWeese, McLaughlin (tie 5â€"4 ¾)
- 1907â€"08 Harold Morrison 5â€"8 ¾
- 1908â€"09 Harold Morrison 5â€"7 ½
- 1958â€"59 Gerry Williams 6â€"6.0
Long jump
- 1905â€"06 Murat DeWeese 20â€"6 ½
- 1907â€"08 Hendrickson 20â€"2 ½
- 1908â€"09 Harold Morrison 21â€"3 ¼
100-yard dash
- 1903â€"04 Russell Joseph 10​1â„5
- 1937â€"38 Alfred Piel 10.3
220-yard dash
- 1903â€"04 Russell Joseph 23​3â„5
- 1937â€"38 Alfred Piel 22.7
440-yard dash
- 1907â€"08 R. Hendrickson 55.0
- 1915â€"16 Butler 55.6
880-yard dash
- 1904â€"05 Patton 2:11​4â„5
- 1950â€"51 Bob Bruce 2:00.4
Mile
- 1903â€"04 George Steep 12 5:04.0
- 1927â€"28 Patterson 4:40.1
120-yard high hurdles
- 1915â€"16 Moore 17.2
220-yard low hurdles
- 1915â€"16 Wilson 27.2
880-yard relay
- 1928â€"29 1:37.8
- 1937â€"38 1:33.7
Mile relay
- 1935â€"36 3:32.2
IHSAA boys' cross country
State team champions
- 1953â€"54 Coach Tom Haynes
- 1954â€"55 Coach Tom Haynes
- 1959â€"60 Runner-up
IHSAA boys' golf
Golf team state champions (5 â€" second-most state championships in state history)
- 1934â€"35 Coach Simon Roache
- 1936â€"37 Coach Simon Roache
- 1948â€"49 Coach Peterman
- 1949â€"50 Coach Peterman
- 1952â€"53 runner-up
- 1953â€"54 runner-up
- 1955â€"56 runner-up
- 1956â€"57 state champion
Golf Individual medallists
- 1934â€"35 Richard McCreary 73
- 1948â€"49 Peter Burkholder 73
- 1949â€"50 William Kerr 73
- 1954â€"55 Don Essig 73
- 1955â€"56 Dan Burton 73
- 1956â€"57 Charles Griffith 71
IHSAA boys' basketball
IHSAA Basketball Hall of Fame coach George Theofanis (coached 1966â€"1969)
Basketball sectional championships (10)
- 1924â€"25 Indianapolis
- 1925â€"26 Indianapolis
- 1930â€"31 Indianapolis
- 1932â€"33 Indianapolis
- 1935â€"36 Indianapolis
- 1937â€"38 Indianapolis
- 1939â€"40 Indianapolis
- 1966â€"67 Indianapolis Coliseum
- 1967â€"68 Indianapolis Coliseum
- 1968â€"69 Indianapolis Coliseum
Basketball regional championships (4)
- 1930â€"31 Anderson
- 1932â€"33 Indianapolis
- 1966â€"67 Indianapolis
- 1967â€"68 Indianapolis
Basketball semi state championships (1)
- 1967â€"68 Indianapolis
Basketball runner-up state championship (1)
- 1967â€"68 Indianapolis
Women's Basketball State Champs (1)
- 1904 (Men not allowed to watch)
Notable alumni
- Ada Walter Shulz â€" painter
- Albert William Levi â€" philosopher, first Ralph Waldo Emerson Award recipient, first Washington University Humanities Chair, and Black Mountain College Rector (1947â€"1950)
- Andrew Jacobs, Jr. â€" U.S. House of Representatives, Class of 1949
- Bill Libby â€" Sports author
- Bill Shirley â€" actor and singer
- Booth Tarkington â€" author (attended but did not graduate from Shortridge)
- Claude G. Bowers â€" newspaperman, historian, author and US ambassador, Class of 1896
- Dan Burton â€" United States House of Representatives, Class of 1956
- Dan Wakefield â€" author, Class of 1950
- Don Mellett â€" journalist, editor, Pulitzer Prize winner (posthumous), Class of 1909
- Easley Blackwood â€" internationally acclaimed composer, pianist and professor of music at University of Chicago, Class of 1950
- Frank J. Anderson â€" first African-American sheriff of Marion County, Indiana, IHSWCA Hall of Fame wrestler, Class of 1959
- Honor Moore â€" poet and non-fiction writer, whose works include The Bishop's Daughter, memoir of relationship with her father, Episcopal Bishop Paul Moore, Class of 1963
- Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. â€" acclaimed best-selling author of Slaughterhouse-Five and other novels, lecturer, professor, World War II veteran, Class of 1940
- Hans Paul Mengering â€" structural engineer, highly decorated and wounded World War II 82nd Airborne glider veteran, and late stepfather (1983â€"2013) of humorist David Letterman, Class of 1940
- Kurt Vonnegut, Sr. â€" architect of Vonnegut & Bohn and Vonnegut, Wright & Yeager, Class of 1902
- Lebbeus Woods â€" experimental architect and artist, Class of 1959
- Madelyn Pugh â€" writer for I Love Lucy and The Lucy Show, Class of 1938
- Marguerite Young â€" English teacher at Shortridge who received international recognition for her 1965 epic novel Miss MacIntosh, My Darling, Class of 1926
- Mary Fink - civil servant Class of 1934
- Charles Jordan - professional basketball player, Indiana Pacers, Europe, class of 1972
- Mary Ritter Beard â€" historian and feminist scholar
- Maurice E. Shearer â€" Brigadier General, Marine Corps, led Marines in World War I Battle of Belleau Wood, France; awarded Navy Cross, Army Distinguished Service Cross, Navy Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star, French Legion of Honor, Aide to Secretary of the Navy Fleet, used USS Indianapolis as his normal flagship, US Ambassador
- Noble Sissle â€" musician, composer
- Paul Harmon, management consultant and business author
- Raymond A. Spruance â€" Admiral, commander of Task Force 16 at Midway; as Commander of Central Pacific Force, later 5th
- Richard Lugar â€" United States Senator, Class of 1950
- Wallace Terry â€" journalist and oral historian, Class of 1956
- William E. McAnulty, Jr. â€" attorney, First African American justice on the Kentucky Supreme Court, Class of 1965
- William Afflis â€" professional player (Green Bay Packers) and professional wrestler as "Dick the Bruiser", Class of 1947
- Clinton L. Hare â€" manager, organizer, football coach, attorney, grocer, Class of 1883
- Lloyd "Skip" Martin â€" Jazz musician, played in the Shortridge band and went on to write for Count Basie, Duke Elligton and play with many big bands like Glenn Miller and Charlie Barnett. Class of 1934
- Marcellus Greene â€" football player
- Sharon E. Watkins â€" general minister and president of Christian Church (Disciples of Christ); she delivered sermon at National Prayer Service in Washington, D.C. on January 21, 2009, at invitation of President Barack Obama
References
