Page 16 THE MALDEN ADVOCATE–Wednesday, November 27, 2024 Here’s a capsule look at the Malden-Medford Thanksgiving Game History, 1889-2023, game-by-game A summary of every game, 1 to 137, from 1889-2023 T his detailed, colorful history was created and prepared by former Malden Evening News Sports Editor Paul Leahy from 1971 to 1991 and by former Malden Evening News/Medford Daily Mercury Editor Steve Freker from 1992 to the present. They’ve played 137 times before in a series that began in 1889 and is now the LONGEST continuous high school football rivalry in the United States. Malden leads the series 69-58 – there have been 10 ties. Following is a capsule look of each game that’s been played in the time-honored series between Malden and Medford: 1889: Medford won the first game, 34-0, in a game played on Friday, October 15, 1889. Malden players protested that Medford used players from Tufts College and MIT. A second game was scheduled, and Medford won, 4-0, on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. 1890: no score available; therefore, no verification if a game was indeed played. 1891: Medford won, 22-0. 1892: Medford won, 34-0. 1893: Its first victory in the series clinches the Suburban League title for Malden, 18-0, according to Malden records. Malden won a second game that year by a score of 12-10. 1894: Touchdowns by Tom Flanders and Bill Nash gave Malden its second straight Suburban League crown, 10-0. Medford shared first place with the Golden Tornadoes going into the game. 1895: Medford succeeds Malden as Suburban League champs, 16-11, at Tufts Oval. The two teams were tied for first place entering the game. 1896: Medford’s 18-0 victory costs Malden the Suburban League title. 1897: Malden holds twice inside its own four-yard line and battles to a scoreless tie at Tufts Oval in the first game played on Thanksgiving Day. 1898: Mike Howe scores twice as Malden wins Suburban League pennant, 20-12. 1899: Jack Williams’ three touchdowns pace Medford to a 23-6 victory before the largest crowd to date to watch the series, 1,500 people. From this game on, all the games were played on Thanksgiving. 1900: Malden’s Elmer Rice scored the deciding touchdown in a 11-5 victory that earns a Suburban League championship before a record crowd of 2,500 people. 1901: Malden storms back in the second half and rallies to a 23-6 victory. 1902: Dennis Papkee scores the deciding conversion after Paul Volpe’s touchdown to give Medford a 6-5 victory and the Suburban League crown before another record-breaking crowd of 5,000 people. 1903: Jack Mather’s two touchdown’s pace Medford, 17-5, before another record-breaking attendance of 6,000 people. 1904: Jack Mather scores three times and extends Medford’s domination, 18-11. 1905: Malden installs ex-Dartmouth and Everett end Matt Bullock as coach specifically for the Medford game and upsets the Mustangs, 27-0, in the first game at Bryant Street Park in Malden. 1906: Paul Pray’s conversion after Midget Cotting’s touchdown pulls Medford out, 6-5, with a record crowd of 8,000 fans on hand. 1907: Charlie Miner scores three touchdowns, and Malden captures Suburban League title, 44-0, with the highest score to date in the series. 1908: Fights and threats of protests mar Malden’s 6-0 victory. Medford had a touchdown called back and a 40-yard slugging penalty against a Mustang, who was ejected and had to be brought to the sideline by a policeman. The penalty sets up a winning, 15-yard TD catch by Malden’s Dennis Letherman. 1909: Malden’s Arthur Miner scores three touchdowns in a 23-3 victory. 1910: Six different players score as Malden clinches State and Suburban League titles with 13th straight victory, 35-0. Malden had its only undefeated, untied (13-0-0) season and went on to beat Providence (R.I.) Tech, 298, in a postseason game at Bryant Street Park. 1911: Medford wins Suburban League title on two field goals by 14-year-old Art Donellan. 1912: Malden rolls behind the passing of quarterback Herb Kempton, 27-0, and wins State and Suburban League crowns with an undefeated record. 1913: Eric Christianson’s fourth quarter touchdown helps Medford upset Malden, 6-3. 