CINCINNATI -- It's a rivalry that began and ended in the worst of times. The best of times and a lot of great memories came in the middle.
Elder and Western Hills high schools began playing football in November of 1929, about a month after the stock market crashed. Their final game comes Friday night as the country tries to recover from its worst economic downturn in decades.
Eighty one games have been played, and Elder has won the vast majority, the reason the rivalry is being discontinued. Western Hills just doesn't have the horses to compete like it once did.
Football was the centerpiece, but it was a holiday celebration through the west side of Cincinnati. The game was held on Thanksgiving Day. There would be a bonfire on Wednesday night, and then a parade down Glenway and Warsaw Avenues on Thanksgiving morning. The game would begin around 10 a.m.
Bobby James, who played center at Elder in the late 50's remembers that his mother would dress the turkey early in the morning. Then she'd place it in the oven on a low setting, and the family would head out for the big game. That scene was repeated all over Price Hill.
Longtime fans tell me that the game would usually be over by noon, and then they'd head to Nippert Stadium for the annual college battle between UC and Miami which was also a Thanksgiving Day affair for years. Frank St. Charles who captained the Elder squad of 1959 told me, "They say this is a baseball town, I beg to differ."
The game was closely contested for the better part of four decades. Then Elder started to dominate and that didn't stop. Western Hills last beat the Panthers in 1990.
Richard Jones, who's a board member for the Price Hill Historical Society says bragging rights were on the line. That's because many of the players were neighbors and friends, except when the Thanksgiving Day game was played.
The parade faded away sometime in the 60's. The turkey day setting fell victim to the high school playoffs. And now, the game goes away altogether.
But players, coaches and fans have some great memories. Those can't be erased.
The Mustangs and Panthers kick off at The Pit at 7:30 p.m.
Do you have a memory of this game? Share them in our comment section below.
