Massillon & McKinley

George Bozeka, a life long resident of Stark County shares the history of a high school rivalry that has spanned over 150 years as the Canton McKinley Bulldogs have battled the Massillon Tigers in epic gridiron battles with legendary coaches and players.

It's a rivalry that dates back to the 19th century and is arguably the premier annual matchup of high school gridiron teams anywhere, the Massillon High School versus Canton McKinley High School. This game played traditionally at the end of each season on a Saturday afternoon has turned into quite the event between the teams of Massillon and McKinley.

The matchup is a rivalry to the highest degree and these two proud football communities just plain get up for this game. The crowd draw averages around 15,000 to 20,000 spectators, at least in non-COVID years. Think about that… this is two high school teams playing against each other.

George Bozeka, a football historian who has resided in the Stark County area for his entire life, has admired the importance of this annually scheduled game. George shares that 34 of the more than 130 some meetings of the schools has had the winner crowned as the eventual Ohio State Champion. There have even been eleven titles of National Champ given to the victor of this game in Eastern Ohio. According to a 2021 article on the Canton Repository’s website:  

Massillon currently holds a 73-53-5 lead in the series. That includes a 25-16-1 record at McKinley's home stadium. There are only a couple of years where these two teams did not play and they are 1918 due to World War I and the Spanish Flu pandemic and 1962 when Massillon was serving a one year suspension.

Fawcett Stadium was the name of the home field of the Canton High School since 1939, which was nestled between the school and the Pro Football Hall of Fame. In 2017 after Fawcett was torn down, the Hall provided a brand new stadium on the same site named Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium.

Massillon High calls an equally fantastic venue, Paul Brown Tiger Stadium as their home field. This of course is named for one of the school’s most famous products, the legendary innovative Coach Paul Brown. Brown not only coached at the school for almost a decade before moving on to the college and Pro levels but he was once a player in this series for the Tigers as well. Other famous players from the Tigers programs over the years are Chris Spielman, Rick Spielman, Harry Stuhldreher (one of the famous Notre Dame Four Horsemen), Tommy Hannon, Willie Spencer, Sr., Willie Spencer, Jr, Bob Vogel and Devin Smith among a list of many pro level players.

McKinley has also had its share of outstanding players come through their ranks. Marion Motley, Edgar Rip Miller (one of the Notre Dame Seven Mules) Percy Snow, Kenny Peterson, Wayne Fontes, John Grimsley, Ed Grimsley, Corner and Josh McDaniels the current New England Patriots Offensive Coordinator

The coaches that have been involved in this rivalry are quite an eye opener. The Aforementioned Paul Brown, Lee Tressel, Chuck Mather, Don Nehlen who later had success at WVU, Ben Schwartzwalder who later went to coach the famous Syracuse teams, Jim McKay and Dr. Harry March, a founding force of the New York Giants and early NFL.

George Bozeka offers so much more history in the podcast above on this great rivalry that has stood the test of time and produced champions at all levels of the game.