Orange High School is a traditional four-year public high school located in the city of

Orange, California Orange is a city located in northern Orange County, California, United States. It is approximately north of the county seat, Santa Ana, California, Santa Ana. Orange is unusual in this region because many of the homes in its Old Town District ...

. Orange High is part of the

Orange Unified School District Orange Unified School District (OUSD) is a Public school (government funded), public school district headquartered in Orange, California. Orange USD serves the cities of Orange, California, Orange and Villa Park, California, Villa Park, the un ...

and competes in the Golden West League.

History

Orange High School first opened on September 21, 1903 as Orange Union High School (using the Dobner Block on South Glassell as a temporary location). The first building for the new campus was completed in the summer of 1905 at Palm Ave. and Glassell St. in the city of

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

and first occupied in September of that year. Orange Union High was the county's fourth school. In its first year, there were eighty six (86) students enrolled, specializing in four areas of study: Classical, Literary, Scientific, and English. In 1904, Helen Billingsley becomes the first graduate of Orange Union High School. In 1953, Orange High School moved to its current location at 525 N. Shaffer St. (corner of N. Shaffer St. and Walnut Ave.) and its original location would eventually become the campus for

Chapman University Chapman University is a private research university in Orange, California, United States. Encompassing eleven colleges, the university is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity". The school maintains its foundi ...

and be listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

. Orange High is the oldest high school in the Orange Unified School District and currently serves downtown Orange, and small portions of southern

Anaheim Anaheim ( ) is a city in northern Orange County, California, United States, part of the Greater Los Angeles area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 346,824, making it the most populous city in Orange County, the tenth-most ...

, eastern Garden Grove and northern Santa Ana.

Sports

Orange Union High's Fred Kelly (1911) won gold in the 110 m high hurdles at the 1912 Olympics. In 1929, Orange Union High School won the Southern California Minor League Football Championship. Orange High School's gymnasium, also known as "The Dome", was dedicated to Howard (HOD) E. Chambers in 1955. In 1971, the varsity football team won the Crestview League Title, coached by Vince Deveney. In May 2011, Orange High's varsity baseball field was selected by the Baseball Tomorrow Fund and Major League Baseball Groundskeepers organization to be renovated. One high school in the United States is selected each year for this renovation depending on its proximity to the annual meeting of the groundskeeper group. The new field was unveiled on Tuesday, January 10, 2012. Orange High's varsity football team, coached by Robert Pedroza (who took over as head coach in 2015), won the

CIF Southern Section The California Interscholastic Federation-Southern Section (CIF-SS) is the governing body for high school athletics in most of Southern California and is the largest of the ten sections that comprise the California Interscholastic Federation (CI ...

Division 13 Championship in 2017 for the first time in 88 years and would later fall short, 31-29, to Strathmore High School in the state championship game. In 2017, Orange High's girls' tennis went undefeated (11–0) in league play, with an overall record of 23–2–1. That would be the last time Orange played on the original tennis courts. In 2018, the courts were upgraded, refinished, and dedicated by the

Johnson Johnson may refer to: People and fictional characters *Johnson (surname), a common surname in English * Johnson (given name), a list of people * List of people with surname Johnson, including fictional characters *Johnson (composer) (1953–2011) ...

family, long-time supporters of Orange High's tennis program. In 2019, Orange High's athletic track and field (used by sports such as football, soccer, and track) were refinished and upgraded by the school district. Because of the construction projects going on that year, Orange High sports teams that utilized the athletic field spent a season competing at off-site venues. Later that year, the varsity football team won the Orange Coast League Championship, defeating Santa Ana, 57–13, during its homecoming game at

. The team would go on to win the next two CIF rounds over

San Marino San Marino, officially the Republic of San Marino, is a landlocked country in Southern Europe, completely surrounded by Italy. Located on the northeastern slopes of the Apennine Mountains, it is the larger of two European microstates, microsta ...

and JW North, before falling to

Simi Valley Simi Valley (; Chumash: ''Shimiyi'') is a city in the valley of the same name in southeastern Ventura County, California, United States. It is from Downtown Los Angeles, making it part of the Greater Los Angeles Area. Simi Valley borders Th ...

in the third round. Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, Orange High's Football team wins the Orange Coast League Championship, finishing the regular season with an overall record of 5-1. In 2022, Orange High's Varsity Baseball team won the Orange Coast League Championship. They would finish the season with an overall record of 18-11-1, which included a first-round win in CIF. The Panthers would later fall short to the Burroughs (Burbank, CA) in a second-round loss, 7-2. Orange High Football doubled up in 2022 as their varsity team (8-2) repeated as Orange Coast League Champs (2021, 2022) after defeating Santa Ana (7-3) at "The Bowl" (Santa Ana Stadium) in Santa Ana. The Freshmen (football) team also took first place in league after a big win at home just a day earlier.

Notable alumni

* Chuck Baker, professional baseball player * Fred Kelly (1911), 1912 Olympic gold medalist in 110m high hurdles * Bill Holman,

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

winning composer, arranger * Micah Knorr, NFL punter *

Mary Decker Mary Teresa Slaney (formerly Tabb, Married and maiden names, née Decker, born August 4, 1958) is an American retired middle-distance and long-distance runner. During her career, she won gold medals in the 1500 metres, 1500 meters and 3000 metr ...

(1976), distance runner, 2-time world champion *

Gaddi Vasquez Gaddi Holguin Vasquez (born January 22, 1955) was the 8th United States Ambassador to the United Nations Agencies for Food and Agriculture, in Rome, Italy. He was nominated by President George W. Bush and unanimously confirmed by the United States ...

, Peace Corps Director and US Ambassador * Danny Califf, professional soccer player * Ali Kazemaini (1980), professional soccer league * Dave Matranga, professional baseball player *

Pamela Courson Pamela Susan Courson (December 22, 1946 – April 25, 1974) was the long-term companion of Jim Morrison, singer of the Doors. Courson stated she discovered Morrison's body in the bathtub of a Paris apartment in 1971. She died three years after h ...

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, songwriter, and poet who was the lead vocalist and primary lyricist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his charismatic persona, poetic lyrics, distinctive vo ...

's girlfriend * Steve Johnson, professional tennis player, 2016 Olympic Medalist and 2-time NCAA singles champion * Lorrin "Whitey" Harrison (1913–1993), surfing pioneer * Patrick Saunders, basketball player

References

External links

Official school website
{{authority control Educational institutions established in 1903 Education in Orange, California High schools in Orange County, California Public high schools in California 1903 establishments in California