Whitehall High School (Pennsylvania)
Encyclopedia
Whitehall High School is a public high school
, based in Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania
, in Pennsylvania
's Lehigh Valley
region, in the United States
. It is the only high school in the Whitehall-Coplay School District
. As of the 2006-2007 academic school year, 1,393 students attend the school.
Whitehall High School is located at 3800 Mechanicsville Road. The school's mascot is the Zephyrs, and school colors are maroon
and gold
.
Whitehall's primary athletic rivals are Parkland High School
, located in South Whitehall Township
, Emmaus High School
, located in Emmaus
, and Northampton Area High School
, located in Northampton
.
final.
for Best Overall Production for the production of Li'l Abner. This marked the first time that any school has won this award twice.
In 2007, Whitehall High School won 5 Freddy Awards
including Best Overall Production, Best Actor, Best Solo Vocal Performance, Best Costume Design, and Best Small Ensemble Performance for the production of The Scarlet Pimpernel.
In 2006, Whitehall High School won 3 Freddy Awards
including Best Actor, Best Featured Dancer, and Best Costume Design for the production of Barnum.
, generally considered one of the highest quality athletic conferences in Pennsylvania
.
players: Dan Koppen
, the current starting offensive center
for the New England Patriots
, and Matt Millen
, a former defensive linebacker
with three Super Bowl-winning teams. Millen is generally considered one of the most elite linebackers to ever play the game, though his career as President and General Manager of the Detroit Lions
has been a subject of criticism.
Between Koppen and Millen, Whitehall alumni have won six Super Bowl
s, with Koppen winning two with the Patriots and Millen winning two with the Oakland Raiders
, one with the San Francisco 49ers
and one with the Washington Redskins
. Both players' Whitehall jerseys (Koppen's #77 and Millen's #83) have been permanently retired in honor of their football accomplishments.
championships, including the following sports and years (prior to 2001, the Lehigh Valley Conference was known as the East Penn Conference):
Whitehall holds the record for the most Lehigh Valley Conference championships in boys basketball
.
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....
, based in Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania
Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania
Whitehall Township is a township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is a suburb of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the state.The population of Whitehall Township was 24,896 at the 2000 census.-Geography:...
, in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
's Lehigh Valley
Lehigh Valley
The Lehigh Valley, known officially by the United States Census Bureau as the Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ metropolitan area and referred to locally as The Valley and A-B-E, is a metropolitan region consisting of Lehigh, Northampton, Berks, and Carbon counties in eastern Pennsylvania and...
region, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It is the only high school in the Whitehall-Coplay School District
Whitehall-Coplay School District
Whitehall-Coplay School District is a public school district located in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It serves the borough of Coplay and Whitehall Township.-Schools:*Whitehall High School*Whitehall-Coplay Middle School...
. As of the 2006-2007 academic school year, 1,393 students attend the school.
Whitehall High School is located at 3800 Mechanicsville Road. The school's mascot is the Zephyrs, and school colors are maroon
Maroon (color)
Maroon is a dark red color.-Etymology:Maroon is derived from French marron .The first recorded use of maroon as a color name in English was in 1789.-Maroon :...
and gold
Gold (color)
Gold, also called golden, is one of a variety of orange-yellow color blends used to give the impression of the color of the element gold....
.
Whitehall's primary athletic rivals are Parkland High School
Parkland High School (Allentown, Pennsylvania)
Parkland High School, located near Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States, is a public high school serving students in grades 9 to 12. It is the only high school for the Parkland School District....
, located in South Whitehall Township
South Whitehall Township, Pennsylvania
South Whitehall Township is a township in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is a suburb of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley area of the state. The population of South Whitehall Township was 18,028 at the 2000 census...
, Emmaus High School
Emmaus High School
Emmaus High School is a public high school located in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The school serves grades 9 through 12 in Pennsylvania's East Penn School District in the Lehigh Valley region of the state....
, located in Emmaus
Emmaus, Pennsylvania
Emmaus is a borough in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. It is located five miles southwest of Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the Lehigh Valley region of the state.The population of Emmaus was 11,313 at the 2000 census...
, and Northampton Area High School
Northampton Area High School
Northampton Area High School is the secondary school in the Northampton Area School District, located in Northampton, Pennsylvania, in the United States....
