City–Poly football rivalry

The City–Poly football rivalry, also referred to as the "City-Poly Game" is an American football rivalry between the Baltimore City College Black Knights (City) and the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute Engineers (Poly). This matchup is the oldest football rivalry in Maryland.^[1] The rivalry is believed to be the second-oldest high school football rivalry in the United States between public high schools, predated only by the English High School of Boston-Boston Latin School football rivalry, which started two years earlier in 1887. The rivalry began in 1889 and the teams have met 136 times in history. City College leads the series 67–62–6.^[2][3]

From the first game in the series until 1922, the game was played at various parks in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Starting in 1923, the game was played on Saturday after Thanksgiving Day in football stadiums, starting with Baltimore Municipal Stadium. The game was moved to Thanksgiving Day in 1944 due to a scheduling conflict with the Army-Navy game, which was also played at Municipal Stadium that year.^{[4] [5]} The game remained on Thanksgiving Day for nearly five decades years until 1992 when City College and Polytechnic withdrew from the Maryland Scholastic Association (MSA) to join the Maryland Public Secondary School Athletic Association (MPSSAA.^[6] Today, the game is continues to be played at a neutral site and currently takes place at Hughes Stadium on the campus of Morgan State University.^[7] In November 1941, 30,000 spectators attended the City-Poly game, which continues to hold the record of the largest attendance in the series.^[8]

The first City-Poly game took place in 1889 when a junior varsity football team from Polytechnic met the varsity football team from City College at Clifton Park in the northeast section of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. The inaugural game was won by City College. Then known as the Collegians, City College continued to beat rival Poly each year through 1901. In 1902, for the first time in the then-12-year-old rivalry, no game was played.^[9] The series resumed in 1903, with City beating Poly each year until 1906. In 1907, the two teams experienced the first tie or draw in the series occurred.^[10] Poly beat City for the first time ever in 1908.^[10]

During the 1910s, Polytechnic improved its football program significantly and was the dominant team in the series. Between 1910 and 1919, Poly won every game in the series, except the 1912 game when they were bested by City.^[11] During this decade, Poly shut out City in 1914, 1915, 1916, and 1917. Polytechnic's winning streak over City College continued through 1921. In 1922, City College beat Polytechnic by a score of 27–0 to end a nine-game losing streak against the Engineers.^[12]

By the 1920s, the City-Poly rivalry the dominant and most heated high school football rivalry in the Baltimore region. One of the most controversial games in the series took place during the 1920s. The eligibility of a City College player was challenged prior to the 1926 matchup. The Maryland Scholastic Association formed a committee to investigate the matter. Following an investigation and a physical altercation involving the player's father, the committee ruled that the player was banned from participating on the team and expelled was expelled from Baltimore City Public Schools.^[13] Following the ruling, the two teams met at the Baltimore Stadium with 20,000 spectators on hand. Polytechnic won the game by a score of 3–0 with a late field goal in the fourth quarter. The 1920s concluded with Polytechnic dominated a 20-year stretch in the annual series with City College.^[2]

The City College football program was resurgent in the 1930s. Polytechnic dominated the series in the previous two decades, however the Engineers only won two of the 10 games against Collegians between 1930 and 1939.^[11] In 1934, Harry Lawrence, a Polytechnic graduate and former player, was hired as head football coach at City College.^[14] Lawrence coached the City College Collegians to several dominate wins over Polytechnic Engineers through the 1930s and into the early-1940s. In November 1941, 30,000 spectators attended the City-Poly game, which continues to hold the record of the largest attendance in the series.^[8] In 1944, the annual series, which had been played on the Saturday following Thanksgiving Day, was moved to Thanksgiving Day afternoon due to a scheduling conflict with the Army–Navy Game.^[4] The game remained on Thanksgiving Day for nearly 50 years.

From 1950 to 1959, Polytechnic, led by legendary former head football coach and athletic director Bob Lumsden, won nine out of the 10 games of the decade, including five straight wins. In her career at Poly, Lumsden earned a win-loss record of 11–7 record against City, when he retired as Poly's head coach in 1966. In 1962, Lumsden coached Poly to an undefeated record of 9-0 and earned a trip to the unofficial high school national championship game at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Florida against the top-ranked Miami Senior High School. The tide turned in the 1960s when George Young was hired as City's head football coach. During his time at City College, Young coached the Collegians to six wins over their rival Engineers and also won six MSA championships.^[15][16] Young also created a nationally ranked program in City College with the Collegians finishing the 1968 season ranked No. 8 in the National Sports News Service (NSNS) prep football poll.^[17]

During the 1970s and 1980s, Polytechnic controlled the series with their rival City College. During this period, City College lost 17 straight games in the series, before winning in 1987.^[2] This is the longest winning streak in the series for either team. In 1993, the Baltimore City public schools withdrew from the Maryland Scholastic Athletic association and joined the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association (MPSSAA).^[18] This change meant that the football season would end earlier forcing Poly and City to move their game from Thanksgiving Day to the first Saturday in November.

Since 1990, City College holds a win-loss record of 22-10 versus Polytechnic. From 1990 to 1999, the game was played at Baltimore Memorial Stadium. In 1999, the two rivals played their last-ever game at Memorial Stadium. The game was moved to M&T Bank Stadium due to the NFL's Baltimore Ravens opening a new downtown stadium. From 1990 to 1999, the two teams spilt their annual series during this period, winning five games each. The next decade also featured a spilt series, with each team winning five games in the 10 seasons from 2000 to 2009. Since 2012, the City owns a 12-0 undefeated record against Poly, which is the second-longest winning streak in the series all-time. In 2017, history was made when the first-ever female player took the field in this series.^[19]

As it had been since 1922, all games in the series between 1990 and 1996 were played at Baltimore Memorial Stadium, a multi-purpose stadium that was home to the Baltimore Colts and the Baltimore Ravens of the NFL and Major League Baseball's Baltimore Orioles. When the Ravens moved to M&T Bank Stadium in downtown Baltimore, the game moved to that location. The last City-Poly game at M&T Bank was played in 2017.^[20] The game is now played at Hughes Stadium on the campus of Morgan State University.

The City-Poly game has been ubiquitous in households across Metropolitan Baltimore since the series began in 1889. Along with the Turkey Bowl played between Loyola Blakefield and Calvert Hall College High School, the City-Poly game is the most high-profile high school football game in the Baltimore area. profile high school football rivalry. While some households root strictly for City or Poly, many homes spilt allegiances between both schools.^[21]

As it has for the last 134 years, the City-Poly continues to maintain cultural significance in Baltimore. Today, the game is considered each school's homecoming game and attracts thousands of students, alumni, and affiliated supporters to a week-long series of local events, culminating in CityPoly Fest, a festival which attracts sponsors and thousands of participants each year.^[22]

Since 1889, the Black Knights and the Engineers have played 136 times. City College leads the series 67–62–6. Since 1923, the game has been played in football stadiums. That year, the teams met at the Baltimore Municipal Stadium, which later becomes the Baltimore Memorial Stadium. The two rivals met at this location until 1992, when both schools withdrew from the Maryland Scholastic Association to join the Maryland Public Secondary Schools Athletic Association to compete for state championships with Maryland's other public schools.

• Leonhart, James Chancellor (1939). One Hundred Years of the Baltimore City College. H.G. Roebuck & Son. OCLC 610526848.