Graham High School is a

public high school A state school, public school, or government school is a primary school, primary or secondary school that educates all students without charge. They are funded in whole or in part by taxation and operated by the government of the state. State-f ...

located in

Bluefield, Virginia Bluefield is a town in Tazewell County, Virginia, Tazewell County, Virginia, United States, located along the Bluestone River. The population was 5,096 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. It is part of the Bluefield, West Virginia, Bl ...

across the state line from

Bluefield, West Virginia Bluefield is a city in Mercer County, West Virginia, United States. The population was 9,658 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is the principal city of the Bluefield micropolitan area extending into Virginia, which had a populatio ...

in Tazewell County, Virginia, as a part of Tazewell County Public Schools.

History

Graham High School was first established as a secondary school in 1914, serving grades 9-12 in what was then known as the town of Graham, Virginia (now Bluefield). The cornerstone for building located on Greever Avenue, also known as, "The Hill", was laid on May 26, 1914. J.O. Faulkner was the first principal, and there were 107 students enrolled in the high school. (A total of 611 students, in primary, grammar, and high school grades, attended school in the building which could accommodate 750). Graham High School grew its facilities at the end of 2010 when they opened up a new weight lifting facility and football locker room. They also unveiled a new gymnasium that serves as a practice gym for the men's and women's basketball teams and is the location where the Bluefield, VA recreational basketball league hosts many of its games. The gym has 2 full size courts along with men's and women's locker rooms. In 2016, the Tazewell County School Board promoted Cynthia Beavers, former assistant principal, to be the first female principal ever to have a tenure at Graham High School. The classic Graham/Beaver football game is the biggest event each year for the two Bluefields. This game between cross-city rivals Graham High School and Bluefield High School is the area's largest sporting event. It is held at Mitchell Stadium, which is within West Virginia by a mere 500 feet, and is shared by both schools. In 1991, the two schools were featured on the ESPN show Scholastic Sports America for having one of the largest high school football rivalries on the East Coast. With average crowds of at least ten thousand, the game is the talk of the town year after year. The Beavers hold a winning record over Graham in the series, 62-25-2. Graham High School's football team won the Virginia High School League's Class 2 State Football Championship in 2024. The G-Men defeated Strasburg High School 31-8 on December 14 at Salem City Stadium for the state crown. Previous state football titles were won in 1962, 1989, 1995, 2018 and 2022.

Alma mater

The Graham High School alma mater is the tune to "Far Above Cayuga's Waters." :Nestled near East River's ridges, with its lines of blue :Stands our noble alma mater, glorious to view. :G-Men faithful, G-Girls grateful, :Conquer and prevail. :Hail to thee our Alma Mater. :Graham High, all hail!

Fight song

Illinois Loyalty "Illinois Loyalty", also known as "We're Loyal to You, Illinois" or just "Loyalty", is a song associated with the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. It (along with " Hail to the Orange") is the school's alma mater. It is also used (althoug ...

Extracurricular activities

Graham High School offers a variety of clubs and activities. Among these clubs are: Student Council Association,

Interact Club Rotary International is one of the largest service organizations in the world. The self-declared mission of Rotary, as stated on its website, is to "provide service to others, promote integrity, and advance world understanding, goodwill, and pe ...

Pep Club Pep is energy or high spirits; it may refer to: * Pep band, an ensemble of instrumentalists * Pep (dog) (c. 1923–1930), Labrador Retriever sent to the Eastern State Penitentiary * Pep, the dog in ''Putt-Putt'' (series) * Pep, a Neilson Dairy ...

Future Business Leaders of America The Future Business Leaders of America, or FBLA, is an American career and technical student organization (CTSO) headquartered in Reston, Virginia. Established in 1940, FBLA is a non-profit organization of high school ("FBLA High School"), mi ...

Students Against Destructive Decisions Students Against Destructive Decisions (SADD), formerly Students Against Driving Drunk, is an organization whose aim is to prevent incidents from students making potentially destructive decisions. Mission "SADD empowers and mobilizes students ...

Beta Beta (, ; uppercase , lowercase , or cursive ; or ) is the second letter of the Greek alphabet. In the system of Greek numerals, it has a value of 2. In Ancient Greek, beta represented the voiced bilabial plosive . In Modern Greek, it represe ...

, Cadre, Book Club, DECA,

Values Club In ethics and social sciences, value denotes the degree of importance of some thing or action, with the aim of determining which actions are best to do or what way is best to live (normative ethics), or to describe the significance of different ac ...

, and Forever Golden.

Marching band

The Graham High School Big G Marching Band has won many awards including overall best band at the AT&T Cotton Bowl Classic and 15 time Virginia Honor Band titles. The Band has also participated in 3 of

Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade The Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is an annual parade in New York City presented by the American-based department store chain Macy's. The Parade first took place in 1924, tying it for the second-oldest Thanksgiving parade in the United States ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

and the Inaugural Parades of multiple

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

Governors. The current director of the band is Dr. Carl Hess, a

James Madison University James Madison University (JMU, Madison, or James Madison) is a public university, public research university in Harrisonburg, Virginia, United States. Founded in 1908, the institution was renamed in 1938 in honor of the fourth president of the ...

and Graham High School alumni.

Notable alumni

Bill Dudley William McGarvey Dudley (December 24, 1921 – February 4, 2010), nicknamed "Bullet Bill", was an American professional football halfback, safety and return specialist who played in the National Football League (NFL) for the Pittsburgh Steeler ...

: 1935–1939, attended the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

, awarded the

Maxwell Award The Maxwell Award is presented annually to the college football player judged by a panel of sportscasters, sportswriters, and National Collegiate Athletic Association head coaches and the membership of the Maxwell Football Club to be the best all ...

, and was drafted with the 1st pick of the 1942

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

Draft by the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

. *

Ahmad Bradshaw Ahmad Bradshaw (born March 19, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Marshall Thundering Herd. Bradshaw was selected in the seven ...

: 2000–2004, attended

Marshall University Marshall University is a public university, public research university in Huntington, West Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1837 and is named after John Marshall, the fourth Chief Justice of the United States, chief justice of the Uni ...

and was drafted with the 250th pick in the 7th round of the

2007 NFL draft The 2007 NFL draft was the 72nd annual meeting of National Football League franchises to select newly eligible American football players. It took place at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, New York, on April 28 and April 29, 2007. The draf ...

by the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

. Two time Super Bowl Champion. *

Cam Allen Cameron Allen (born November 22, 1999) is an American professional American football, football Safety (gridiron football position), safety. He played college football at Purdue Boilermakers football, Purdue. Early life Allen grew up in Bluefiel ...

: 2016-2019: attended

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

and declared for the

2024 NFL draft The 2024 NFL draft was the 89th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft was held at Campus Martius Park and Hart Plaza in Detroit on April 25–27, 2024. The draft had an attendanc ...

Athletic Team State Championships

* Football: 1962, 1989, 1995, 2018, 2022, 2024 * Boys Basketball: 1956 * Girls Basketball: 1922 * Competition Cheer: 2016, 2023, 2024 * Girls Tennis: 1999 * Golf: 2013

References

External links

Graham High School

{{authority control Schools in Tazewell County, Virginia Public high schools in Virginia Educational institutions established in 1914 1914 establishments in Virginia Brick buildings and structures in Virginia