, located in Northampton
Northampton, Pennsylvania
Northampton is a borough in Northampton County, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The borough is located in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania...
.
Academics
In 2007, Whitehall High School earned second place in the Scholastic ScrimmageScholastic Scrimmage
Scholastic Scrimmage is a high school quiz bowl game show airing on WLVT-TV and WPSU-TV , and is hosted by Karen Walton and David Price respectively....
final.
Arts
In 2011, Whitehall High School won 1 Freddy AwardThe Freddy Awards
The Freddy Awards, also known as the Freddys, are an annual recognition of outstanding high school musical theatre in the Lehigh Valley area, including the Northampton County and Lehigh County in Pennsylvania, and Warren County in New Jersey...
for Best Overall Production for the production of Li'l Abner. This marked the first time that any school has won this award twice.
In 2007, Whitehall High School won 5 Freddy Awards
The Freddy Awards
The Freddy Awards, also known as the Freddys, are an annual recognition of outstanding high school musical theatre in the Lehigh Valley area, including the Northampton County and Lehigh County in Pennsylvania, and Warren County in New Jersey...
including Best Overall Production, Best Actor, Best Solo Vocal Performance, Best Costume Design, and Best Small Ensemble Performance for the production of The Scarlet Pimpernel.
In 2006, Whitehall High School won 3 Freddy Awards
The Freddy Awards
The Freddy Awards, also known as the Freddys, are an annual recognition of outstanding high school musical theatre in the Lehigh Valley area, including the Northampton County and Lehigh County in Pennsylvania, and Warren County in New Jersey...
including Best Actor, Best Featured Dancer, and Best Costume Design for the production of Barnum.
Athletics
Whitehall High School is one of 12 high schools that comprise the Lehigh Valley ConferenceLehigh Valley Conference
The Lehigh Valley Interscholastic Athletic Conference is an athletic conference consisting of 12 large high schools from Lehigh and Northampton counties in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, in the United States...
, generally considered one of the highest quality athletic conferences in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
.
Whitehall alumni in the NFL
Whitehall High School has given birth to two notable NFLNational Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
players: Dan Koppen
Dan Koppen
Daniel Koppen is an American football center for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . He was drafted in the fifth round of the 2003 NFL Draft...
, the current starting offensive center
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
for the New England Patriots
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
, and Matt Millen
Matt Millen
Matthew George "Matt" Millen is an American former National Football League linebacker and a former executive. Millen played for the Oakland Raiders, the San Francisco 49ers and the Washington Redskins. In Millen's 12-year NFL playing career, he played on four Super Bowl-winning teams...
, a former defensive linebacker
Linebacker
A linebacker is a position in American football that was invented by football coach Fielding H. Yost of the University of Michigan. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up approximately three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage, behind the defensive linemen...
with three Super Bowl-winning teams. Millen is generally considered one of the most elite linebackers to ever play the game, though his career as President and General Manager of the Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
has been a subject of criticism.
Between Koppen and Millen, Whitehall alumni have won six Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
s, with Koppen winning two with the Patriots and Millen winning two with the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, one with the San Francisco 49ers
San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
and one with the Washington Redskins
Washington Redskins
The Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
. Both players' Whitehall jerseys (Koppen's #77 and Millen's #83) have been permanently retired in honor of their football accomplishments.
State and national championships
Whitehall has distinguished itself nationally and in the state of Pennsylvania with the following state and national championships:- Boys Basketball: 1982 (Pennsylvania state champions).
- Cheerleading: 2001 (National champions).
- Wrestling: 2001 and 2002 (Christian Franco, Pennsylvania state champion at 140lb. weight class, 2002).
- Indoor Percussion: 2003 Concert Percussion Champions; 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2008 World Class Champions.
- Marching Zephyr Band: 2006 State and All-State Champions, 2007 State Champions
Lehigh Valley Conference Championships
Whitehall has won many Lehigh Valley ConferenceLehigh Valley Conference
The Lehigh Valley Interscholastic Athletic Conference is an athletic conference consisting of 12 large high schools from Lehigh and Northampton counties in the Lehigh Valley region of Pennsylvania, in the United States...
championships, including the following sports and years (prior to 2001, the Lehigh Valley Conference was known as the East Penn Conference):
- Baseball: 1966, 1972, 1974, 1977, 1979, 1980, 1984, 2004, 2005 and 2008.
