About Us
Freeport High School
701 W. Moseley St. Freeport, IL 61032 Phone: 815-232-0400 Fax: 815-232-0427
Enrollment: 1187 Conference(s): Northern Illinois (NIC-10) Nickname(s): Pretzels (boys), Lady Pretzels (girls) Colors: Orange/Black
School Type: Public Coed County: Stephenson Cities in District: Freeport 25,000
Interscholastic athletics and activities are privileged activities available to every student in the Freeport School District. The student is a representative of the high school on the playing field, in practice, and in the community. The acceptance of participation in athletics and activities involves a commitment by the student to the philosophies of school.
How did the Freeport High School's athletic teams become known as the Pretzels?
In an 1895 article, the Daily Democrat referred to Freeport as "The Pretzel City". It seems that there were many German bakeries in the city, and according to historians, the Billerbeck Bakery, established in 1881, was the greatest producer of pretzels. Thus Freeport became known as the Pretzel City, and Freeport High's athletic teams began to be referred to as the "Pretzels".
Freeport High School Famous Alum/Staff Members
Adolph Rupp (1926-30) - Freeport High School was Coach Rupp's first stop in his coaching career. Led the Pretzels to a 59-22 record over his 4 years at Freeport, highlighted by a 3rd place finish in the 1928-29 campaign. Coach Rupp went on to lead the University of Kentucky to 876 wins and 4 National Championships.
McKinley "Deacon" Davis (1951) - Played basketball at the University of Iowa and was named 1st Team All Big Ten and 2nd Team All-American in 1955. From 1955-1957 he was a member of the world famous Harlem Globetrotters. Northern Illinois University annually awards the "Deacon Davis Diversity Award". Created in 2004, the award recognizes NIU students, faculty, staff, academic units, offices, programs organizations for significant contributions made to the improvement of the status of minorities on campus.
Carl Cain (1952) - Played basketball at the University of Iowa where the Hawkeyes finished 2nd in the NCAA Tournament, losing to USF and
Bill Russell. Cain's #21 jersey was retired by the University of Iowa in 1980. He was a member of the Gold Medal winning Men's Basketball Team in the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne.
Preston Pearson (1963) - All -State Basketball at FHS. Attended University of Illinois to play basketball and was drafted by the NFL. Played for the Baltimore Colts, Pittsburgh Steelers and Dallas Cowboys. Played in 5 Super Bowls and won 2 of them.
Robert Johnson (1964) - Founder of BET (Black Entertainment Television).
Kerry Hughes (1970) - Member of the ABA/NBA New Jersey Nets, Denver Nuggets, and Cleveland Cavaliers. Served as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Clippers.
Kim Hughes (1970) - Drafted by the Cleveland Cavaliers in the 1974 NBA Draft.
Jenny Crouse (1996) - Led the Freeport Lady Pretzel Basketball Team to back-to-back 3rd place finishes in the 1994-95 and 1995-96 seasons. Still holds 9 records at FHS, including 2037 career points. Went on to a spectacular career at the University of North Dakota winning 3 Division II National Championships and countless awards. Including being named to the Division II 25th Anniversary Team in 2006. NCAA All-Tournament Team (1997, 98, 99).
Emily Pisula (2000) - 3 Time IHSA State Champion in the 200 yd. Individual Medley. Currently holds the state record in the same event with a time of 2:01.53. Swam collegiately at the University of Wisconsin.
Willie Veasley (2006) - 4 year Varsity starter for boys basketball team. 1st Team All-State Selection his senior year. All time leading scorer in Freeport Basketball History. A member of the Butler University Men's Basketball Team that finished 2nd in the NCAA Tournament in 2010.
