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Green Bay East–Green Bay West football rivalry

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The Green Bay East–Green Bay West football rivalry is a high school football rivalry between Green Bay East High School and Green Bay West High School, two public high schools in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Played annually since 1905 (other than 1906 and 2020, when the games were cancelled and postponed respectively), it is Wisconsin's longest-running consecutively-played high school football rivalry.[1] The teams first met unofficially in 1895, but did not begin playing annually until ten years later. For much of the early 20th century, the rivalry game was one of the most popular events of the year in Green Bay due to East and West being the only city high schools, drawing crowds that exceeded those of the fledgling Green Bay Packers.[2]

Green Bay East—Green Bay West football rivalry
Teams
  • Green Bay East Red Devils
    (Known as the Hilltoppers until 1924)
  • Green Bay West Wildcats
    (Known as the Purple until 1929)
First meetingNovember 30, 1905
East 21, West 0
Latest meetingOctober 18, 2024
West 21, East 6
Next meetingTBA (Fall 2025)
StadiumsCurrent: City Stadium (East), Del Marcelle Stadium (West), rotates annually or biannually since 1979
Past:
Hagemeister Park and League Ball Grounds (1905–1922)
Bellevue Park (1923–1924)
Lambeau Field (rotated between City Stadium in 1960s and 1970s)
Statistics
Meetings total119
All-time seriesEast leads, 64–52–3
Largest victoryEast 70, West 0 (2018)
Longest win streakEast, 11 (1998–2008)
West, 7 (1909–1915)
Longest unbeaten streakEast, 11 (1998–2009)
Current win streakWest, 2

With the addition of Southwest High School in 1964 and Preble High School in 1965, enrollments at East and West declined along with the town-wide popularity of the game, but East and West continued to meet, celebrating 100 years of games in 2005. East has led the series four times (1905-1910, 1922–1952, 1979, 2003–present), and currently leads overall 64–50–3. West has led the series three times (1912-1920, 1954–1977, 1981–2001) and their longest period of dominance stretched from 1942 to 1962, where they won all but three games. After back-and-forth victories in the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, East has won all but three games since 1998, and set a record for largest victory (70–0) in the schools' 2018 meeting. Many players from the earlier days of the rivalry went on to play in the National Football League, mostly for the Packers in their earliest years. Two Pro Football Hall of Fame members played in the East–West rivalry: quarterback Arnie Herber (West), and Curly Lambeau (East), who was inducted as a Packers coach.

History

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Pre-rivalry, 1895–1901

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Founded in 1856 and 1890 respectively, Green Bay East and West are Green Bay's original and oldest high schools. In the mid-1890s, following the opening of West and the move of East from its original building, the schools began to organize football teams, first with East in 1896 and West following in 1898. Before the official formation of the teams, the two schools played an informal game in 1895 that ended in an 8–8 tie.[3] According to Cliff Christl, a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter and team historian for the Green Bay Packers, the first year a formal game was considered was 1898, but the proposals were unsuccessful. A game was scheduled in 1901, but was vetoed by Green Bay's board of education, which felt the game was not in the best interests of the schools.[4]

Official start, 1905–1919

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The December 1, 1905, Press-Gazette's report of the first East–West game

The first official meeting occurred on November 30, 1905, at Green Bay's Hagemeister Park. East won 21–0, with some later sources claiming the score was 22–0.[3] According to Christl, attendance at the first game was between 100 and 500 spectators.[5] The following year, amidst a nationwide outcry against the violent nature of football, Green Bay's school board dissolved the programs at both schools. Though they would later reverse the decision, only East fielded a team that year and the game was not played.[5] The series resumed in 1907 and continued uninterrupted. Once the series continued as a regular event, it became "a homecoming of sorts for college students who attended the two high schools."[5] Beginning in 1908, the games were relegated to the city's disused minor league baseball field at Hagemeister, known as the League Ball Grounds. Despite fears of the series' cancellation due to fights during and after the 1908 game, the series continued and West won its first game in 1909. West would then win seven straight games until East, with the aid of Curly Lambeau (who would help found the Green Bay Packers three years later), won the 1916 game.[6] Despite fears that the 1918 game would be cancelled due to the Spanish flu (and indeed it was postponed three times), the series continued.[7]

