L. Frazier Banks High School

Last updated

L. Frazier Banks High School was a high school and later L. Frazer Banks Middle School, a middle school, in the Birmingham Public School System in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. The school, which was named for former superintendent L. Frazer Banks, occupied six buildings in a residential area of Birmingham's South East Lake neighborhood. It was demolished in 2021. [1]

Contents

History

The school was opened as a high school in 1957 and, at first, accepted only freshmen. The high school's first graduating class matriculated in 1961. The school's athletic teams in that 1960-61 season won the Birmingham city football, basketball and baseball championships.

In the early part of that decade, a U. S. Air Force F-86D/L "Sabre", tail number 52-4243, was acquired when it was taken off active service. The aircraft was painted in the school colors of Columbia Blue and Scarlet, then was installed as a mascot and landmark in front of the school.

In the fall of 2007, after the school's closure, the state of Alabama agreed to turn over the landmark jet, which was actually still owned by the USAF, to the Southern Museum of Flight, where it will be restored to its original Maine Air National Guard active military color scheme for display.

Athletics

In 1972 and 1973, Coach Shorty White led the Banks Jets to consecutive 4A state football championships. The school was recognized nationally as a football power, even appearing in the pages of National Geographic . Future NFL quarterback Jeff Rutledge led the team into a 1974 showdown with Woodlawn High School and future NFL running back Tony Nathan at Legion Field. The crowd was estimated at 42,000.

The school's 1974 football game against Woodlawn has been described as the biggest in Alabama high school history. [2]

Conversion to Middle School

In the 1990s, Banks was transformed into a middle school under the direction of Superintendent Cleveland Hammonds. As a middle school, Banks fed into Woodlawn High School. A December 2000 arson damaged the auditorium and destroyed dozens of band instruments.

Closure

In October 2006, the Facilities and Technology Committee of the Birmingham Board of Education heard a recommendation from new superintendent of schools Stan Mims to close Banks and transfer its students to the new Ossie Ware Mitchell School. The recommendation was approved, with students transferring during the 2006 Christmas break.

Notable Banks High School alumni

References

  1. ↑ "Demolition of Banks High School in E. Birmingham latest in revitalization efforts". July 7, 2021.
  2. ↑ bcarlton@al.com, Bob Carlton | (November 7, 2014). "Woodlawn vs. Banks 1974: Remembering the biggest game in Alabama high school football history". al.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link) CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)

Sources

33°34′15″N86°42′27″W / 33.57075°N 86.70753°W / 33.57075; -86.70753

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.