East Saint Louis Senior High School is the only high school in East St. Louis, Illinois. The school serves about 1,438 students in grades 9 to 12 in the East Saint Louis Public Schools district. It was featured in the Jonathan Kozol book Savage Inequalities. In 1998, East St. Louis Lincoln High School consolidated with East St. Louis High.
In addition to East St. Louis, the district (this is the sole comprehensive high school of the district) also includes portions of Canteen, Centreville, and Stites Townships in northwestern St. Clair County. The district also includes all of Washington Park, much of Alorton and Centreville, and portions of Belleville, Caseyville, Fairmont City, Fairview Heights, and Madison.
Contents
Sports
East St. Louis Senior High School won the 2008 Class 7A football state championship against Geneva High School. The Flyers have a storied history in Illinois high school football, having won the state championship over a half-dozen times and the national championship twice. The Flyers beat Prairie Ridge in 2022 for the Class 6A football title. From 1976 to the beginning of the 1995 season, the Flyers' coach was Bob Shannon. Two years of Flyers football during that period were the subject of a book, The Right Kind of Heroes.
The Flyers compete in the Southwestern Conference.
Notable alumni
Hank Bauer, former MLB right fielder (New York Yankees, Kansas City Athletics) and manager (Kansas City Athletics, Baltimore Orioles); 8x World Series champion; member of Baltimore Orioles Hall of Fame.
Tom Bayless, former NFL offensive and defensive lineman
Ed Blake, former MLB pitcher for the Cincinnati Reds and the Kansas City Athletics
Rose Marion Boylan, (ca. 1875–1947) known professionally as Rose Marion, newspaper reporter and clubwoman
Walter Boyne, author of 32 books and 500 articles about aviation; was the director of the National Air & Space Museum
Luther Burden III, NFL wide receiver for the Chicago Bears
Homer Bush, former MLB second baseman; 1998 World Series Champion
Don Choate, former MLB pitcher
Jimmy Connors, tennis Hall of Famer
Brandon Henderson, college football offensive lineman for the University of Illinois football
Bryan Cox, former NFL linebacker; NFL assistant coach
Cleveland Crosby, former NFL defensive end
Al Dixon, former NFL tight end
William Dollar, one of the nation's leading performers in the terpsichorean art of ballet
Thomas L. Fekete, Illinois state representative and lawyer
Larry Gladney, Professor of Physics, Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut
Kerry Glenn, former NFL cornerback
Dawn Harper-Nelson, Olympic hurdler; gold medalist in 100-meter hurdles at 2008 Summer Olympics
James Harris, former NFL defensive end
Dana Howard, former NFL linebacker; 1994 Dick Butkus Award winner; 2017 College Football Hall of Fame inductee.
Sam Jethroe, oldest baseball player to win "Rookie of the Year" award with the Boston Braves
Antonio Johnson, current NFL defensive back
Shelby Jordan, former NFL offensive tackle for the New England Patriots and the Los Angeles Raiders
Bennie Lewis, small forward for Frankston Blues of Australia's SEABL
Keontez Lewis, college football wide receiver for the Oklahoma Sooners
Dominic Lovett, football player
Jean Madeira, opera mezzo-soprano.
Joe May, gospel singer known as the "Thunderbolt of the Midwest"Jackie
Darius Miles, class of 2000, former NBA power forward
Montez Murphy, former NFL defensive tackle
Damien Nash, former NFL running back
Toriano Pride, college football defensive back for the Clemson Tigers and the Missouri Tigers
Al Randolph, former NFL defensive back
Victor Scott, former NFL defensive back
Dennis Stallings, former NFL linebacker
Bob Turley, former MLB pitcher; 1958 Cy Young Award winner, World Series MVP, and AL wins leader.
Bill Walker, former MLB pitcher with the New York Giants and St. Louis Browns; 2× NL ERA leader.
Johnny Wyrostek, former MLB outfielder; 2× MLB All-Star with Cincinnati Reds
Marion Lee Wilde, class of 1939, one of the Wilde Twins. Movie actress 1942–1949
Mary Lynn Wilde, class of 1939, one of the Wilde Twins. Movie actress 1942–1953
Kellen Winslow, class of 1975, former NFL tight end for San Diego Chargers; Pro Football and College Football Hall of Fame inductee