Manual High School (Peoria, Illinois)
Encyclopedia
Manual High School is a public high school located in the south end of Peoria, Illinois
. It is the southernmost of the three city high school
s operated by the Peoria Public Schools. Manual opened in 1909 and moved from its Lincoln avenue site to a new building located at 811 S. Griswold in January, 1963.
Manual's nickname is the Rams and the school colors are orange and black.
In the 1950s and early 1960s Manual was a central Illinois
football
powerhouse. Manual was undefeated in 1958, 1959, 1960 and 1962 in the mid-state eight conference. The culmination of the season was the traditional "Turkey Day" Thanksgiving game against Peoria Central High School, often drawing 10,000 to Peoria Stadium (where all Peoria high school home games were played). During those years there was no state football playoffs. Ken Hinricks was the football coach and is in the Illinois coaches hall of fame. His won-lost record at Manual over 17 years was 121-40-7 (.752). This record is the strongest ever compiled by an area coach with a tenure of more than ten years.
Manual won the IHSA
state boys basketball title in 1930 and an unprecedented four straight Class 2A titles in 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997. The 1994 team was coached by Dick Van Scyoc. The 1995-97 teams were coached by Wayne McClain.
Manual alumni number in the many thousands and are involved in all walks of life in Peoria and elsewhere.
In recent years, Manual is increasing student enrollment, in the years that have passed the enrollment got as low as 450 students. Now it has gone back up to where it has been in the past with 1200 students for the up coming school year.
Manual High School improved its tests scores during the 2009-2010 school year to meet federal safe harbor.
A 100 year Centennial All Class Reunion Weekend celebration was held Friday – Sunday September 11–13, 2009.
Marvin Jordan Jr.
Lawrence Alexander
Peoria, Illinois
Peoria is the largest city on the Illinois River and the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, in the United States. It is named after the Peoria tribe. As of the 2010 census, the city was the seventh-most populated in Illinois, with a population of 115,007, and is the third-most populated...
. It is the southernmost of the three city high school
High school
High school is a term used in parts of the English speaking world to describe institutions which provide all or part of secondary education. The term is often incorporated into the name of such institutions....
s operated by the Peoria Public Schools. Manual opened in 1909 and moved from its Lincoln avenue site to a new building located at 811 S. Griswold in January, 1963.
Manual's nickname is the Rams and the school colors are orange and black.
In the 1950s and early 1960s Manual was a central Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
powerhouse. Manual was undefeated in 1958, 1959, 1960 and 1962 in the mid-state eight conference. The culmination of the season was the traditional "Turkey Day" Thanksgiving game against Peoria Central High School, often drawing 10,000 to Peoria Stadium (where all Peoria high school home games were played). During those years there was no state football playoffs. Ken Hinricks was the football coach and is in the Illinois coaches hall of fame. His won-lost record at Manual over 17 years was 121-40-7 (.752). This record is the strongest ever compiled by an area coach with a tenure of more than ten years.
Manual won the IHSA
Illinois High School Association
The Illinois High School Association is one of 521 state high school associations in the United States, designed to regulate competition in most interscholastic sports and some interscholastic activities at the high school level. It is a charter member of the National Federation of State High...
state boys basketball title in 1930 and an unprecedented four straight Class 2A titles in 1994, 1995, 1996, and 1997. The 1994 team was coached by Dick Van Scyoc. The 1995-97 teams were coached by Wayne McClain.
Manual alumni number in the many thousands and are involved in all walks of life in Peoria and elsewhere.
In recent years, Manual is increasing student enrollment, in the years that have passed the enrollment got as low as 450 students. Now it has gone back up to where it has been in the past with 1200 students for the up coming school year.
Manual High School improved its tests scores during the 2009-2010 school year to meet federal safe harbor.
A 100 year Centennial All Class Reunion Weekend celebration was held Friday – Sunday September 11–13, 2009.
Notable alumni
- Frank WilliamsFrank Williams (basketball)Frank Lowell Williams is a former American professional basketball player. As a point guard, Williams starred at both the high school and collegiate levels, and played briefly in the NBA....
— former NBA player - Sergio McClainSergio McClainSergio McClain is a former professional basketball player and NJCAA coach. He was the 1997 winner of the prestigious Illinois Mr...
— former head basketball coach at Parkland CollegeParkland CollegeParkland College is a is a two-year community college in Champaign, Illinois, a member of the Illinois Community College System serving Community College District 505. District 505 includes all of Ford County, and parts of Coles, Champaign, DeWitt, Douglas, Edgar, Iroquois, Livingston, Moultrie,...
and University of Illinois basketball player - Jack BrickhouseJack BrickhouseJohn Beasley "Jack" Brickhouse was an American sportscaster. Known primarily for his play-by-play coverage of Chicago Cubs games on WGN-TV from 1948 to 1981, he received the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1983...
— Hall of Fame sports announcer - Louis SkidmoreLouis SkidmoreLouis Skidmore was an American architect, co-founder of the architecture firm Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill and recipient of the AIA Gold Medal.-Biography:...
(1915) — co-founder of Skidmore, Owings and MerrillSkidmore, Owings and MerrillSkidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP is an American architectural and engineering firm that was formed in Chicago in 1936 by Louis Skidmore and Nathaniel Owings; in 1939 they were joined by John O. Merrill. They opened their first branch in New York City, New York in 1937. SOM is one of the largest...
, world famous architecture firm - Al SmithAl Smith (basketball)Alan Richard "Al" Smith is a retired basketball player who played for five seasons in the American Basketball Association. A point guard during his career, he played for the Denver Rockets and Utah Stars and once lead the ABA in assists in a season.-Early life:Smith was born in Peoria, Illinois. ...
(1965) — basketball player: ABA and NBA (1971–74 Denver Rockets; 1974–76 Utah Stars; 3803 points) - Howard NathanHoward NathanHoward Nathan is a retired American professional basketball player. Nathan attended DePaul University, Northeast Louisiana University and Northwest Arkansas Community College...
— former NBA player
Marvin Jordan Jr.
Lawrence Alexander