Bigger than the Packers, 1920–1949

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By 1920, the popularity of the rivalry game continued to grow. The Green Bay Press-Gazette began devoting full-page sports previews to the game five years earlier (doing so until 1943), and two games in this decade saw higher attendance than the Packers, who were beginning a fierce rivalry with the Chicago Bears themselves.[8] Curly Lambeau coached East's teams during the early part of the decade, and oversaw the development of Jim Crowley as a quarterback at a time when passing was not a widely used strategy. "I remember the West fans didn't like it," recalled Lambeau in a later interview, "They said, 'Run the ball. That's not football.'"[8] Beginning in 1920, the game's date changed to November 11, and would remain so for seven of the next sixteen games. In 1923, the schools joined organized play in the new Fox River Valley Conference, and the conference's first seven football championships were won by either East or West.[7] That year as well, the game's location switched to Bellevue Park, another baseball field that served the temporary home of the Packers due to the construction of the new East High School building on the site of Hagemeister Park. Once the new building was completed, both the Packers and the East–West rivalry game would call City Stadium, built on the campus of the new high school, home for many years. The 1933 game was the first of three ties in the series, ending with a score of 7–7.[9] After 1930, the schools moved the game back to Armistice Day from Thanksgiving, citing near-zero°F temperatures as a reason for the change.[9]

In the early 1940s, the generally innocuous antics of the school rivalries began to become more serious. Shortly before the 1942 game, groups of students rioted and looted in the downtown area, leading one police officer to declare that the student riots were "the worst in Green Bay history."[10] After threats to cancel the rivalry games based on the violent behavior, the situation relaxed until 1948, when a similar wave of vandalism struck the city on the eve of an East–West game. In the Press-Gazette's view, the fights were nothing new, but the more violent conduct resulted from the games occurring at night.[10]

Decline in popularity and conference expansion, 1950s–1980s

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The 1950s were at once the peak of attendance for the East–West games and the beginning of their eventual downturn. The 1952 and 1953 games drew crowds of 14,047 and 15,071, beating out Packers exhibition games in Milwaukee, and coming close to exceeding Packer attendance at City Stadium, which drew over 16,000 fans.[11] After 1954, the number of fans dropped below 10,000 and would only exceed 6,000 fans once more.[11] After another riot at the 1954 games that caused property damage and injured both a policeman and a bystander, the games were moved from nighttime to Saturday afternoon, and remained at that time for the next 25 years.[12] The 1957 game was the first played at the current-day Lambeau Field, known then as "New City Stadium."[12] East coach Gene Bray considered the move to Lambeau Field a key reason for declining attendance due to the larger stadium and lack of home-field feeling: "You'd play before 4,000 to 5,000 people and you didn't feel like there was anybody at the game."[13]

In the mid-1960s, the Fox River Valley Conference admitted two more schools, Green Bay Southwest in 1964 and Preble High School in 1965. According to Christl, school officials attempted to create new rivalries – East against Preble and West against Southwest – "at the expense of the East–West game."[13] With the addition of the new teams, the East–West game was also no longer scheduled for the final week of the regular season. The venue for the games also changed slightly during these decades, rotating between the east (City Stadium) and west (Lambeau Field) sides of the city until the late 1970s, when the west-side venue changed to West's newly constructed Del Marcelle Stadium.

