#TBT: End of an Era in Saginaw
October 23, 2014
By Geoff Kimmerly
Second Half editor
Michigan will wave farewell this weekend to one of its longest-running high school football rivalries as Saginaw High and Arthur Hill play one last time before one of the schools is closed in December.
The 120-year-old rivalry is tied for second-oldest in Michigan history, ranks third with 128 games played and first among rivalries between Lower Peninsula schools.
The Saginaw News reported last month that the district’s Board of Education will vote on which to close in December after voting in July to shut down one of the two.
The schools – first called simply West Side and East Side – have met annually dating to 1894, save for four years – including in 1897 when it was deemed too large a mismatch and 1910 because of a smallpox outbreak. That fall marked the last the two didn’t play at least once – they played each other twice in 1895 and 1974.
Arthur Hill owns a 58-49 advantage in the series, and the teams tied 11 times. The Lumberjacks won last season’s Week 9 tilt, 43-22, but Saginaw holds a 12-8 edge over the last two decades.
Saginaw won the 1999 MHSAA Division 2 championship under coach Donald Durrett, while Arthur Hill claimed the Class AA title in 1991 under coach Jim Eurick and finished runner-up in 1992 – winning the 1991 game over Detroit Catholic Central 13-12 before losing to DCC in the following year's championship game rematch 21-20.
Sadly, both are finishing on softer notes; Saginaw has lost 16 straight games since winning on opening night 2013, while Arthur Hill has lost 13 of its last 14 with that lone win in between coming against the Trojans last fall.
Click to read select pages from the 1994 game program, itself a history book recalling a proud era in Saginaw history.
PHOTO: Arthur Hill defeated Saginaw 43-22 in last season's meeting between the longtime rivals. (Click to see more from HighSchoolSportsScene.com.)
Flashback 100: Harbaugh Brothers' Football Roots Planted in Part at Pioneer
November 29, 2024
Monday's NFL matchup between the Baltimore Ravens and Los Angeles Chargers marked the third time Ann Arbor brothers John and Jim Harbaugh have faced off as head coaches.
John, the Ravens' head coach since 2008, holds a 3-0 record against his younger brother Jim, who is in his first season leading the Chargers. Jim previously served as head coach of the San Francisco 49ers from 2011 to 2014, and the two Harbaughs famously met in Super Bowl XLVII, where John emerged victorious.
Before their coaching careers, the brothers played together on the same high school football team. In 1979, the Ann Arbor Pioneer team finished with a 4-5 record, with John as a senior defensive back and Jim, a sophomore quarterback, starting the year on the junior varsity team.
After high school, John attended Miami (Ohio) and eventually began his coaching career. After his sophomore year of high school, Jim followed his father Jack to Palo Alto, Calif., when Jack took a coaching job at Stanford. The Harbaughs' roots in Ann Arbor ran deep, and Jim would later return to Michigan, where he played and, in 2023, led the Wolverines to a national championship as head coach. Jim Harbaugh played 14 seasons in the NFL before moving on to coaching, taking snaps with the Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts, Baltimore Ravens and San Diego Chargers.
The Harbaugh brothers were inducted into the Ann Arbor Pioneer Athletics Hall of Fame together in 2016.
Previous "Flashback 100" Features
Nov. 22: 8-Player Football Finals Right at Home at Superior Dome - Read
Nov. 15: Leland Career Helps Set Stage for Glass' International Stardom - Read
Nov. 8: Future Baseball Pro Led Escanaba's Legendary Football Title Run - Read
Nov. 1: Michigan High School Baseball Trio Provide World Series Voices - Read
Oct. 25: Before Leading Free World, Ford Starred for Champion GR South - Read
Oct. 18: Mercy Links Legend Becomes World Golf Hall of Famer - Read
Oct. 11: Fisher Races to Finals Stardom on Way to U.S. Olympic First - Read
Oct. 4: Lalas Leaves High School Legacies on Ice & Pitch - Read
Sept. 27: Tamer's History-Making Run Starts in Dexter, Continues to Paris - Read
Sept. 20: Todd Martin’s Road to Greatness Starts at East Lansing - Read
Sept. 13: James Earl Jones, Dickson High Hoops to Hollywood Legend - Read
Sept. 6: Pioneers' Unstoppable Streak Stretches 9 Seasons - Read
Aug. 30: Detroit dePorres Rushes to 1995 Class CC Football Championship - Read
PHOTOS At top left, John Harbaugh in 1979, with brother Jim’s photo at bottom left. At right, John Harbaugh is No. 22 in the 1979 Pioneer football team photo. (Photos courtesy of Ann Arbor Pioneer/MLive.)