Stratton High to be honored Thursday

Feb. 14—The history of Stratton High School is an important part of the legacy of the City of Beckley.

That history will be honored when the Woodrow Wilson boys basketball team hosts a county rival Thursday night.

Stratton High will be celebrated throughout the evening when the Flying Eagles take on Shady Spring at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.

The Woodrow players will wear warmup shirts that bear the green and gold of Stratton, the all Black school that got its start in 1907 and closed when it was integrated with Woodrow Wilson in 1967, 13 years after the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision in Topeka, Kan., that ruled segregation unconstitutional.

The word Stratton will run across the front along with a picture of a bulldog, the school's mascot.

On the back will be the number 2,786 — the total number of Stratton graduates.

"We're hoping we can grow in the future and make this an annual event," said first-year athletic director Andrew Pinnick.

Logan High School did something similar last week when it commemorated Aracoma Senior High School, an all Black school that opened in 1929. The name was dropped in 1962 when it was integrated with Logan High.

Pinnick said facts about Stratton will be announced throughout the game. For instance, the 1954 football team won a WVAU state championship.

Also, any Stratton graduates attending the game will be asked to stand and be recognized during the second quarter.

The desire was to honor Stratton during Black History Month, and the Flying Eagles had few home dates scheduled for February. Thursday's game will only be the second of the month at the Armory for Woodrow — the first was Feb. 4, when Nequan Carrington, Fred Lewis and Mario Walton were inducted into the Beckley Basketball Hall of Fame.

The only remaining home game this month will be Saturday, when the Flying Eagles host Buckhannon-Upshur on Senior Night.

Thursday is definitely the biggest of the three. Not only is Shady a rival, but the Tigers are one of the top teams in the state regardless of class. They are ranked No. 1 in Class AAA and are riding a 15-game winning streak.

"It's going to be a big game. I think a lot of people will be in attendance with it being Shady," Pinnick said.

"At the end of the day, we need to tell our whole history, our whole story and how we got to here. We really want to honor our past and those that have come before us."

Email: gfauber@register-herald.com; follow on Twitter @gfauber5