J.M. Tate High School is a secondary school in

Cantonment, Florida Cantonment is a town in Escambia County, Florida. It is a suburb of Pensacola, and is located in the Pensacola metropolitan Area. Cantonment is located north of Gonzalez, and south of Molino. It is centered around U.S. Route 29, and extends to ...

, United States. The school is part of the

Escambia County School District The Escambia County School District (ECSD) is the organization responsible for the administration of public schools in all of Escambia County, Florida, in the United States. The district currently administers 35 elementary schools, nine middle sch ...

History

Tate High School was founded in 1878 by James Madison Tate Sr., a

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that h ...

, minister and former lawyer. The school was originally called Roberts High School and was one of the first high schools established in Escambia County. The original school building was one room with a sawdust floor; students sat on wooden benches. Initially, Tate taught all of the grades himself. Tate taught at Roberts High until 1913, when he retired. In 1917, the James Madison Tate Sr. Agricultural School was completed. The school was a two-story brick building with eight classrooms. Establishment of the agricultural school advanced the agricultural programs already in place at the original Roberts High. In 1927, O.A. Strange became principal of Tate High School. During his 24-year tenure as head of the school, 10 buildings were added to the campus and the school transformed from a small rural school to a modern high school.

Student organizations and athletics

During the early days of Tate High, there was no football equipment, so the school's main sports were basketball and baseball. Tate's baseball team has won seven state championships since 1960. One of the school's most accomplished baseball players,

Don Sutton Donald Howard Sutton (April 2, 1945 – January 19, 2021) was an American professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for 23 seasons as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers, Houston Astros, Milwaukee Brewers, Oakla ...

, went on to major league fame with the

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

. The football team won the 4A state championship in 1980 under coach Carl Madison. The Tate softball team won the Florida Class 7A state championship in 2015 lead by pitcher Tori Perkins. Tate's marching band, the Showband of the South, won the first official

Bands of America Bands of America (BOA) is a music education advocacy organization and promoter of high school marching band competitions in the United States, such as the annual Grand National Championships. Established in 1975 as Marching Bands of America (MBA), ...

Grand National Championship, in 1980. Tate is also known for its

drumline Marching percussion instruments are instruments specially designed to be played while moving. This is achieved by attaching the drum(s) to a special harness (also called a carrier or rack) worn by the drummer, although not all marching bands us ...

which has competed in annual world championship competitions in

Dayton, Ohio Dayton () is the sixth-largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County. A small part of the city extends into Greene County. The 2020 U.S. census estimate put the city population at 137,644, while Greater D ...

. The school's

colorguard In military organizations, a colour guard (or color guard) is a detachment of soldiers assigned to the protection of regimental colours and the national flag. This duty is so prestigious that the military colour is generally carried by a young ...

is known as the "Tate Chaparrals." In 1989, the colorguard competed in the WGI Scholastic World Class Competition, winning first place. The Tate High School FFA chapter was founded in 1929.

Notable alumni

Jay Bell Jay Stuart Bell (born December 11, 1965) is an American former Major League Baseball shortstop and former manager of the Rocket City Trash Pandas of the Southern League. He played for the Cleveland Indians (1986–88), Pittsburgh Pirates (1989� ...

– Class of 1984, Major League Baseball player, 2-time All-Star,

2001 World Series The 2001 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 2001 season. The 97th edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff between the National League (NL) champion Arizona Diamondbacks and the three-t ...

champion * Brannon Condren - Football

safety Safety is the state of being "safe", the condition of being protected from harm or other danger. Safety can also refer to the control of recognized hazards in order to achieve an acceptable level of risk. Meanings There are two slightly dif ...

for Indianapolis Colts, New York Jets *

Travis Fryman David Travis Fryman (born March 25, 1969) is an American former Major League Baseball third baseman shortstop, and a hitting instructor for the Cleveland Indians farm system. He also managed the Mahoning Valley Scrappers from 2008 to 2010 and in ...

– Class of 1987, Major League Baseball player (

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive Fi ...

, Detroit Tigers), 5-time All-Star *

Graham Gano Graham Clark Gano (born April 9, 1987) is an American football placekicker for the New York Giants of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Florida State and was signed by the Baltimore Ravens as an undrafted free age ...

- Class of 2005, Kicker for NFL's New York Giants *

Martin Holley Martin David Holley (born December 31, 1954) is an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as bishop of the Diocese of Memphis in Tennessee, from 2016 to 2018, when he was removed by Pope Francis for financial mismanagement of the dio ...

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

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* Scotti Madison - Professional baseball player ( Detroit Tigers, Kansas City Royals, Cincinnati Reds) * Sam McCorkle - College and high school football coach *

Stover McIlwain Stover William McIlwain (September 22, 1939 – January 15, 1966), nicknamed "Smokey", was an American professional baseball player. A right-handed pitcher, he appeared in two games for the 1957– 58 Chicago White Sox, making his Major League d ...

- Professional baseball player (

Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. The team is owned by Jerry Reinsdorf, and ...

) *

John Monds John Monds (born June 17, 1965) is an American politician and activist. He was the Libertarian nominee for Governor of Georgia in 2010. He was the first African American to appear on the general election ballot for Governor of Georgia. In 200 ...

– Politician, highest total votes ever attained by a Libertarian political candidate *

Dave Murzin Dave Murzin (born December 24, 1963) is a realtor and former Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives. He was born in Louisville, Kentucky. Biography Murzin's father, a retired Navy captain and dentist, moved the family to Pe ...

- Florida House of Representatives *

Clay Ingram Clay Ingram (born February 5, 1978) is a Republican politician from Florida. He served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2010 to 2018, representing parts of Escambia County. History Ingram was born in Pensacola, Florida. He served ...

- Florida House of Representatives * Fred Robbins - Class of 1995. NFL player, Super Bowl champion in 2007 ( New York Giants) * Brad Salmon - Professional baseball player ( Cincinnati Reds) *

– Class of 1963. Major League Baseball pitcher (

Atlanta Braves The Atlanta Braves are an American professional baseball team based in the Atlanta metropolitan area. The Braves compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East division. The Braves were founded in Bos ...

) and Hall of Famer. * Craig Waters – Class of 1974. Communications Director for Florida Supreme Court

References

External links

Official WebsiteOfficial Football Quarterback Club Website
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1917 Escambia County School District High schools in Escambia County, Florida Public high schools in Florida 1917 establishments in Florida