EHS History
EHS Campus 3: 1954 – Today
In October 1954, construction wrapped-up on the first phase of Vallecitos High (pictured in the architectural rendering above). With the closure of EHS, and the subsequent passage of that second bond measure referenced on the previous page, the Vallecitos name was dropped. Instead, the Vallecitos campus officially became the new home of Escondido High School — the same EHS campus we all know today.
One of the greatest sporting events in Escondido city history took place on November 3rd, 1967. It was on this day that Escondido High and new crosstown rival Orange Glen met on the football field for the first time. The hype was unlike anything ever seen before. It all began in at 7 AM with a spirit breakfast on the senior lawn. After this, students participated in a 1 hour pep rally to get ready for the big event. At lunch, the band and cheer squad performed. After school, the Cougar faithful got in their cars and went to Felicita Park for a pregame rally.
Finally, the moment had arrived — it was game time. An estimated 11,000 fans poured into Escondido High's Memorial Field. Traffic was so bad getting to the game that it took one hour to travel from the corner of Washington and Broadway to the field. Unfortunately for the Cougars, the game couldn't live up to the hype. Led by Coach Dick Disney, the Orange Glen Patriots beat Chick Embrey's Cougars 14–7. After decades of being the only high school in town and dominating regional football, EHS was eliminated from playoff contention as the Patriots went on to an 11-0 championship season.
In many ways, the 1990's signified a renaissance for Escondido High School. 1994 marked the 100th year of classes at Escondido High School. The subsequent year, the Cougars once again found themselves in the CIF-SD championships for football, making 1995 one of the most memorable football seasons in recent memory. Then in 1996, Escondido voters approved Proposition A, bringing millions of dollars in renovations to the EHS campus.
Also in 1996, it was first announced that Class of 1947 alumnus Bob Wilson and his wife Marion were interested in donating a substantial sum of money to the school to renovate Chick Embrey Field. Over the course of the next two years, through Mr. and Mrs. Wilson's generosity and the hard work of the community, the vision for the new football stadium began to take shape. Finally, on September 11th, 1998, the new Wilson Stadium at Chick Embrey Field was opened to the public for the first time. In the end, the Wilsons donated about 2 million dollars to the project. EHS would like to thank Bob and Marion once again for their generous gift to the school — we will never forget you!
Today, EHS is a perfect blend of modern amenities and historical traditions. With another bond renovation passed in 2008, and construction recently completed on a new campus learning center, the future has never been so bright for Escondido High School.
FUN Facts
- 1955 marked the first year of Chick Embrey's long tenure as coach of the football team. Under Coach Embrey, EHS produced the most successful football teams it ever had, and the Cougars dominated local football for years. Today, the field at Wilson Stadium is named after Coach Embrey.
- 1962 was the first year that a color picture section was added to The Gong.
- EHS students were treated to a surprise when they came to school on December 13th, 1967. For the first time since 1949, it had snowed in Escondido.
- In 1970, Escondido High bought one of its very first computers. The Math Club purchased the computer as a way of generating student interest in mathematics.
- Before there was MTV, there was ITV. ITV stood for instructional television, and the EHS station was known to students as KEHS. The purpose of the class was to give students exposure to the world of closed circuit television. KEHS produced a daily show called "The Morning Show" in which ITV students would broadcast the daily announcements and other stories over the TV instead of the intercom.
- 1976 was the first year of a new way of registering for classes known as arena registration. Under this system, students would go into the gym where the entire EHS faculty would be sitting at tables. All a student had to do was walk up to the instructors they wanted and sign up for their classes. This dramatically reduced the number of mid-semester class changes, and made for a much happier student body.
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This page was last updated on August 9, 2009.
