A.L. Brown High School

A.L. Brown High School
Location
415 Street Kannapolis, North Carolina, 28083 USA
Coordinates	35.496268°N 80.619269°W / 35.496268; -80.619269
Information
Type	Free public
Established	1952
School district	Kannapolis City Schools
Principal	Kevin Garay
Grades	9–12
Enrollment	1350
Campus type	Suburb
Color(s)	Kelly green, White
Nickname	Wonders
Rival	Concord High School
Website	http://www.kannapolis.k12.nc.us/ALBrown/albhome.htm

A.L. (Alfred Luther) Brown High School (also sometimes referred to as Kannapolis or simply Brown) is a comprehensive public high school in Kannapolis, North Carolina. It is the only high school in the Kannapolis City Schools district as well as the city of Kannapolis. As of the 2005/06 school year, the current enrollment is 1,350 students.

Brown was recognized by DPI as a "School of Distinction" under the state's ABC standards for public education for the 2003–2010 school years.

History

During the expansion of the Cannon Mills Corporation during the 1920s, James William Cannon donated a piece of land just east of the town for a school. Centerview School was constructed in 1924, about the same time that the first Concord High School opened. Later in the early 1930s Centerview School was renamed J.W. Cannon High School, after the town's founder. A few years later Cannon High School was destroyed by a fire, then later rebuilt. In 1951 A.L. Brown High School was constructed southeast of J.W. Cannon and opened in the following year. Cannon High School then became J.W. Cannon Junior High School. In 1974, A.L. Brown was almost destroyed by a fire started in the attic; fearing auditorium damage, graduation was moved to the primary gymnasium. Then on January 10, 1982, James William Cannon Junior High School was completely destroyed by a fire. Many additions have been built on to Brown and there is a separate vocational building as well as a free-standing gymnasium. During the 2006/07 school year, a newer gymnasium/PE facility opened on campus. These free-standing buildings give A. L. Brown its unique character. Instead of a traditional single building like most high schools, Brown has a small, college-like atmosphere with numerous buildings around a central courtyard. All of the buildings on the campus are built in the Colonial Williamsburg style of architecture. All of the buildings are brick with white trim, modeled after most of Kannapolis.

A photograph of A.L. Brown High School today (As of February, 2006.

Timeline

• 1924 – Central High School Opens
• 1930 – Renamed J.W. Cannon High School
• 1933 – J.W. Cannon High School burns down because of faulty wiring
• 1934 – Cannon HS is rebuilt
• 1950–51 – A.L. Brown High School is constructed 50 yd southeast of Cannon High. Cannon High becomes J.W. Cannon Junior High School.
• 1957 – An 8-classroom science wing is added to the west end of the main building.
• 1958 – The W.J. Bullock Physical Education Building is constructed. Kannapolis Memorial Stadium is built and the central courtyard is added.
• 1967 – The Samuel B. Stroup Vocational Arts Building, The Ruth Coltrane Cannon Musical Education Center and the Administrative Annex is constructed (Now the Central Office).
• April 17, 1974 – Roof Burns; graduation is moved to W.J. Bullock Gymnasium.
• 1976 – The W.J. Bullock Physical Education Building is extensively renovated under the supervision of Coach Bob Boswell.
• January 10, 1982 – J.W. Cannon Junior High School burns down. (Fire was caused by accident). Gymnasium, Cafeteria and Home Economics buildings remain.
• 1991 – Media Center Wing is constructed.
• 1993 – Cafeteria Addition is built
• 1994 – Main Office Renovated
• 1995 – Music building roof pitched, W.J. Bullock Gym roof replaced.
• 1995 – An 8-classroom science wing is added to the existing science wing
• 1997 – Cyber Campus comes online.
• 2003 – Science wing basement is renovated. Becomes the Mathematics wing.
• 2005 – Cannon Cafeteria and Home Economics Building are demolished
• 2006 – Auxiliary Physical Education Building is constructed and the Auditorium is extensively renovated. An addition is built for the Central Office and the Main Office is renovated.
• 2007 – The Freshman academy is made.
• 2009 – The Biotech Wing construction begin.

