Butler Area Senior High School is a coeducational public senior high school in Butler, Pennsylvania, United States, serving grades 10–12. It is the senior high school for the

Butler Area School District The Butler Area School District is a very large school district in western Pennsylvania. It encompasses approximately and covers the City of Butler, the Boroughs of Connoquenessing and East Butler and Butler Township, Center Township, Clea ...

. The school was founded in 1908, moved to a larger building on an adjacent site in 1917, and moved again to its current site in 1960.

History

Butler Senior High School was originally opened in a yellow-brick building on a site bounded by McKean, East North, Cliff, and New Castle Streets in central Butler. In 1917 it moved to a three-story red-brick building across Cliff Street, the original building becoming the junior high school. In 1937 it was named John A. Gibson High School, in honor of the district superintendent who retired that year. In 1960 it moved again, to a new building on Campus Lane. The 1917 building is now the junior high school, with an annex built in 1994–95 occupying the site of the 1908 building.

Extracurricular programs

The Senior High is home to the Butler Golden Tornado athletics teams and offers a variety of clubs, activities and sports.

Marching band

The Butler Golden Tornado Marching Band marches 175 students, who audition for their places.

Junior Reserve Officers Training Corps

Butler High School has an Army J.R.O.T.C. program battalion, the Tornado Battalion.

Notable alumni

Sports Major League Baseball * Matt Clement, former MLB pitcher, All-Star, member of 2007 World Series champion Boston Red Sox * Milt Graff (1930-2005), former MLB second baseman for the Kansas City Athletics (1957-1958) * Jerry Meals, current MLB umpire *

John Stuper John Anton Stuper (born May 9, 1957) is a former baseball coach and former pitcher. He attended Point Park University before playing professionally from 1982–1985 for the St. Louis Cardinals and the Cincinnati Reds. He then served as the head ...

, former MLB pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals (1982-1985) and

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division and were a charter member of ...

(1985) and current coach of the Yale Bulldogs * Ed Vargo (1928-2008), MLB umpire (1960s-1970s) National Football League *

Rich Bartlewski Richard Stanley Bartlewski Jr. (born August 15, 1967) is a former American professional American football, football player who was a tight end in the National Football League (NFL) and the World League of American Football (WLAF). He played for ...

, former NFL tight end for the Los Angeles Raiders (1990) and

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. The Falcons joined th ...

(1991) * Tom Brown (1921-2013), former NFL tight end for the

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(1942) * Terry Hanratty, former American football quarterback who played in college at Notre Dame and in the NFL during the 1960s and 1970s, earned two Super Bowl rings with the Pittsburgh Steelers * Scott Milanovich, former NFL, NFL Europe, XFL, AFL, and CFL quarterback. Coached multiple CFL teams and is the head coach for the

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Bill Saul William Neal Saul (November 19, 1940 – September 12, 2006) was an American football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Baltimore Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers, New Orleans Saints, and Detroit Lions. He played college foot ...

(1940-2006), former NFL linebacker for multiple teams (1962-1970). Older brother of Rich and Ron. *

Rich Saul Richard Robert Saul (February 5, 1948 – April 15, 2012) was an American football offensive lineman who played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1970 through 1981, all with the Los Angeles Rams. He played college football at Mic ...

(1948-2012), former NFL center lineman for the

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(1970-1981). Six-time Pro Bowler. Younger brother of Bill, twin brother of Ron. *

Ron Saul Ronald Reed Saul (February 5, 1948 – June 16, 2021) was an American professional football player who was an offensive lineman in the National Football League (NFL) for the Houston Oilers and the Washington Redskins. He played college football a ...

, former NFL guard lineman for the Houston Oilers (1970-1975) and Washington Redskins (1976-1981). Younger brother of Bill, twin brother of Rich. * Paul Uram (1927-2017), American former gymnastics and flexibility coach, member of the U.S. Gymanstics Hall of Fame, coached on four Super Bowl-winning teams with the Pittsburgh Steelers Sports, other *

Jake Hildebrand Jake Hildebrand (born June 19, 1993) is an American ice hockey goaltender who is currently playing for the Löwen Frankfurt of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga (DEL). Playing career In 2012, Hildebrand enrolled at Michigan State University to play ...

, ECHL hockey player for the Kalamazoo Wings *

Harry Holiday Harry Holiday, Jr. (July 2, 1923 – February 16, 1999) was a world record holder in the backstroke at the University of Michigan in the 1940s and the president of steelmaker American Rolling Mill Co. (Armco) from 1974 to 1986. Holiday was the N ...

, world record-setting swimmer and Armco CEO *

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, former heavyweight boxer (2002-2016) * John Minton (1948–1995), former professional wrestler known by the name Big John Studd. Winner of multiple championship titles. Inductee of the WCW and WWE Hall of fame. * Eric Namesnik (1970–2006), two-time silver medalist Olympic swimmer for men's 400-meter individual relay (1992 & 1996) *

David Pichler David Pichler (born September 3, 1968) is an American Olympic diver representing the United States in 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta and in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, where Pichler was elected team captain. Pichler and Mark Ruiz won th ...

, Olympic diver (1996 & 2000), dive team captain in 2000, did not place *

Meghan Schnur Meghan Elisabeth Schnur (born April 16, 1985) is a retired American soccer midfielder, who played for Sky Blue FC of Women's Professional Soccer, and was a member of the United States U-23 women's national soccer team. Schnur is an alumnus of Bu ...