1914: Medford captain Art Donellan throws for one touchdown and returns an intercepted pass for another in a 21-0 shutout win. 1915: Bob Foley sprints for 80 yards with a blocked field goal and boosts Medford to a 7-0 victory. 1916: Two offsides penalties against Malden set up both Medford scores as Mustangs rally for 13-13 tie, but lose the Suburban League championship to Somerville with the deadlock. 1917: Quarterback Charlie Donellan’s third-quarter field goal gives Medford an unbeaten record (9-0-0) and Suburban League title, 3-0. Medford, which had allowed only seven points all season heading into the game, won the Suburban League and Eastern Mass. titles and defeated Manchester (N.H.) in a postseason game at Braves Field in Boston. 1918: Quarterback Chet Sanford comes back from a threeweek layoff and directs Medford to a second straight Suburban League title with a touchdown pass and field goal, 9-0. Boston Commerce nipped Medford, 3-0, at Braves Field for the Eastern Mass. title. That lone field goal were the only points Medford had allowed all season. 1919: Medford holds twice on its own goal line and battles Malden to a 0-0 tie before a record-breaking crowd of 8,500. 1920: Medford recovers from Malden fumble with less than four minutes in the game, and four plays later Capt. Bob Blair scores the winning touchdown in a 7-0 Mustang victory. 1921: Honey Lewin’s field goal in the snow in the closing minutes salvages Malden, 10-7, before a record-breaking crowd of 10,000. 1922: Captain Bob Sandberg’s third quarter touchdown overhauled Medford for Malden and allowed the Golden Tornadoes to share the Suburban League crown with Rindge Tech, 7-3. It was Malden’s first piece of a league title in 10 seasons, since 1912. 1923: Captain Joe Murphy, a tackle, rambles 62 yards for a first quarter touchdown as Medford wins Suburban League championship, 7-0, and drops Malden from the unbeaten ranks. 1924: Crowd of 15,000, the largest crowd to date by far, watches quarterback “Sheep” Jackson direct Malden to four second-half touchdowns and a 27-6 win. 1925: First-half touchdowns by Jack Mangan and Morris Spector propel Malden to an unbeaten season with a 13-0 win – in front of another huge crowd of 15,000-plus. Malden tied for the Eastern Mass. title. 1926: Three quick touchdowns give Medford 20-0 first quarter lead and Mustangs hold on for a 20-6 upset. 1927: John Baxter scores twice, once on a 90-yard sprint, earning Malden a 13-13 tie. 1928: Medford finishes the season unbeaten with a 7-0-3 record and gains a share of the Eastern Mass. championship with Newell Wilder leading the way to a 14-0 victory. 1929: With both teams coming into the game undefeated, an all-time series record crowd of 18,500 inside the fence and an estimated 2,000 to 3,000 outside saw Malden Captain Sam Fishman lead the Golden Tornadoes to an unbeaten season (90-1) and a share of the Eastern Mass. title by returning a punt 55-yards for the only score of the game as Medford (7-1-0) fell, 6-0. 1930: Malden’s Warren Mulrey scores a third-quarter touchdown as the Golden Tornadoes upset Medford, 7-2. 1931: Malden finishes with an unbeaten (9-0-1) record and claims a share of the Eastern Mass. championship on touchdowns by Sam Pashoian and Lloyd Tupper in a 12-2 victory over Medford (2-4-3). 1932: Lefty quarterback Joe Kelly passes Malden to 20-0 victory. 1933: Joe Kelly clinches ninewin season for Malden, 21-0, by setting up two second-quarter TDs with his passing, and running for a third score in the game’s closing minutes. 1934: Malden’s defense and the punting of Medford’s Torby Macdonald are the keys in a scoreless tie, 0-0. 1935: The punting of Malden’s “Chuckin” Charlie O’Rourke and Medford Capt. Art Wareham dominate in a battle of lines in a scoreless tie, the second straight in the series, that enables Malden to win the Eastern Mass. Class A title. 1936: Dexter Shaffner scores twice, but “Chuckin” Charlie steals the show for Malden in a 13-0 victory. 1937: Charlie Hanifan’s fourth-quarter touchdown decides it for Malden, 6-0. GAME | SEE PAGE 17
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