As a testament to the game's shrinking popularity, the Press-Gazette failed to send a reporter to the 1976 and 1979 games, an action that, according to Christl, was unprecedented.[14]

Current day, 1990s to present

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Despite declining enrollments and loss of athletes to other fall sports, the game continued strong for many years. In 1999, East broke a then 46-year-old scoring record, defeating West 55–7. The teams celebrated 100 years of games in 2005, and then-US Representative Mark Green commemorated the 100th game in a session of the House.[15] In 2009, West won its first rivalry game since 1997 (the 1997 win remaining the last time West had a margin of victory larger than one score), snapping East's record winning streak of 11 games. In the teams' 2018 meeting, East again broke the margin-of-victory record, defeating West 70–0.[16] For the first time since 1906, the rivalry game was not played in 2020 due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, but was postponed to the spring along with all other football activities.

Game results

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Data from 1905 to 2005 taken from West vs. East. Post-2005 data taken from WisSports.net.

East victoriesWest victoriesTie games
No.DateLocationWinning teamLosing teamSeries
1 1905[note 1] Hagemeister Park East 21 West 0East 1–0
2 1907 Hagemeister Park East 11 West 0East 2–0
3 1908 League Ball Grounds East 4 West 0East 3–0
4 1909 League Ball Grounds West 5 East 0East 3–1
5 1910 League Ball Grounds West 3 East 0East 3–2
6 1911 League Ball Grounds West 14 East 11Tied 3–3
7 1912 League Ball Grounds West 7 East 6West 4–3
8 1913 League Ball Grounds West 38 East 0West 5–3
9 1914 League Ball Grounds West 12 East 0West 6–3
10 1915 League Ball Grounds West 6 East 0West 7–3
11 1916 League Ball Grounds East 7 West 6West 7–4
12 1917 League Ball Grounds West 34 East 0West 8–4
13 1918 Hagemeister Park East 20 West 6West 8–5
14 1919 Hagemeister Park East 7 West 0West 8–6
15 1920 Hagemeister Park East 43 West 6West 8–7
16 1921 Hagemeister Park East 21 West 0Tied 8–8
17 1922 Hagemeister Park East 27 West 7East 9–8
18 1923 Bellevue Park East 7 West 6East 10–8
19 1924 Bellevue Park East 16 West 0East 11–8
20 1925 City Stadium East 9 West 3East 12–8
21 1926 City Stadium West 7 East 2East 12–9
22 1927 City Stadium West 7 East 6East 12–10
23 1928 City Stadium East 26 West 0East 13–10
24 1929 City Stadium East 12 West 7East 14–10
25 1930 City Stadium East 2 West 0East 15–10
26 1931 City Stadium East 12 West 7East 16–10
27 1932 City Stadium West 19 East 6East 16–11
28 1933 City Stadium Tie7Tie7East 16–11–1
29 1934 City Stadium West 26 East 6East 16–12–1
30 1935 West Stadium East 6 West 0East 17–12–1
31 1936 City Stadium East 13 West 6East 18–12–1
32 1937 City Stadium East 33 West 6East 19–12–1
33 1938 City Stadium East 3 West 0East 20–12–1
34 1939 City Stadium West 13 East 0East 20–13–1
35 1940 City Stadium East 14 West 0East 21–13–1
36 1941 City Stadium Tie0Tie0East 21–13–2
37 1942 City Stadium West 7 East 6East 21–14–2
38 1943 City Stadium West 3 East 0East 21–15–2
39 1944 City Stadium East 13 West 6East 22–15–2
40 1945 City Stadium West 41 East 14East 22–16–2
41 1946 City Stadium West 27 East 0East 22–17–2
42 1947 City Stadium West 7 East 6East 22–18–2
43 1948 City Stadium West 13 East 0East 22–19–2
44 1949 City Stadium West 22 East 6East 22–20–2
45 1950 City Stadium East 28 West 6East 23–20–2
46 1951 City Stadium West 21 East 18East 23–21–2
47 1952 City Stadium West 21 East 0East 23–22–2
48 1953 City Stadium West 49 East 13Tied 23–23–2
49 1954 City Stadium West 13 East 6West 24–23–2
