James Hillhouse High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school in

New Haven, Connecticut New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134 ...

. It serves grades 9–12. James Hillhouse High School is the oldest public

high school A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...

in New Haven, and is part of the New Haven Public Schools.

History

Established in 1859 as New Haven High School,Pamela McLoughlin
"Hillhouse celebrates 150th anniversary"
''

New Haven Register The ''New Haven Register'' is a daily newspaper published in New Haven, Connecticut. It is owned by Hearst Communications. The Register's main office is located at 100 Gando Drive in New Haven. The ''Register'' was established about 1812 and ...

'', November 20, 2008. Hillhouse High School is New Haven's oldest public high school. Originally located on Orange Street, it adopted its nickname, "The Academics", in acknowledgment of its close association with

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

.James E. Hillhouse High School Athletic History
, Hillhouse Athletic Hall of Fame website, accessed February 11, 2010; archive

In 1863, the school was moved to a building at Orange and Wall Streets, which was replaced in 1871 by a new school. The school is named in honor of

James Hillhouse James Hillhouse (October 20, 1754 – December 29, 1832) was an American lawyer, real estate developer, and politician from New Haven, Connecticut. He represented the state in both chambers of the US Congress. From February to March 1801, Hill ...

of New Haven, who represented Connecticut in the

U.S. Congress The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washin ...

in the early years of the United States' existence as a nation, serving as both a

Representative Representative may refer to: Politics * Representative democracy, type of democracy in which elected officials represent a group of people * House of Representatives, legislative body in various countries or sub-national entities * Legislator, som ...

and a Senator.The 2010 New Haven Magnet School Catalog
(New Haven Public Schools), page 31 For many years, Hillhouse served not only New Haven but also suburban towns around the city that did not have high schools of their own. Its peak enrollment was nearly 5,000 students, when the school had to conduct double sessions to accommodate the large enrollment.Hillhouse High School Sesquicentennial All-Class Reunion Banquet Saturday, May 16
The Ficklin Media Group, April 30, 2009

Statistics

The school includes grades 9 through 12 and enrolls about 979 students.

Athletics

Hillhouse became involved in athletic competition as early as 1866, when some boys formed a club to play a sport that is described as having "resembled rugby and soccer." By 1884, students were participating in several sports, including modern football, which had been invented by

Walter Camp Walter Chauncey Camp (April 7, 1859 – March 14, 1925) was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". Among a long list of inventions, he created the sport's line of scrimmage and the system ...

of New Haven. Team competition in

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding t ...

tennis Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent ( singles) or between two teams of two players each ( doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball ...

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice h ...

, indoor polo and

yacht racing Yacht racing is a sailing sport involving sailing yachts and larger sailboats, as distinguished from dinghy racing, which involves open boats. It is composed of multiple yachts, in direct competition, racing around a course marked by buoys or ...

also had been established around this time.

Basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

was introduced around the beginning of the 20th century. Hillhouse football teams have won 17 state championships, ranking the school third in the state for football championships. The boys’ and girls’ basketball teams have a combined total 33 state championships. 24 for the boys and 9 for the girls. The boys’ and girls’ track teams also have more than 25 state championships between them. The Academics also have won state championships in baseball,

swimming Swimming is the self-propulsion of a person through water, or other liquid, usually for recreation, sport, exercise, or survival. Locomotion is achieved through coordinated movement of the limbs and the body to achieve hydrodynamic thrust that r ...

, ice hockey and

In 1999, a grant was provided by the Connecticut Association of Schools to construct a fieldhouse for sports. Construction was finished in 2002, and it was named the New Haven Athletic Center, later to become the Floyd Little Athletic Center in 2011.David Borges
"New Haven renames athletic center for hometown hero and NFL star Floyd Little"
''

'', September 15, 2011. The Athletic Center houses events for basketball, indoor track, and tennis. It has a capacity of 3,500 seats.
"New Haven Athletic Center"
In 2016, the school inaugurated its brand new Bowen field (football field) after the discovery of elevated levels of toxic PCBs (Polychlorinated biphenyls) in bleacher caulking joints and exterior locker room paint in 2013 The school's official colors are blue and white and the mascot is a bulldog due to the school's early close association with Yale University. The school competes in the Hammonasset Division of the

Southern Connecticut Conference The Southern Connecticut Conference (SCC) is a high school athletics conference in Connecticut Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east ...

and the sports offered are:

Fall

*Football *Boys' Soccer (co-op with Hill Regional Career High School) *Girls' Soccer (co-op with Wilbur Cross High School) *Cross Country *Cheerleading *Volleyball

