Great Thanksgiving Day Football Rivalries in Massachusetts

Great Thanksgiving Day football rivalries in Massachusetts aren't played at the professional level even though Foxboro, MA is the home of the New England Patriots. Nor are great Thanksgiving Day football rivalries in Massachusetts played out at the college level though they could be with a big time college team like Boston College lurking in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. No, great Thanksgiving Day football rivalries in Massachusetts are played at the high school level. Some of them have been played each Thanksgiving Day for decades and in Massachusetts there are a few that stretch beyond the century mark.

Wellesley High School- Needham High School . It's not just the oldest high school Thanksgiving Day football rivalry in Eastern Massachusetts, in the Bay State or even in New England. The annual gridiron encounter between Wellesley High School and Needham High School in Massachusetts holds the national record as the oldest Thanksgiving Day football rivalry in the nation among public high schools. While there are two private school Thanksgiving Day football rivalries that extend back into the 1870's the Wellesley-Needham squads engage in the public schools record setter. .

The rivalry started out simply enough . Local history says that in 1882 Arthur Judson Oldman of Wellesley High decided to challenge students at nearby Needham High School to what was deemed then " a friendly game of football". The first game was played with only a few dozen spectators but it gradually became one of the towns most cherished events. In Wellesley there is even a stone marker that stands at the site of the first competition. We have crossed the thresholds of two new centuries and the rivalry and the fun continues. Apparently what worked in the 19th century is still very much in vogue in the 21st century.

Boston Latin-Boston English While the annual Wellesley High - Needham High Thanksgiving Day game holds the record for oldest rivalry, the title passes to Boston Latin and Boston English for longest continuous high school Thanksgiving Day rivalry. The two Boston schools first took to the field on Thanksgiving Day in 1887 and they have stayed with it battling it out on every Thanksgiving Day since.

After 75 years the teams were knotted in the number of victories registered at 31 each while 13 games had ended in a tie. But the evenness of the competition has dissipated over the last 4 decades . In the last 39 Thanksgiving Day games Boston Latin has emerged victorious 36 times. With such a lopsided matchup some of the excitement has gone out of the rivalry. But those who go back a ways can remember the good old days when the rivalry was tops in Boston .

Medford High School- Malden High School The Thanksgiving Day football game enjoyed by these bordering towns ranks third in the nation its staying power. . Amazingly enough in some 120 years the record of wins and losses are almost identical for the two towns and the rivalry is fresh and exciting each year For each high school senior in these two towns, the Medford - Malden game is always the most important event on the fall schedule. It is a game that will create memories for a lifetime. The crowds are huge, the enthusiasm and intensity are unequaled during the rest of the year. Even if these two teams are ranked at the bottom of league play in a given year, all sins are forgiven the team that comes out the winner of the Thanksgiving Day encounter. For students and their fans a win at the Medford-Malden game guarantees bragging rights until the next Thanksgiving Day game.

Framingham and Natick - These next door neighbors will square off for the 101st time on Thanksgiving Day 2007. With team records during the regular season to date the total opposite of each other in terms of wins and losses, handicappers would say Natick should have an easy time of this years event . But great Thanksgiving Day high school football rivalries don't often follow the script and unusual things are often the order of the day. Last year Natick entered the fray with a perfect 10-0 record and superbowl bound while Framingham had put up a 6-4 record which was decent but not good enough for post season play. But going into the 100th annual event had a meaning for both teams that stretched way beyond the season or the post season. Rivalries are for all the marbles.

Natick ended up winning in 2006 but only by the slimmest of margins at 10-7 and every Framingham underclassman left the field thinking" what if". That's what great Thanksgiving Day football rivalries are all about, playing as hard as you can for four quarters and then waiting a year to do it all over again.