IMAGE OF THE DAY: Cocoa High School Tigers Football Celebrates 100th Anniversary, See the 1925 Team Picture

BREVARD COUNTY SPORTS HISTORY

The 2025 Cocoa High School Tigers football program is celebrating its 100th anniversary this season. The 1925 team, above, included William Showalter, Pickford, Tom Brophy, Norwood Lockett, Hugh Gingras, Cubic Fortenberry, Morris Weinberg, Rolla Summerlin, W. Gordon Fortenberry, Alfred Robbins, Akridge, Frances Kelly, Whited, Winston Osteen, Leslie Dingman, and Walter Cox. Head Coach J. D. Wells, along with the assistance of George Gingras, an interested citizen and the father of a player, assisted the boys in improving each week. (1925 Cocoa High School yearbook image)

BREVARD COUNTY • COCOA, FLORIDA – The 2025 Cocoa High School Tigers football program is celebrating its 100th anniversary this season.

According to the 1925 Cocoa High School yearbook, most of the players were new to the game, although three veterans came from the North, including William Showalter, Pickford, and Tom Brophy.

The other boys on the team were Norwood Lockett, Hugh Gingras, Cubic Fortenberry, Morris Weinberg, Rolla Summerlin, W. Gordon Fortenberry, Alfred Robbins, Akridge, Frances Kelly, Whited, Winston Osteen, Leslie Dingman, and Walter Cox. Head Coach J. D. Wells, along with the assistance of George Gingras, an interested citizen and the father of a player, assisted the boys in improving each week.

Cocoa’s line-up consisted of Hugh Gingras at center; W. Gordon Fortenberry, right guard; Morris Weinberg, left guard; Cubic Fortenberry, right tackle; Norwood Lockett, left tackle; Winston Osteen, right end; Jordan Akridge, left end; William Showalter, right half-back; Pickford, left halfback; Tom Brophy, quarterback; and Randell Beardsley, fullback.

The first game was played against New Smyrna Beach at Cocoa, and the visitors came away with a 19-0 victory. The loss opened the eyes of the boys, and for the remainder of the season, they entered each game with a fighting spirit.

The second game was on the road against Titusville, with the Tigers coming away with a 17-0 victory.

Cocoa then lost the next two games, Fort Pierce 19-3, Winter Garden 18-9, and picked up their second victory in the last game against Melbourne 2-0 at Cocoa.

SPACE COAST SPORTS HALL OF FAME TEAM OF THE YEAR: The Cocoa Tigers secured their third consecutive Class 2A State Championship with a 38-27 victory over the Gadsden County Jaguars at Pitbull Stadium in Miami. This remarkable win not only cements Cocoa’s dominance in Florida high school football but also adds another State Championship trophy to the school’s storied history, bringing their total to seven. (Cocoa Football images)

Cocoa High School was constructed in 1917 as a two-story reinforced concrete building on Willard Street, next to Forrest Park Complex. It contained grades 7–12, and in 1925, a new three-story building was built on Forrest Avenue.

On September 2, 1952, Cocoa High School opened its new school building for grades 7–12 on Rockledge Avenue, the present site of Rockledge High.

The building on Forrest Avenue became the Junior High for grades 7-8. In 1959, grades 7-8 were moved to a middle school. The Forrest Avenue building was used by the then-new Brevard Jr. College, founded in 1959, for two years.

In 1970, a school was built at the present site on Rosentine Street, now Tiger Trail. There were 18 separate buildings housing grades 9–12. The part of Rosentine Street bordering the Cocoa High campus was renamed “Tiger Trail” in honor of the school’s mascot.

Cocoa High was the first high school in Brevard County to win an FHSAA State Championship in any sport, winning the Class “A” State Boys Basketball Championship in 1960. The team finished first in the state and had a 29–1 record.

The Tigers were also Brevard’s first high school to win a girls’ FHSAA State Championship in any sport, winning the Class AAA Girls State Basketball Championship in 1978. Coach James Rowe‘s boys basketball team won the Tigers’ second basketball championship in 2009.

In 2010, the football team played three out-of-state games to achieve a national ranking. In September 2010, the school was ranked 12th in the nation. It also set a county record for the number of consecutive football victories at 31.

In October 2008, the Tigers lost the BBQ Bowl to Rockledge –it would be another nine years before the Raiders beat Cocoa in 2017. Cocoa High has maintained possession of the BBQ Bowl trophy since 2020, a four-year streak to date.

Ryan Schneider’s 2024 Cocoa Tigers became champions for the seventh time in school history and achieved a “Threepeat” for the second time after the Tigers did it in 2008, 2009, and 2010. Cocoa has now moved into the top 10 all-time list of most state titles in Florida with seven.

The post IMAGE OF THE DAY: Cocoa High School Tigers Football Celebrates 100th Anniversary, See the 1925 Team Picture appeared first on Space Coast Daily.