Tate High School was founded in 1878 by James Madison Tate Sr., a Civil Warveteran, minister and former lawyer. The school was originally called Roberts High School and was one of the first high schools established in Escambia County. The original school building was one room with a sawdust floor; students sat on wooden benches. Initially, Tate taught all of the grades himself. Tate taught at Roberts High until 1913, when he retired.
In 1917, the James Madison Tate Sr. Agricultural School was completed. The school was a two-story brick building with eight classrooms. Establishment of the agricultural school advanced the agricultural programs already in place at the original Roberts High.
In 1927, O.A. Strange became principal of Tate High School. During his 24-year tenure as head of the school, 10 buildings were added to the campus and the school transformed from a small rural school to a modern high school.[4][unreliable source?]
During the early days of Tate High, there was no football equipment, so the school's main sports were basketball and baseball. Tate's baseball team has won seven state championships since 1960.[5] One of the school's most accomplished baseball players, Don Sutton, went on to major league fame with the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The football team won the 4A state championship in 1980[6] under coach Carl Madison.
The Tate softball team won the Florida Class 7A state championship in 2015 led by pitcher Tori Perkins.
In 2024, the varsity cheer squad won the FHSAA state championships.
Tate's marching band, the Showband of the South, won the first official Bands of America Grand National Championship, in 1980.
Tate is also known for its drumline which has competed in annual world championship competitions in Dayton, Ohio.[citation needed] The school's colorguard is known as the "Tate Chaparrals." In 1989, the colorguard competed in the WGI Scholastic World Class Competition, winning first place.[citation needed]
The Tate High School FFA chapter was founded in 1929. Agricultural education continues to remain a focal point of the school, and is widely considered to be one of the highest performing FFA chapters in the Florida Panhandle.
This article's list of alumni may not follow Wikipedia's verifiability policy. Please improve this article by removing names that do not have independent reliable sources showing they merit inclusion in this article AND are alumni, or by incorporating the relevant publications into the body of the article through appropriate citations.(August 2019)