Athletics

A.L. Brown's athletics teams are known as the Wonders. The school is an AAA member of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA) and competes in the South Piedmont Conference (SPC). The school sponsors interscholastic football, volleyball, tennis (boys and girls), cross country (boys and girls), basketball (boys and girls), wrestling, swimming (boys and girls), baseball, softball, golf, which the 2006 team won the SPC Conference for the first time in school history, track and field (boys and girls), indoor track and field (boys and girls), and soccer (boys and girls). The Varsity football team won titles in 1989 and won another 3A State Championship in 1997.The dominant years of the late 90's featured a team with one all-American (Nick Maddox) one D-1A player and one NFL practice squad player (Maddox). The Varsity football team has posted 33 consecutive seasons at .500 or better. The A.L. Brown football team has 473 wins and 167 losses sinces 1952. Ron Massey is currently 107-29, a 78.7% winning percentage, into his 10th season.. (2009)

They also host an NJROTC unit that is successful. In the last four years the Cross Country team has battled from the conference cellar to be a constant contender for the regional crown, finishing 2nd in the region in 2003 and 2004, those years they finished 7th and 6th in state, respectively. In 2007 the men's team finished 5th in the state championships.

During the 2009 school year the Wonder football team made it to the 3rd round of the playoffs thanks to an impressive junior year by Quarterback Micheal Church. Church had an outstanding Quarterback rating of 103.8. He completed 83% of his passes and his touchdown to pass precentage was 61%. But a long with passing Church was light on his feet he rushed for over 1,000 yards.

Battle for the Bell

A long-running tradition, The Battle for the Bell is a football game between A.L. Brown and Concord High School. The teams play for a coveted railroad bell that was donated to the school in 1924; The game began in 1931. Yeah, thats how boring NC is. The Kannapolis/Concord game is the longest continuous high school football rivalry in the state of North Carolina. Concord leads the series at 39–36–4, but since 1975 Kannapolis has won 22 out of 35. At the end of each game,the losers of the game perform the traditional exchange of the bell which occurs at midfield. A week before the concord game A.L Brown will display the bell in the courtyard for all students to ring in spirit of the game. The winning team paints the bell transom in their school colors for display during the entire school year. In the 2008/09 season Kannapolis beat the Concord 56–6. The biggest defeat in the serice. In 2009 Concord upset Kannapolis 10-13. THe biggest upset in the series.

Year Winner Score

• 1952 K-town 27–13
• 1953 K-town 32–0
• 1954 K-town 7–6
• 1955 K-town 41–0
• 1956 K-town 20–14
• 1957 Concord 7–0
• 1958 K-town 13–0
• 1959 K-town 7–0
• 1960 K-town 14–8
• 1961 Concord 14–6
• 1962 Concord 6–0
• 1963 Concord 20–19
• 1964 Concord 13–12
• 1965 Concord 12–0
• 1966 Concord 13–6
• 1967 Concord 21–11
• 1968 Concord 21–8
• 1969 Concord 33–6
• 1970 Concord 13–11

Year Winner Score

• 1971 K-town 10–7
• 1972 K-town 30–13
• 1973 K-town 7–3
• 1974 Concord 14–6
• 1975 Concord 21–0
• 1976 Concord 7–3
• 1977 Concord 18–6
• 1978 K-town 33–0
• 1979 K-town 31–6
• 1980 K-town 41–0
• 1981 Concord 7–6
• 1982 K-town 14–10
• 1983 Concord 27–7
• 1984 K-town 26–8
• 1985 Concord 7–6
• 1986 Concord 14–0
• 1987 K-town 19–0
• 1988 K-town 9–7
• 1989 K-town 16–14

Year Winner Score

• 1990 K-town 20–19
• 1991 Concord 30–20
• 1992 K-town 27–19
• 1993 K-town 28–6
• 1994 Concord 35-14
• 1995 K-town 5–0
• 1996 Concord 27–0
• 1997 K-town 33–14
• 1998 K-town 28–10
• 1999 K-town 10–7
• 2000 K-town 28–0
• 2001 K-town 1–0(C forfeit)
• 2002 K-town 42–6
• 2003 K-town 13–12(OT)
• 2004 Concord 20–9
• 2005 K-town 19–14
• 2006 Concord 42–20
• 2007 K-town 45–25
• 2008 K-town 56–6

Year Winner Score

• 2009 Concord 13-10

Notable alumni

• Melissa Morrison-Howard – Olympic bronze medalist (track and field)
• Nick Maddox – professional football player
• Mike Morton – professional football player
• Ethan Horton – professional football player
• Haskel Stanback – professional football player
• Tracy Johnson – professional football player
• James Lott – professional football player
• Lance Smith – professional football player
• George Shinn – owner of the New Orleans Hornets
• Aundrae Allison – professional football player
• Rush Rollins – Catawba Kicker
• Christian Hunt – Rhodes Scholar
• Scott Belcher– The Citadel, All-American Linebacker

External links

• A.L. Brown's Official Website
• KannapolisFootball.com