North High School (Torrance, California)

• Opened in September 1955
• Campus has 24 buildings and 100 classrooms
• Serves youth living north of 190th St. to north city boundaries
• Maximum student enrollment capacity is 3000

North High was 1971 CIF 4A (Largest school division) Baseball Champions beating Chaffey HS 9-0 Jim O'Brien head coach

North High's Dennis Littlejohn (San Francisco Giants drafted 1st rd #2 overall) named 1971 CIF baseball player of the year

North High was 1972 CIF 4A (Largest school division) Baseball Runner Up losing to Dominguez HS 5-4 Jim O'Brien head coach

North High was 1974 CIF 4A (Largest school division) Baseball Champions beating Lakewood HS 1-0 Jim O'Brien head coach

North High was also named Cal Hi best school baseball team for the 1974 season with a season record or 26-6-1

North High's Tim O'Neal was named CIF baseball player of the year (who pitched both sides of the 21 inning championship game)

The 1974 Championship game began at Anaheim Stadium ended in a 0–0 tie after a curfew of time then to be completely replayed a couple days later at USC's Rod Dedeaux field for a 1–0 victory for a total of 21 innings, clearly one of the if not the greatest championship games in High school baseball history. North High's Tim O'Neal pitched both games.

Prior to 2003–2004 North High was in the Ocean League and also The Bay League. In 2007–2008 North High was voted by the Pioneer League as the runner-up for Most Athletic School.

• Bob Hite (Class of 1960)
• Major General Malcolm B. Frost, US Army (Class of 1984)
• Chris Demaria (Class of 1998)
• Jesse Juarez, professional mixed martial artist who was an All-American wrestler[3]
• Chris Mortensen (Class of 1969)
• Dennis Littlejohn (Class of 1972)
• Chuck Norris (Class of 1958)
• Jason "Wee Man" Acuña (Class of 1991)
• Kikuo "KeyKool" Nishi (Class of 1988)
• Nathan Salmon, philosopher (Class of 1969)
• Tiny Ron Taylor[4]
• Aaron Takahashi (Class of 1989)[5]
• Emanuel Newton – professional Mixed Martial Artist[6]
• Chris Farasopoulos Professional football player New York Jets
• James Parker (Class of 2007)

KNHS, was an FCC licensed FM radio station at 89.7 MHz from 1955 to 1991, with a variety music radio format broadcasting diverse recordings chosen by North High School's student disc jockeys. In the latter years it was usually an eclectic mix of classic rock, heavy metal, and rap.[7][8] Its nickname was "The Rock of the Block". A person that had worked in the FCC's Washington headquarters at the time said "The Federal Communications Commission does not keep an official count of high school stations, but it is the first high school station she ever had encountered."[7]

History

KNHS served the local Torrance area, with the signal reaching from 1–3 miles (1.6–4.8 km) beyond the campus.[7] Although it was against school rules for students to carry radios on campus, some students managed to listen with transistor radios and later Walkmans, or on tape recordings the student broadcasters' parents made.[7] KNHS temporarily ceased legal broadcasts when the Torrance Unified School District allowed the station license to expire on 1 December 1983, although it was FCC compliant into 1989.[7] Former North High School students recall that the station broadcast until 1991, raising the possibility that the station was a pirate broadcaster in its last years.

According to the high school newspaper The North Wind, the station broadcast with 1-Watt from 1967 to 1972. The station was the subject of a Los Angeles Times story in 1989.[7] The antenna tower was first above the original KNHS studio located near the cafeteria. The transmitter and limiter were mounted on a shelf in the old 3-room radio studio, which included an announcer's booth, a control room with a Gates audio console, and a storage room for vinyl records.[9] The facility survived the 1971 San Fernando earthquake. In 1972 the KNHS studios and equipment were moved to the second floor of the Industrial Arts Building.

The KNHS antenna tower was also moved, to the roof of the Industrial Arts Building, and its transmitter power increased to 10-Watts. FCC rules did not set a lower power limit for that class (Class-D) of FM station. The tower was a local landmark, with its two omnidirectional "halo" elements at its top and below. The tower was damaged in a 2010 winter storm and subsequently removed.

Operations

In later years new disc jockeys were Juniors who learned from the previous year's students, applied for a Radiotelephone Operator Permit, and as the school year progressed shifted away mid-year from music to begin writing public service announcements and conducting on-air interviews.[10][11] Carol Shakely, a teacher who oversaw the station, said in 1989 "It's really a radio station. We're really subject to the whims of the FCC. We really have to read public service announcements every half-hour. People really can pick it up on their radios."[7]

There was no professional manager for KNHS, students managed it with some supervision by schoolteachers, including Mr. McKenzie, Ms. Carol Shakely, and Mr. Fields. There was no engineer for the station, however a contract engineer was called when something was known to be wrong, and a monitoring company that measured the KNHS frequency monthly to comply with FCC regulations. A student remembers "We would turn on the transmitter, call the monitoring company, who would record the specific frequency of the radio station."

In 1970, the radio station got its first phone line, allowing it to take music requests from its listeners, though with limited broadcast hours and 1–3 miles (1.6–4.8 km) broadcast range, the listening "public" was limited. Students also performed remote broadcasts of sporting events, begun due to the technical knowledge of Mr. McKenzie.

North High School had audio speakers on the "Quad" and in the cafeteria so students could listen to KNHS broadcasts on campus during the lunch period.

North JROTC Program was formed in 1996 and operational as of 1997. The North JROTC Program has been a recipient of the Honor Unit with Distinction since 2000.  This status is given to 10% of JROTC programs worldwide.  The North program has been known for hosting the Golden Bear National Drill competition.[12]  As of 2021 the program is being run by Lieutenant Colonel Noland Flores and Command Sergeant Major Michael Baker.[13]

• Official website
• North High School Alumni Organization (unofficial)
• North Torrance High Alumni on Myspace