- Boys Basketball: 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1985, 1989, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2004 and 2005.
- Cheerleading: 1983, 1984, 1985, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992 and 2001.
- Football: 1976, 1978, 1980, 1981 (tri-champions with Dieruff High SchoolLouis E. Dieruff High SchoolLouis E. Dieruff High School is a public high school located in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The school is named after Louis E. Dieruff, a noted educator in the Allentown School District....
and Emmaus High SchoolEmmaus High SchoolEmmaus High School is a public high school located in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The school serves grades 9 through 12 in Pennsylvania's East Penn School District in the Lehigh Valley region of the state....
), 1982, 1983, 1986, 1989, 1995, 1997, 1998 and 2005. - Girls Basketball: 1982, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1989 and 2000.
- Girls Softball: 1979, 1988 and 1989.
- Boys Volleyball: 2010.
- Girls Soccer: 2011.
Whitehall holds the record for the most Lehigh Valley Conference championships in boys basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
.
Notable alumni
- Brian KnobbsBrian KnobbsBrian Yandrisovitz , better known as Brian Knobbs, is an American professional wrestler, best known as one half of the tag team The Nasty Boys along with Jerry Sags.-The Nasty Boys:...
, former professional wrestler. - Dan KoppenDan KoppenDaniel Koppen is an American football center for the New England Patriots of the National Football League . He was drafted in the fifth round of the 2003 NFL Draft...
, professional football player, New England PatriotsNew England PatriotsThe New England Patriots, commonly called the "Pats", are a professional football team based in the Greater Boston area, playing their home games in the town of Foxborough, Massachusetts at Gillette Stadium. The team is part of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National...
. - Matt MillenMatt MillenMatthew George "Matt" Millen is an American former National Football League linebacker and a former executive. Millen played for the Oakland Raiders, the San Francisco 49ers and the Washington Redskins. In Millen's 12-year NFL playing career, he played on four Super Bowl-winning teams...
, former professional football player, Oakland RaidersOakland RaidersThe Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
, San Francisco 49ersSan Francisco 49ersThe San Francisco 49ers are a professional American football team based in San Francisco, California, playing in the West Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team was founded in 1946 as a charter member of the All-America Football Conference and...
and Washington RedskinsWashington RedskinsThe Washington Redskins are a professional American football team and members of the East Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League . The team plays at FedExField in Landover, Maryland, while its headquarters and training facility are at Redskin Park in Ashburn,...
, former President and General Manager, Detroit LionsDetroit LionsThe Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit, Michigan. They are members of the North Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League , and play their home games at Ford Field in Downtown Detroit.Originally based in Portsmouth, Ohio and...
and current broadcaster, ESPNESPNEntertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
and NFL NetworkNFL NetworkNFL Network is an American television specialty channel owned and operated by the National Football League . It was launched November 4, 2003, only eight months after the league's 32 team owners voted unanimously to approve its formation...
. - Jerry SagsJerry SagsJerome Saganovich is an American professional wrestler best known as Jerry Sags. He is one half of the tag team The Nasty Boys along with Brian Knobbs.-Career:...
, former professional wrestler. - Curt SimmonsCurt SimmonsCurtis Thomas "Curt" Simmons is a former left-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball from 1947–50 and 1952-67. With right-hander Robin Roberts, a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame, Simmons was one of the twin anchors of the starting rotation of the "Whiz Kids", the Philadelphia Phillies' ...
, former professional baseball player, California AngelsLos Angeles Angels of AnaheimThe Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a professional baseball team based in Anaheim, California, United States. The Angels are a member of the Western Division of Major League Baseball's American League. The "Angels" name originates from the city in which the team started, Los Angeles...
, Chicago CubsChicago CubsThe Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
, Philadelphia PhilliesPhiladelphia PhilliesThe Philadelphia Phillies are a Major League Baseball team. They are the oldest continuous, one-name, one-city franchise in all of professional American sports, dating to 1883. The Phillies are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's National League...
and St. Louis CardinalsSt. Louis CardinalsThe St. Louis Cardinals are a professional baseball team based in St. Louis, Missouri. They are members of the Central Division in the National League of Major League Baseball. The Cardinals have won eleven World Series championships, the most of any National League team, and second overall only to...
.