Winter

*Boys' Basketball *Girls' Basketball *Indoor Track

Spring

*Baseball *Softball *Golf *Outdoor Track - The school is known for having one of the best Basketball teams in the state winning the state championship many years: Boys Basketball State Championships: 1924, 1926, 1932, 1937, 1945, 1946, 1947, 1948, 1952, 1955, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1969, 1970, 1978, 1984, 1986, 1990, 2006, 2007, 2013, 2016, 2017. Girls Basketball State Championships: 1981, 1982, 1998, 2000, 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2011. - The football team plays Wilbur Cross High School every year on Thanksgiving in the Elm City Bowl.

Notable alumni

* Bob Barthelson, professional baseball pitcherSam Rubin,
Baseball in New Haven
', page 59 * Albie Booth, football player *

Ernest Borgnine Ernest Borgnine (; born Ermes Effron Borgnino; January 24, 1917 – July 8, 2012) was an American actor whose career spanned over six decades. He was noted for his gruff but relaxed voice and gap-toothed Cheshire Cat grin. A popular perfor ...

, actor * Joseph Payne Brennan,

New Haven New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,023 ...

poet, author, WWII/ETO veteran * John C. Daniels, mayor of New Haven *

Chad Dawson Chad Dawson (born July 13, 1982) is an American former professional boxer who competed from 2001 to 2019. He has held multiple light heavyweight world championships, and was one of the most highly regarded boxers in that division between 2006 and ...

, professional boxer * Pete Falsey,

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...

player * Harrison Fitch, UConn basketball player * Robert Giaimo, U.S. Congressman *

Louis Harris Louis Harris (January 6, 1921 – December 17, 2016) was an American opinion polling entrepreneur, journalist, and author. He ran one of the best-known polling organizations of his time, Louis Harris and Associates, which conducted The Har ...

, pollster * John Huggins, leader in the Black Panthers * Levi Jackson, first African-American to be captain of the football team at Yale University * Joan R. Kemler, the first woman to serve as Connecticut State Treasurer (1986–87) * Richard C. Lee, mayor of New Haven * Floyd Little, former 5x

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

and

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coa ...

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive handoffs from the quarterback to rush the ball, to line up as a receiver to catch the ball, and block. Ther ...

for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

* Paul McCracken, NBA and

Maccabi Tel Aviv Maccabi Tel Aviv ( he, מכבי תל אביב) is one of the largest sports clubs in Israel, and a part of the Maccabi association. Many sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv are in association with Maccabi and compete in a variety of sports, such ...

basketball player * Kevin McKeown, mayor of Santa Monica, California *

Constance Baker Motley Constance Baker Motley (September 14, 1921 – September 28, 2005) was an American jurist and politician, who served as a Judge of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. A key strategist of the civil rights mov ...

, civil rights activist and politician *

Maurice Podoloff Maurice Podoloff ( yi, מוריס פודולוף; August 18, 1890 – November 24, 1985) was an American lawyer and a basketball and ice hockey administrator. He served as the president of the Basketball Association of America (BAA) between 1946 ...

, first president of the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

* Judith Schiff, chief research archivist,

Artie Shaw Artie Shaw (born Arthur Jacob Arshawsky; May 23, 1910 – December 30, 2004) was an American clarinetist, composer, bandleader, actor and author of both fiction and non-fiction. Widely regarded as "one of jazz's finest clarinetists", Shaw led ...

, jazz clarinetist and big band leader *

Vincent Scully Vincent Joseph Scully Jr. (August 21, 1920 – November 30, 2017) was an American art historian who was a Sterling Professor of the History of Art in Architecture at Yale University, and the author of several books on the subject. Architect Phil ...

, architectural historian * William Starkweather, artist * Raymond St. Jacques, actor. * Dick Tettelbach, former MLB player (

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

, Washington Senators) * George Weiss, MLB executiveDurso, Joseph. "George Weiss Dies at 78; Guided Yankees and Mets". ''The New York Times''. August 14, 1972. *

Terrell Wilks Terrell Wilks (born December 30, 1989) is an American sprinter who specializes in the 100 and 200 metres. He competed for University of Florida and had numerous All American Honors. He then signed a professional contract with Saucony A native of ...

, sprinter and All American at University of Florida

References

External links

* {{authority control Schools in New Haven, Connecticut Educational institutions established in 1859 Public high schools in Connecticut 1859 establishments in Connecticut