Quick Facts State:  AZ City:  Phoenix Name:  West Phoenix High School Nickname:  Thunderbirds Color1:  Maroon Color2:  White School District:  Phoenix Union High School District County:  Maricopa Year Opened:  1949 Year Closed:  1983       There are over 9,500 West Phoenix High School Alumni registered at Classmates.com. Join them for free!

The Phoenix Union High School District can trace it's roots back to 1895 when the entire school district was composed of one school with 4 classrooms and 90 students. Today, over 25,000 attend Phoenix high schools.

For many years, Phoenix Union High School was the only high school in the district. But by 1938, over 5,000 students were attending the school. Some relief was offered when North High School was opened in 1939, but, following World War II, as with nearly every other school district in the country, the wave of baby boomers was coming. Adding into the equation Phoenix's phenomenal growth rate during the last half of the 20th century, it was plain to see that Phoenix's high school landscape was about to change forever.

In 1949, West Phoenix High School opened it's doors at the corner of N. 19th Ave. and W. Thomas Rd. with nine buildings on it's 40 acre campus. Over the next 23 years, eight more high schools were added to the school district. Between 1972 and 1982, Phoenix leveled off and maintained it's eleven high schools. However, declining enrollment in the 1980's, coupled with redistricting, required Phoenix to make the same difficult and sometimes heart-breaking decisions that most large school districts faced.

In 1982, the two oldest high schools were closed; Phoenix Union and North High Schools. They were joined a year later by West. The West High School building was re-opened in 1985 as Metro Tech Vocational Institute of Phoenix, which was later renamed Metro Tech High School.

During it's 34 year existence, West Phoenix High School collected at least 18 Arizona Class 5A State Championships in athletics.

Arizona Class 5A State Championship Finishes:

Baseball
• 1954 Runnerup

Basketball
• 1952, 1954 State Champions
• 1957 Runnerup

Cross Country
• 1970 Third place

Boys Golf
• 1951, 1952, 1953 State Champions
• 1955, 1956, 1959, 1960 Runnerup
• 1954, 1958, 1961, 1967, 1968 Third Place

Girls Golf
• 1969, 1973, 1944, 1975 Runnerup
• 1972 Third Place

Girls Softball
• 1978 State Champions

Girls Tennis - Doubles
• 1957, 1958 State Champions (Nancy Schall / Monica Heidecker)

Boys Tennis - Singles
• 1956 State Champion Bob Folz
• 1957 State Champion Marty Fedigan
• 1958 State Champion Bob Reece

Girls Tennis - Singles
• 1957, 1958 State Champion Judy Mecey

Boys Tennis - Team
• 1956, 1957, 1958 State Champions
• 1954, 1955, 1959, 1961 Runnerup
• 1951, 1960 Third Place

Girls Tennis - Team
• 1957, 1958 State Champions
• 1959 Third Place

Girls Volleyball
• 1977 State Champions

  ---------- Web Links ----------
   
  

• West Phoenix High School Thunderbirds apparel
   
  
• Alumni website, all years
   
  
• MySpace group for WPHS
   
  
• Class of 1956
   
  
• Class of 1957
   
  
• Class of 1968 (w/online yearbook)

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