50 1955 City Stadium West 23 East 0West 25–23–2
51 1956 City Stadium East 27 West 0West 25–24–2
52 1957 Lambeau Field West 31 East 28West 26–24–2
53 1958 Lambeau Field West 14 East 7West 27–24–2
54 1959 Lambeau Field West 17 East 0West 28–24–2
55 1960 Lambeau Field West 43 East 14West 29–24–2
56 1961 Lambeau Field West 34 East 6West 30–24–2
57 1962 Lambeau Field West 19 East 7West 31–24–2
58 1963 Lambeau Field Tie0Tie0West 31–24–3
59 1964 City Stadium East 20 West 7West 31–25–3
60 1965 Lambeau Field East 18 West 12West 31–26–3
No.DateLocationWinning teamLosing teamSeries
61 1966 City Stadium West 28 East 0West 32–26–3
62 1967 Lambeau Field West 19 East 0West 33–26–3
63 1968 Lambeau Field East 14 West 8West 33–27–3
64 1969 City Stadium East 25 West 6West 33–28–3
65 1970 City Stadium East 2 West 0West 33–29–3
66 1971 Lambeau Field East 13 West 0West 33–30–3
67 1972 City Stadium East 20 West 7West 33–31–3
68 1973 Lambeau Field West 37 East 7West 34–31–3
69 1974 City Stadium East 20 West 8West 34–32–3
70 1975 Lambeau Field West 6 East 0West 35–32–3
71 1976 City Stadium East 16 West 6West 35–33–3
72 1977 Lambeau Field East 25 West 0West 35–34–3
73 1978 City Stadium East 13 West 0Tied 35–35–3
74 1979 Del Marcelle Stadium East 13 West 7East 36–35–3
75 1980 City Stadium West 27 East 6Tied 36–36–3
76 1981 Del Marcelle Stadium West 11 East 0West 37–36–3
77 1982 City Stadium West 28 East 0West 38–36–3
78 1983 Del Marcelle Stadium West 21 East 20West 39–36–3
79 1984 City Stadium West 20 East 0West 40–36–3
80 1985 Del Marcelle Stadium West 29 East 0West 41–36–3
81 1986 City Stadium East 21 West 14West 41–37–3
82 1987 Del Marcelle Stadium East 35 West 9West 41–38–3
83 1988 City Stadium West 14 East 12West 42–38–3
84 1989 Del Marcelle Stadium East 28 West 27West 42–39–3
85 1990 City Stadium West 15 East 13West 43–39–3
86 1991 Del Marcelle Stadium West 29 East 16West 44–39–3
87 1992 City Stadium East 16 West 0West 44–40–3
88 1993 Del Marcelle Stadium East 27 West 0West 44–41–3
89 1994 City Stadium West 17 East 14West 45–41–3
90 1995 Del Marcelle Stadium West 17 East 8West 46–41–3
91 1996 City Stadium East 10 West 7West 46–42–3
92 1997 Del Marcelle Stadium West 30 East 13West 47–42–3
93 1998 City Stadium East 38 West 20West 47–43–3
94 1999 Del Marcelle Stadium East 55 West 7West 47–44–3
95 2000 City Stadium East 34 West 0West 47–45–3
96 2001 Del Marcelle Stadium East 20 West 10West 47–46–3
97 2002 City Stadium East 16 West 6Tied 47–47–3
98 2003 Del Marcelle Stadium East 6 West 0East 48–47–3
99 2004 Del Marcelle Stadium East 34 West 0East 49–47–3
100 2005 City Stadium East 56 West 8East 50–47–3
101 2006 Del Marcelle Stadium East 48 West 20East 51–47–3
102 2007 City Stadium East 42 West 7East 52–47–3
103 2008 Del Marcelle Stadium East 41 West 13East 53–47–3
104 2009 City Stadium West 28 East 21East 53–48–3
105 2010 Del Marcelle Stadium East 41 West 6East 54–48–3
106 2011 Del Marcelle Stadium East 39 West 14East 55–48–3
107 2012 City Stadium East 34 West 12East 56–48–3
108 2013 City Stadium East 20 West 0East 57–48–3
109 2014 Del Marcelle Stadium West 30 East 29East 57–49–3
110 2015 Del Marcelle Stadium East 43 West 8East 58–49–3
111 2016 City Stadium East 52 West 6East 59–49–3
112 2017 Del Marcelle Stadium East 36 West 26East 60–49–3
113 2018 City Stadium East 70 West 0East 61–49–3
114 2019 Del Marcelle Stadium East 16 West 6East 62–49–3
115 2021[note 2] Del Marcelle Stadium East 15 West 14East 63–49–3
116 2021 Del Marcelle Stadium West 14 East 13East 63–50–3
117 2022 City Stadium East 8 West 6East 64–50–3
118 2023 Del Marcelle Stadium West 41 East 28East 64–51–3
119 2024 City Stadium West 21 East 6East 64–52–3

