SHS was one of the first high schools established in the state of Ohio, with the first building commissioned in 1845.

[citation needed] The sports teams of SHS are called the Blue Streaks and they play in the Sandusky Bay Conference, beginning in 2017.

Heisman Trophy finalist, NFL Pro Bowl selection, and SHS alumnus Orlando Pace and Heisman Trophy winner, NFL Pro Bowl selection, and Fremont Ross alumnus Charles Woodson competed against one another in the game from 1991 to 1993.

Although SHS is known for its football tradition, they have had great basketball teams and players throughout the school's history as well.

Scott May, who went on to become the NCAA Player of the Year on Bobby Knight's undefeated 1976 Indiana Hoosier basketball team, an Olympic Games gold medalist, and the Chicago Bulls' first-round pick of the 1976 NBA draft, played basketball at Sandusky High School and is the school's all-time leading scorer.