McKinley High School (Canton, Ohio)

Public school in Ohio, United States From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

McKinley Senior High School is a public high school in Canton, Ohio, United States. It is the only secondary school in the Canton City School District and has two campuses: Downtown Campus (also known as Early College High School; formerly Timken High School) and the main campus, which is known as McKinley Senior High School. Athletic teams are known as the Bulldogs in the Ohio High School Athletic Association as a member of the Federal League.

TypePublic, coeducational high school
MottoWhere Champions are made and success is tradition
School district
Canton City School District
SuperintendentJeffrey Talbert
Quick facts Location, Information ...
McKinley Senior High School
Location
2323 17th Street NW

Canton
,
Ohio
44708

United States
Information
TypePublic, coeducational high school
MottoWhere Champions are made and success is tradition
School district
Canton City School District
SuperintendentJeffrey Talbert
Teaching staff
137.00 (FTE)[1]
Grades9–12
Enrollment2,047 (2024–25)[1]
Student to teacher ratio
14.94[1]
ColorsRed and black    
Fight songWashington and Lee Swing Fight On, McKinley
Athletics conference
Federal League
MascotBulldog
NicknamePups (by fans)
Team nameBulldogs
RivalsMassillon Tigers
YearbookPhoenix (formally The McKinleyite)
Websitemckinley.ccsdistrict.org
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History

Old McKinley High School

The original McKinley building on Market Avenue North was opened on March 27, 1918. The students of Central High School and North High School were moved to the new building. The school was named for President William McKinley whose home was across the street from McKinley High School, and his sister, Anna McKinley, who taught in the Canton Public Schools for 30 years. When it opened, it was the only high school in Canton. By 1943, it was one of four high schools, as enrollment in the city schools dictated Lehman High School, Lincoln High School, and Timken Vocational High School be opened.

McKinley High School's enrollment peaked in the 1935–36 school year with 4,000 students attending.[2] As the city of Canton's population declined, so did city school enrollment. In the spring of 1976, the Canton City Schools closed all four high schools in the city. Lehman and Lincoln reverted to junior high schools, and Timken Senior High School and McKinley Senior High School were their replacements. McKinley Senior opened in a new building on the site of Fawcett Stadium.

On February 25, 2015, Canton City Schools approved the "one community, one school" initiative by merging Timken High School into McKinley High School, giving Canton a single high school for the first time since 1937. Freshmen of the merged schools will attend the Freshmen Academy located at the current Timken High School, while grades 10–12 attend the senior high school located at the current McKinley building. The remaining high school will retain the McKinley name, mascot, colors, and Athletic records.[3]

McKinley made national headlines in May 2021, after the head football coach Marcus Wattley allegedly forced an unnamed 17-year-old football team member to eat a pizza made with pork, although the student's religious beliefs prohibited him from consuming pork or pork residue. The Canton City School District announced that the head coach had been suspended, and later that he had been fired.[4][5][6][7]

Athletics

McKinley competes in the Federal League, one of the oldest athletic conferences in Ohio founded in 1964.

State championships

Further information: Ohio High School Athletic Association

Non-OHSAA sanctioned national championships

  • Football– 1895, 1896, 1920, 1927, 1934, 1942, 1944, 1955, 1956[14]

Associated Press national championships

Football

Canton McKinley is 8th in the nation in football wins all-time.[15] McKinley is also second in Ohio in win totals with 891. McKinley has won 12 state championships and 2 national championships. Since the OHSAA playoff format began, McKinley has won three state championships, in 1981, 1997, and 1998. They have been state runner-up three times in 1977, 1985, and 2004.

McKinley plays at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium (formerly Fawcett Stadium), which seats over 22,500 fans. The stadium, part of Hall of Fame Village,[16] is also home to the NFL's annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game.

McKinley–Massillon rivalry

The Canton McKinley vs. Massillon Washington rivalry is the 13th most played rivalry in the nation, with 135 meetings between the schools. The rivalry is also tied for the nation's 14th oldest, dating back to 1894 and was profiled in the November 14, 1994 issue of Sports Illustrated. The Great American Rivalry Series which features the nation's top high school football rivalries has highlighted the rivalry 11 times since 2006.

Basketball

McKinley has won three state championships in 1983–84, 2004–05, and 2005–2006. They have been state runners-up eight times, and hold Ohio records for most appearances in the championship game (11), final four appearances (23), and sweet sixteen appearances (48).

Notable alumni

Notable staff

Gallery

Notes and references

External links

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