, is an NSCAA All-American for University of Connecticut (2007) and an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

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midfielder currently playing for Sky Blue FC of Women's Professional Soccer and member of the

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. Film, Stage & Television *

Chester Aaron Chester Aaron (May 9, 1923 – August 30, 2019) was an American writer. Early life and education He was born in Butler, Pennsylvania to Albert and Celia (Charleson) Aaron. He attended the following schools: Butler Senior High School, UCLA, UC ...

(1932-2019), author with over two dozen publications *

Marc Blucas Marcus Paul Blucas (born January 11, 1972) is an American actor. Prior to his acting career, he played college basketball with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. He had his first starring role as soldier and love interest Riley Finn on the WB super ...

, actor, best known by his portrayal of

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in ''

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'' *

Joan Chandler Joan Chandler (born Joan Cheeseman; August 24, 1923 – May 11, 1979) was an American actress who notably starred in ''Rope'' (1948) with James Stewart and ''Humoresque'' (1946) with Joan Crawford. The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Carl Cheeseman, C ...

(1923-1979), actress, best known for her roles in

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's '' Rope'' (1948) with

James Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...

and '' Humoresque'' (1946) with Joan Crawford. * Josie Carey (1930-2004), the host of ''The Children's Corner'' on WQED in Pittsburgh. Fred Rogers was a puppeteer and musician on her show for seven years before creating '' Mister Rogers' Neighborhood''. * Barbara Feldon, actress and model, best known for her portrayal of Agent 99 of the TV series '' Get Smart'' * Grace Gealey, actress, portrayed 'Anika' on the

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series '' Empire'' * Fred McCarren (1951-2006), actor, best known for his roles in ''

Amanda's ''Amanda's'' (also known as ''Amanda's by the Sea'') is an American sitcom television series based on the 1970s British sitcom ''Fawlty Towers'' that aired on ABC from February 10 to May 26, 1983. The series starred Bea Arthur as Amanda Cartwrig ...

'' (1983) and '' Hill Street Blues'' (1984). * Michele Pawk, Tony Award-winning actress (2003, Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play, ''Hollywood Arms'') Music *

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, band leader and composer * Jim Pugh, jazz trombonist and composer. Distinguished Professor of Jazz Trombone at University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign. Formerly played with

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's touring band. * William Purvis, French horn player, conductor and Musical Instruments Director at Yale University Public Office and Military *

Gibson E. Armstrong Gibson E. Armstrong (born August 28, 1943) is an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Republican member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 13th district from 1984 to 2009. He was a member of the Pennsylvania House of Repr ...

, former Republican PA State Representative for the 100th district (1977-1984) and PA State Senator for the 13th district (1984-2009) * Judge

William G. Bassler William G. Bassler (born March 6, 1938) is a former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, serving from 1991 until 2006. He is currently an adjunct professor at Fordham Law School in New Y ...

, former United States district judge of the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey (1991-2006) * Brian Ellis, former Republican PA State Representative for the 11th House district (2005-2019) *

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, former

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for the U.S. Navy (2011-2015) * Mike Kelly, local businessman and representative for *

Donald Oesterling Donald Oswald Oesterling (June 2, 1927 – January 20, 2013) was an American politician from Pennsylvania who served as a Democratic member of the Pennsylvania State Senate for the 21st district from 1965 to 1972. Early life Donald O. Oesterlin ...

(1927-2013), former Democratic PA State Senator * William J. Perry, American mathematician, engineer, businessman, and civil servant who was the United States Secretary of Defense under President Bill Clinton * Rick Santorum, American politician, attorney, and political commentator, former United States Senator from Pennsylvania *

Peter Talleri Major General Peter John Talleri retired in September, 2013, after serving 34 years in the United States Marine Corps. At retirement, Maj. Gen. Talleri was the U. S. Marine Corps senior logistics professional in the Pacific. In 2008, Maj. Gen ...

, retired U.S. Marine Corps major general Technology * Jay Last, physicist, silicon pioneer, and member of the

Traitorous Eight The traitorous eight was a group of eight employees who left Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in 1957 to found Fairchild Semiconductor. William Shockley had in 1956 recruited a group of young Ph.D. graduates with the goal to develop and produce ...

, founding father of Silicon Valley *

Carl Yankowski Carl J. Yankowski (born 1948) is an American businessman who is the former CEO of Palm, Inc. and Ambient Devices. Early life Yankowski attended Butler Senior High School in Butler, Pennsylvania, graduating in 1966. He gained simultaneous degre ...

, businessman and former CEO of Palm, Inc. and

Ambient Devices Ambient Devices, Inc. is a privately held company founded in 2001 and based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA that designs and markets various ambient devices for display of information ranging from weather to traffic reports to stock quotes. Th ...

. Pageants * Michele McDonald,

Miss USA 1971 Miss USA 1971 was the 20th Miss USA pageant, televised live by CBS hosted by Bob Barker from the Jackie Gleason Auditorium in Miami Beach, Florida on May 22, 1971. The pageant was won by Michele McDonald of Pennsylvania, who was crowned by outg ...

, semi-finalist of Miss Universe 1971 Other * Daniel D'Aniello, billionaire businessman who co-founded and chaired The Carlyle Group

References

External links

* {{authority control Public high schools in Pennsylvania Schools in Butler County, Pennsylvania Education in Pittsburgh area Educational institutions established in 1908 1908 establishments in Pennsylvania