Soldan High School (Class of "81")

Congratulations to our classmate Dr. Kevin Villars. He received his Doctorate of Education EdD in administration. Well done good brother. 👌🏾♦️

Congratulations to our classmate. Danny Gray. Received his Masters degree in Principal Leadership from Chicago State University. Class of 2023. 👏🏾👏🏾👏🏾

St. Louis Public High League Memories:

MARVIN NEALS.......Charles Sumner High...alumni.... While playing for coach James Price at Sumner, the Bulldogs became the first African American high school to win a Regional in the state of Missouri.

Marvin Neals, who coached both Soldan and Cardinal Ritter to Missouri high school basketball championships, is noted as one of the finest coaches in the state. He is the only coach in the history of Missouri to win state championships in two different classes in the state. He is the only African-American head coach in the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame.

Neals took over a lackluster program at Soldan in 1974, won the 4A state title in 1981. After a hiatus from coaching, he came back to
win four state titles at Cardinal Ritter.

He was honored by the Missouri State High School Athletic Association with their Distinguised Service Award. In 2011 at the NAACP annual Freedom Fund dinner, he was awarded the Inspirational St. Louis Award.

Growing up, Neals played three sports at Sumner High School in St. Louis – he was a first baseman in baseball, an end in football, and a forward in basketball. In 1960, he received All-Conference honors in basketball and an honorable mention in football.

Neals received an academic and athletic scholarship to play at Fisk College, then returned to St. Louis to play basketball for Harris Teachers
College. He graduated from Harris, finishing as the school’s leading scorer, averaging 25 points. He also went on to play for six months with Goose Tatum’s famous Harlem Road Kings.

Pictures of the 40th anniversary celebration of the 1981 Soldan's State Championship victory. Pics owned by Richie Williams, Soldan Class of 1978.