The Thanksgiving Day football rivalry between Scott and Waite high schools is legendary. The rivals first played each other in 1914, the year the east side school opened. Although Scott was soundly defeated by a score of 13 to 34, the initial game set in motion a tradition that would last for the next four decades.
Fans lined up early (despite tickets being sold out weeks in advance) with hopes of scalping entry for the 10:30 a.m. match. The hosting school provided additional bleachers and chairs to accommodate crowds that soared to more than 23,000 spectators. The winning team often held a celebratory bonfire later that evening, led by the winning school’s cheerleaders. Play-by-plays of the game were published in many newspapers throughout the Midwest.
When DeVilbiss and Libbey high schools also established their own Thanksgiving Day rivalry in 1931, the Scott-Waite crowds diminished slightly. The tradition of holiday games in Toledo Public Schools was discontinued in 1962.