San Antonio High School

Duane's take

Now, this one comes straight off the official marker — let me tell it to you the way it deserves to be told. September of 1879. San Antonio is a city that's growing faster than its britches, and somebody decides it's high time for a real public secondary school.

So they open one. The first of its kind in the city. And on that first day, the entire teaching staff of San Antonio High School showed up to work — all one of him.

A man by the name of F.M. Halbedl, walking into Fireman's Hall on Broadway, ready to hold class. Now, Fireman's Hall wasn't exactly built with higher education in mind, but that's where they started.

The school moved around for a while after that — several moves, the marker says, and you get the sense nobody could quite agree on where this thing ought to put down roots. Finally, in 1882, they built an actual school building. Right here on this site.

On land owned by the city. And 1882 brought something else worth noting. The first graduates.

Three of them. All girls. They received their diplomas in February of that year, and I'd like to think Halbedl was somewhere nearby, feeling pretty good about how things had turned out.

The school kept on growing, kept on changing. By 1917, the district was looking at expansion — new secondary schools on the horizon — and so the name changed to Main Avenue High School to reflect that bigger picture. Then in 1932, with the district leaning hard into vocational training, the name changed again: San Antonio Vocational and Technical High School.

And that's where a man named Louis W. Fox enters the story. He served as principal from 1934 to 1942, and the marker calls him a pioneer in Texas vocational education programs.

Fox helped develop the technical training curriculum — not just for this school, but for the whole district. His work left a mark deep enough that in 1961, they renamed the school in his honor. Louis W.

Fox, who lived until 1978, has had his name on this building for decades now. But here's what makes this place something more than a string of name changes and building moves. The alumni association goes all the way back to 1892 — and this school claims one of only three oldest student government organizations in the entire state of Texas.

Three. In the whole state. And then there's the Chili Bowl.

Every year, since 1940, Fox Tech has faced off against Lanier High School in an annual football game they call the Chili Bowl. That game has outlasted wars, recessions, and every name this school has ever worn. From one teacher in a fireman's hall to a school with its own named rivalry game and a legacy stretching back to three girls holding diplomas in February of 1882 — that's not just a school.

That's a San Antonio institution.

What the marker says

The first public secondary school in the city, San Antonio High School opened in September 1879 with one teacher, F.M. Halbedl. Classes were initially held in the Fireman's Hall on Broadway. Following several moves, a school building was constructed at this site in 1882 on land owned by the city. The first graduates, three girls, received their diplomas in February of that year. In 1917 the name was changed to Main Avenue High School because of the projected district growth and the addition of new secondary schools. Reflecting district emphasis on vocational training, it became the San Antonio Vocational and Technical High School in 1932. The name was changed in 1961 to honor Louis W. Fox (d. 1978) who served as principal, 1934-1942. A pioneer in Texas vocational education programs, Fox helped develop the technical training curriculum for the school and the district. This historic school has one of the three oldest student government organizations in the state and an alumni association formed in 1892. An annual football game against Lanier High School, called the "Chili Bowl", has been held since 1940. (1979)