· 2 min read · Thanksgiving, History
Thanksgiving 2026 is November 26. These are the rivalries that started it all
Needham and Wellesley have played since 1882. Boston Latin and English since 1887. Leominster and Fitchburg are past 140 meetings. A guide to the oldest games on the Massachusetts calendar.
By Massachusetts Football
Around 118 high school football games were played in Massachusetts on Thanksgiving morning last year. No other state does it at that scale, and no other state has been doing it as long. With the 2026 holiday set for November 26, here is where the tradition comes from.
Needham vs. Wellesley, since 1882
The oldest public high school football rivalry in the country. The 2025 game was the 138th meeting. The series survived a three-year suspension from 1950 to 1952 after crowd trouble, and a bomb threat in 1991. Rivalry page.
Boston Latin vs. English High, since 1887
The oldest continuous Thanksgiving rivalry, unbroken since 1887; the 2025 game was also the 138th meeting. Latin has dominated the series historically, leading 80–38–13 by the New England Historical Society's count. Rivalry page.
Leominster vs. Fitchburg, since 1894
The most-played rivalry in the state: the 2024 game was the 143rd meeting. One quirk of the record book: the 1898 game stood as a 5–0 Fitchburg win for over a century until it was corrected to a 0–0 tie in 2010. Rivalry page.
Winchester vs. Woburn, since 1891
As even as a rivalry gets. Entering the 2024 game the series stood at 55 wins each with 12 ties, across 122 years. Rivalry page.
Beverly vs. Salem, since 1891
The 100th game, in 1998, drew 11,000 people. Rivalry page.
The rest of the 1890s
Malden–Medford (1889), Newburyport–Amesbury (1891), Durfee–New Bedford (1893), Athol–Mahar (1894), Newton North–Brookline (1894), Barnstable–Falmouth (1895), Reading–Stoneham (1899). Marlborough–Hudson followed in 1900 and Melrose–Wakefield in 1901. All of them are on the rivalries page, with more added through November.
Thanksgiving week at Fenway
Since a 2015 revival, Fenway Park has hosted high school games in Thanksgiving week. Last year Plymouth North and Plymouth South played there on Thanksgiving Eve and went to overtime.
A farewell in Northbridge
Last Thanksgiving was Ken LaChapelle's final game as Northbridge's coach: 50 seasons and a Massachusetts-record 411 wins, closed out against Uxbridge.
Know a series record we're missing? Send it in and we'll add it to the rivalry's page.