Special to the WJH
Center High School was the home to state championship football and girls basketball teams during its existence, which will be celebrated next month at the Center High School Museum Banquet.
The Saturday, March 14 event will recognize the 100th anniversary of the Waycross school’s opening. The last graduating class was 1969.
Along the way, the Tigers and Tigerettes teams earned Georgia Interscholastic Association Class A titles in football in 1954, ’56 and ’62, and girls basketball in 1954, ’55 and ’64.
Coaches for those teams were Benjamin Silas, Walter Taylor, Everett Sanders, Alvin Poller, and Charles Rawls.
“It’s important for current and future generations to know the accomplishments ... and the historic impact that the Center High School Tigers had on Waycross,” said Margaret Jackson Irvin, a member of Center’s Class of 1965 graduate who provided the championship information.
In addition to the state titles, the teams also won numerous region crowns.
The 16th annual banquet will be at 6 p.m., at the Waycross Exchange Club, 2401 Knight Avenue. Sponsored by the Center High School Historical Committee the event is themed, “Celebrating 100 Years of Excellence.”
Tickets are $50 per person and available from committee members or by calling (912) 283-4298. Attire for the evening is “dressy” with no jeans or T-shirts.
