A.L. Brown High School

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**A.L. (Alfred Luther) Brown High School** 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.

A.L. 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 a new 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, the school was renamed A. L. Brown High School, and moved to a new building southeast of the old facility. The former building was converted into a junior high school under the name 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 A. L. 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.

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The $8.1 million, 50,000-square foot STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) Academy, designed to resemble the nearby North Carolina Research Campus Core Lab, held its grand opening on September 25, 2011. The top two floors offer modern science labs, while the second floor will house communication classes. The basement has a health center and an international welcome center.

Opening March 2012 is the Stroup Arts Center. This building will replace the previous Vocational Building or V-Building. This center will provide an Exceptional Children's Department, Dance Studio, Art Studio, Drafting, Culinary Arts, Foods 1 & 2, Theatre, & ROTC to the students of A. L. Brown.

## 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 established.
* 2009 – The Biotech Wing (later called STEM Academy) construction begins.
* 2011 – STEM Academy completed, V-Building renovation begins
* 2012 - Vocational Building(V-Building) later called Arts Building is renovated.

## Athletics

* **Main article:** *A. L. Brown High School athletics*

A. L. Brown's athletics teams are known as the *Wonders*. The school is an AAAA member of the North Carolina High School Athletic Association as of 2016(NCHSAA) and competes in the SPC 3A Conference. 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), soccer (boys and girls), and most recently a lacrosse team. 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 (Drew Maher) one D-1A player and one NFL practice squad player (Maher). The Varsity football team has posted 33 consecutive seasons at .500 or better. In the 2010-2011 football season the wonder varsity team posted a record of 13-2 making it to the 3rd round of the play-offs. the wonders were led by senior quarterback Wayne Parker. After a great junior year Parker put up even better numbers his senior year. Parker will be attending Davidson College in the fall. In 2011 season the junior varsity went undefeated. The A. L. Brown football team has 474 wins and 168 losses since 1952. Ron Massey is currently 108-30, a 78.7% winning percentage, into his 11th season in 2010. Mike Newsome was hired in 2011 from Butler High School. A. L. Brown's swim team as also seen recent success with Junior Davied Sanchez placing 1st in the 100 backstroke at the NCHSA 3A state championship meet. He also was runner-up in the 100 butterfly, as well as a participant in the 200 medley relay with Cole Harris, Alex Fesperman, and brother Daniel Sanchez, which placed 4th at the meet.

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. The team continues to grow strong and have developed to be a more competitive team. In 2010, the men's and women's track and field team were the SPC Conference champions and would later win the regional title, ultimately ending in 4th place at the NCHSAA 3A Track and Field Championships.

## 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 schools in 1950; after an initial game in 1924 the two schools have played continuously since 1931. The A. L. Brown/Concord game is the 15th oldest rivalry nationally, and longest continuous high school football rivalry in the state of North Carolina. Concord leads the series at 42-39–4, but since 1975 A. L. Brown has won 27 out of 43 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 Wonders. The winning team paints the bell transom in their school colors for display during the entire school year. In the '08 season A. L. Brown beat the Concord Spiders 56–6, 2011 season, 28-21, and 2012, 31-26, this biggest defeat in the series for 3 consecutive years. The following upsets were the 3 consecutive years: In 2009 Concord upset A. L. Brown 10-13, possibly the biggest upset in the series history. In the '12 season, Concord upset A. L. Brown 21-14, in the '13 season, 33-20, 1
In the 2014 season, 20-14, this marks the third upset for A. L. Brown in history, In 2015, A. L. Brown scored 26-15 for the very first time since 2011.
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Year Winner Score
* 1952 A. L. Brown 27–13
* 1953 A. L. Brown 32–0
* 1954 A. L. Brown 7–6
* 1955 A. L. Brown 41–0
* 1956 A. L. Brown 20–14
* 1957 Concord 7–0
* 1958 A. L. Brown 13–0
* 1959 A. L. Brown 7–0
* 1960 A. L. Brown 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 A. L. Brown 10–7
* 1972 A. L. Brown 30–13
* 1973 A. L. Brown 7–3
* 1974 Concord 14–6
* 1975 Concord 21–0
* 1976 Concord 7–3
* 1977 Concord 18–6
* 1978 A. L. Brown 33–0
* 1979 A. L. Brown 31–6
* 1980 A. L. Brown 41–0
* 1981 Concord 7–6
* 1982 A. L. Brown 14–10
* 1983 Concord 27–7
* 1984 A. L. Brown 26–8
* 1985 Concord 7–6
* 1986 Concord 14–0
* 1987 A. L. Brown 19–0
* 1988 A. L. Brown 9–7
* 1989 A. L. Brown 16–14

Year Winner Score
* 1990 A. L. Brown 20–19
* 1991 Concord 30–20
* 1992 A. L. Brown 27–19
* 1993 A. L. Brown 28–6
* 1994 Concord 35-14
* 1995 A. L. Brown 5–0
* 1996 Concord 27–0
* 1997 A. L. Brown 33–14
* 1998 A. L. Brown 28–10
* 1999 A. L. Brown 10–7
* 2000 A. L. Brown 28–0
* 2001 A. L. Brown 2–0(C forfeit)
* 2002 A. L. Brown 42–6
* 2003 A. L. Brown 13–12(OT)
* 2004 Concord 20–9
* 2005 A. L. Brown 19–14
* 2006 Concord 42–20
* 2007 A. L. Brown 45–25
* 2008 A. L. Brown 56–6

Year Winner Score
* 2009 Concord 13-10
* 2010 A. L. Brown 28-21
* 2011 A. L. Brown 31-26
* 2012 Concord 21-14
* 2013 Concord 33-20
* 2014 Concord 20-14
* 2015 A. L. Brown 26-15
* 2016 A. L. Brown 31-19
* 2017 A. L. Brown 14-12
* 2018 A. L. Brown 54-35

## Notable alumni

* Aundrae Allison, former NFL wide receiver
* Tavis Bailey, discuss thrower for the United States at the 2016 Summer Olympics
* Ethan Horton, former NFL tight end and Pro Bowl selection in 1991
* Tracy Johnson, former NFL running back
* James Lott, former NFL and AFL player
* Nick Maddox, professional football player and politician
* Melissa Morrison-Howard, 2x Olympic bronze medalist (100 m hurdles) at the 2000 and 2004 Olympic Games
* Mike Morton, former NFL linebacker and Super Bowl XXXIV champion with the Saint Louis Rams
* Brandon Parker, NFL offensive tackle
* George Shinn, past owner of the Charlotte Hornets
* Lance Smith, former NFL offensive guard
* Haskel Stanback, former NFL running back

## References

1. ↑ A L Brown High. National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved on February 5, 2019.
2. ↑ Template:Cite news
3. ↑ Tracy Johnson Stats. *Pro-Football-Reference*. Retrieved 2 March 2019.

## External links

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

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