Athletics
The Camden High School Golden Panthers compete in the Olympic Conference, an athletic conference consisting of public and private high schools located in Burlington County, Camden County and Gloucester County. The Olympic Conference operates under the supervision of the New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA). Previously, the athletic teams at Camden High School were called/known as the "Purple Avalanche," a fitting name for the large football teams (60 or more players) on the sideline at the start of their games in the 1960s and 1970s. As of 2009, Camden High had won over 41 South Jersey Championships, and appeared in over 20 state championship games, winning 11 of them.
The school and their crosstown rival, Woodrow Wilson High School, still play the traditional Thanksgiving Day football game each year. The Thanksgiving Day game in 1979 was suspended after rival gangs started shooting at each other, resulting in at least 14 injuries and dozens of arrests.
The boys' basketball team went undefeated in both 1959 and 1960, winning state championships each year. The team won a total of seven state championships in the 1970s and 1980s. USA Today ranked the 1986 team as number one nationwide. Curtis Walls, Lee Wall, Louis Banks, Sean Turner, Larry Cohen, Reggie Lawrence, Kevin Smith, Dennis Brown, Davis Nieves, and Vic Carstarphen all played on this team.
The 2000 boys basketball team won the South Jersey Group III state championship as the seventh-seeded team, with an 89–64 win against top seed Lakewood High School, as Dajuan Wagner topped all scorers with 43 points. Camden High went on to win the State Group III title against Malcolm X Shabazz High School. From there they moved on to the Tournament of Champions, which pits each state champion against each other to determine one overall champion. Camden defeated Seton Hall Preparatory School in the championship game.
Read more about this topic: Camden High School (New Jersey)