City–Poly football rivalry

The City–Poly football rivalry is the oldest American football rivalry in Maryland, U.S. and the second-oldest public school rivalry in the U.S.—predated only by the rivalry between the Boston Latin School and the English High School of Boston. The rivalry began in 1889, when a scrub team from Baltimore City College (City) met a team from the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute (Poly), and has continued annually. Despite City's initial dominance in the series, Poly leads in overall wins with the record standing at 58–54–6.

History

Early years

Year	City	Poly
1956	6	12
1957	0	30
1958	6	12
1959	0	12
1960	30	26
1961	30	8
1962	6	14
1963	0	28
1964	14	6
1965	52	6
1966	42	6
1967	20	16
1968	26	6
1969	12	6
1970	0	6
1971	14	22
1972	6	32
1973	0	29
1974	0	6
1975	6	20
1976	0	34
1977	0	7
1978	6	30
1979	7	31
1980	0	47
1981	0	32
1982	12	30
1983	0	18
1984	0	48
1985	0	33
1986	21	41
1987	34	22
1988	20	7
1989	36	6
1990	0	27
1991	14	8
1992	20	0
1993	20	21
1994	6	7
1995	14	31
1996	26	20
1997	7	0
1998	13	12
1999	20	38
2000	18	6
2001	2	0
2002	6	7
2003	21	41
2004	6	24
2005	15	12
2006	44	8
2007	26	20

Year	City	Poly
1903	10	0
1904	6	0
1905	6	4
1906	5	0
1907	2	2
1908	0	11
1909	0	11
1910	3	0
1911	0	6
1912	13	6
1913	10	20
1914	0	3
1915	0	13
1916	0	13
1917	0	26
1918	3	13
1919	7	19
1920	2	14
1921	0	27
1922	27	0
1923	14	6
1924	13	6
1925	12	0
1926	0	3
1927	11	18
1928	6	33
1929	0	7
1930	0	18
1931	7	7
1932	0	0
1933	6	12
1934	13	0
1935	26	0
1936	20	6
1937	6	6
1938	33	0
1939	12	0
1940	19	0
1941	18	0
1942	19	7
1943	12	19
1944	7	7
1945	6	7
1946	6	0
1947	7	6
1948	13	12
1949	26	6
1950	0	12
1951	7	18
1952	0	21
1953	0	6
1954	0	19
1955	12	12

Little is known of the first American football game between Baltimore City College (City) and Baltimore Polytechnic Institute (Poly) in 1889, except that the a JV team from City met Poly in Clifton Park and City emerged the victor. That began the oldest football rivalry in Maryland and the second-oldest high school football rivalry in the United States—second only to the rivalry between the Boston Latin School and the English High School of Boston. City continued to win against Poly through 1901, however in 1902, for the only time in history of the series no game was played; though, in 1931, an extra game was played to compensate. Between 1903 and 1906, City won the series, but the tide turned in 1907, when the first tie in the series occurred. The next year Poly scored its first victory in the rivalry.

Poly dominance: 1910s and 1920s

Poly dominated the series in the 1910s. The only year of the decade that City won was 1912, and between 1914 and 1917, Poly shut out City. Poly's streak continued through 1921, completing a nine year winning streak, which City broke in 1922 with a 27–0 victory.

In 1926, one of the most famous City–Poly games was played. Prior to the game, the eligibility of City's halfback, Mickey Noonen, was challenged. A committee was formed to investigate Noonen's eligibility, but Noonen's father—frustrated with the investigation—struck one of the members of the committee. The result was that Noonen was not only barred from the team, but also expelled from the Baltimore City school system. In spite of Noonen's removal, the two teams met at the Baltimore Stadium with 20,000 fans in attendance. The game remained scoreless well into the fourth quarter. Finally, Poly's Harry Lawerence—who later became a coach at City—kicked a successful field goal from the 30 yard leading to a 3–0 victory over City.

City resurgence: 1930s and 1940s

The 1930s ushered in a period of resurgence for the City team. Poly, which had dominated in the previous two decades, only picked up two wins in the 1930s. In 1934, Harry Lawrence, who had kicked the winning field goal against City in 1926, became the head coach at his former rival. Lawrence led City to a series of victories over Poly through the 1930s and early 1940s. In 1944, the game, which had been played on the Saturday following Thanksgiving, was moved to Thanksgiving day. The change was the result of a scheduling conflict with the Army-Navy Game. The game remained on Thanksgiving day for nearly 50 years.

Lumsden and Young: 1950s and 1960s

In the 1950s, Poly under its legendary coach, Bob Lumsden for whom Poly's football stadium is named, won five straight games against City and won 9 out of the 10 games of the decade. Lumsden finished with 11–7 record against City, when he retired as head coach at Poly in 1966. In 1962, Lumsden coached 9-0 Poly to the unofficial National High School Championship Game at the Orange Bowl in Miami against the Miami High Stingarees. Poly lost 14-6. However, Poly's fortunes changed in the 1960s, while City was coached by George Young. Young coached his teams to six wins over Poly and as many state championships. One of Young's most memorable victories occurred on Thanksgiving day 1965 at Memorial Stadium, when undefeated City beat undefeated Poly 52–6, which is the largest margin of victory in the series.

1970s–Present

Throughout the 1970s and well into the 1980s, Poly controlled the series. City lost a total of 17 consecutive games to Poly, before winning in 1987. Poly's dominance during this period is the longest winning streak in the series. In 1993, the Baltimore City public schools withdrew from the Maryland State Athletic association and joined the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA). This change meant that the football season would end earlier forcing City and Poly to move their game from Thanksgiving day to the first Saturday in November. In November 2007, City and Poly met for the 119th time. The series currently stands with Poly leading 58–54–6.

Notes

References

• Leonhart, James Chancellor One Hundred Years Of Baltimore City College. Baltimore: H.G. Roebuck & Son.
• Patterson, Ted Football in Baltimore: History and Memorabilia. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.