NFL alumni

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East players that continued to the NFL[17]
Player Professional team(s)
Nate Abrams Green Bay Packers
Wayland Becker Chicago Bears
Brooklyn Dodgers
Green Bay Packers
Pittsburgh Steelers
Jim Cook Green Bay Packers
Jim Crowley Green Bay Packers
Providence Steamrollers
Lester Hearden Green Bay Packers
Tom Hearden Green Bay Packers
Chicago Bears
Curly Lambeau+* Green Bay Packers
Dave Zuidmulder Green Bay Packers
"+" denotes member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. "*" denotes member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.
West players that continued to the NFL[17]
Player Professional team(s)
Art Bultman Green Bay Packers
Brooklyn Dodgers
Dick Campbell Pittsburgh Steelers
Norbert Hayes Green Bay Packers
Racine Legion
Arnie Herber+* Green Bay Packers
New York Giants
Fee Klaus Green Bay Packers
Wes Leaper Green Bay Packers
Herman Martell Green Bay Packers
Dave Mason New England Patriots
Green Bay Packers
Charlie Mathys Hammond Pros
Green Bay Packers
Ray McLean Green Bay Packers
Ken Radick Green Bay Packers
Brooklyn Dodgers
Joe Secord Green Bay Packers
Jerry Tagge Green Bay Packers
Cowboy Wheeler Green Bay Packers
Carl Zoll Green Bay Packers
Dick Zoll Cleveland Rams
Green Bay Packers
Martin Zoll Green Bay Packers
"+" denotes member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. "*" denotes member of the Green Bay Packers Hall of Fame.

Notes

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  1. ^ Sources give the score variously as 21–0 and 22–0.
  2. ^ Postponed game from Fall 2020.

References

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Citations

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  1. ^ "Rivalries". WisSports.net. Archived from the original on 2016-11-13. Retrieved 2019-03-05.
  2. ^ Christl 2005, p. 3.
  3. ^ a b Christl 2005, p. 17.
  4. ^ "Two schools will not play". Green Bay Press-Gazette. 1901-11-02. p. 5. Retrieved 2019-01-02 – via Newspapers.com  .
  5. ^ a b c Christl 2005, p. 18.
  6. ^ Christl 2005, p. 19.
  7. ^ a b Christl 2005, p. 21.
  8. ^ a b Christl 2005, p. 20.
  9. ^ a b Christl 2005, p. 22.
  10. ^ a b Christl 2005, p. 24.
  11. ^ a b Christl 2005, p. 25.
  12. ^ a b Christl 2005, p. 27.
  13. ^ a b Christl 2005, p. 28.
  14. ^ Christl 2005, p. 32.
  15. ^ Congressional Record, V. 151, Pt. 15, September 8 to September 22, 2005. Government Printing Office.
  16. ^ Venci, Scott (2018-09-15). "High school football Week 5 takeaways: West isn't seeking sympathy; Bay Port keeps rolling". Green Bay Press-Gazette. Retrieved 2019-06-15.
  17. ^ a b Christl 2005, p. 75.

Bibliography

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  • Christl, Cliff (2005). East vs. West: A Rivalry 100 Years in the Making. Green Bay, WI: Brown County Printing.
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