Trivia and Highlights

S.P. Waltrip Sr. High Trivia and HighlightsWaltrip has the tallest flag pole in the area—when we opened it was the tallest in the state. Our original flag came from the nation’s capital and was brought by Mr. Waltrip’s friend and U.S. Congressional Representative, Mr. Albert Thomas. Waltrip was the first high school in Houston to have an original school song and it was written by Jon Enloe and Joe Stuessy, Class of 1961. When Waltrip opened in the fall of 1960, there were 166 seniors, 288 juniors, 445 sophomores and 122 freshmen. The Band started with 56 members. The first Issue of the “Tribune” was October 6, 1960 and they won Best sports writer in HISD 1960. We have had national merit scholars since the first class and in some classes eleven in one year. We had the National Defense Cadet Corp from the beginning, now ROTC. The columns in front of the school had no color but were painted bright red in the later years. The window panes were originally red to match the roof line that is red. In 1961 the seniors gift to the school was landscaping, in the tradition of Mr. Waltrip. We had a bowling club from the beginning and it was the largest extracurricular club. There is a strong rumor that that there is a bomb shelter under the football field and if you think about it, that would fit with the time as Waltrip was built during a time when this would thought to be important for the community to have. For the first 12 years , Waltrip won the Sportsmanship Award. The Waltrip Band was the last band to play for JFK before his death and The Imperial Guard marched in the parade for JFK held in downtown Houston. From the beginning, we had a number of organizations dedicated to leadership and service: High Y, Guard, NDCC, American Legion, Omega Chi Y, Tri Y, Hi Y, Student Council. In 1961, Waltrip won the national forensic tournament and orchestra, ‘best in the state’ and had national merit scholars, all-state choir. 1962: “W” Association formed, national merit scholars, national debate, 11 UIL Music, VB City Champ, first zone in FB, Swim Team 6^th in State. 1963 first winning FB season and we beat Reagan 12-0, was co-district FB champ, won golf championship and again was the best marching band and we had all state choir members. The “Gordonettes,” an all girl acapela choir, was formed being named for Mr. Cotton. In 1964, the first exchange student, BB Zone Champs, City FB Champs, Golf District and Volleyball City Champ. In 1965 we had the first color yearbook, FB Zone, BB District. In 1966, Waltrip opened a new wing at the school. Pep Rallies were held on the porch roof, there were national and state honors for choir, art and poetry and the Tribune won 1^st Columbia Scholastic Press. And the Golf team won District. Waltrip is the only school in Houston to win the City Championship in Football and Basketball in the same school year 66-67. Two boys played on both: Tim Duff and David Yaege. In 1967, Waltrip also won the State UIL One Act Play: "Donny and the Witches" with the cast of three: Bob Logan, Judy Jo Williams and Vicky Swayze. We also had City and State Championship Swim Team members. Our Water Polo team placed second in Junior Nationals. Mike Morosin trained for the Olympics while at Waltrip and participated in the Olympic Trials and was a Texas representative when the Olympics was in Mexico. We had the national sewing contest winner 1968, Pam Sebasta, and All American First Team in Football 1968, Frank Ditta. In 1969, President George Bush ’41 spoke at the school. We had more national merit scholars, chemical scholar, state typing, choir and Prep Bowl Winners. There was the basketball championship and we continued to win the Sportsmanship award. Zoning was a hot topic in 1970 and we continued to compete on all fronts in the 1970’s. The Ram was stolen by Scarborough during homecoming week in 1973. Waltrip won the Texaco Academic Challenge in 1989. The Homecoming Parade began tradition in 1998. In 2001, Waltrip was first recognized by TEA for the academic accomplishments and again in 2008, 2009. In April 2010, we ranked 4^th in Best Urban High School for Low-Income Students in Texas and in the Top 6% of High Schools in America. Waltrip is one of only 6 HISD Comprehensive High Schools in HISD to achieve TEA Recognized Status. As of 2009 graduation, Waltrip has 19,611 graduates. The highest graduating class was in 1972 with 762 and the lowest graduating class was 1998 with 128.