(video below)
The Goodfellows Game was an annual high school football game played from 1938 to 1967 that pitted the winner of the Detroit Catholic League against the winner of Detroit's Public School League. In the 1963 game, Harper Woods Notre Dame, which finished with a 6-1 record in league play, came up against a tough Denby High School team in a real defensive "slobberknocker" at Tiger Stadium in Detroit. Denby came out on top 7-0 and its fans proceeded to tear down the goal posts on one end of the field.
It was the second year at Notre Dame for legendary head coach Walt ("Bazy") Bazylewicz, who also led the 1962 team to a Central Division championship. Coach Bazylewicz coached in the Catholic League for many years and later served as director of the league for 15 more, longer than any other CHSL director.
A video compilation of the 1963 Goodfellows Game has been posted below in four separate videos (by quarter). Every play is shown, but added together, all four videos are only about 24 minutes in length since the extraneous footage has been edited out.
Of particular note is the fact that the game was played on November 22, the day President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, which cast a definite pall over the evening's events.
In 1965, the two schools played again and tied 14-14 and were declared co-champions. These games were sometimes called "the battle for Kelly Road," because Denby and Notre Dame were both located on Kelly, about two miles apart.
Below, writer and historian Richard Bak writes about the history of the Goodfellows Game on Detroit Athletic Co.'s website, which is devoted to sports in Detroit.
Also below is a complete list of every Goodfellows Game as well as the final CHSL Central Division standings in 1963.
Annual Goodfellows Game was a tradition at Tiger Stadium for 30 years
BY RICHARD BAK – OCTOBER 1, 2012
(detroitathletic.com)
Before his tenure as quarterback of the Detroit Lions, Gary Danielson played in The Goodfellows Game at Tiger Stadium for Dearborn Divine Child High School. For a long time, the Detroit Lions’ Thanksgiving Day game at Tiger Stadium was not the only treasured football tradition at The Corner. Every November between 1938 and 1967, the champions of the Catholic and Public School leagues met in the Goodfellows Game, a benefit event that during its 30-year run raised nearly $1 million for the Goodfellows Fund, one of the city’s favorite charities.
The inaugural Goodfellows Game was played on November 26, 1938, on a snowy field at Briggs Stadium. Heavily favored Hamtramck High was upset by Catholic Central, 19-13. The first points were registered by John McHale, the father of future Tigers president John McHale Jr. The Catholic Central center-linebacker lugged a Hamtramck pass 45 yards for a touchdown, one of two interceptions that CC returned for scores that Saturday afternoon. McHale went on to play parts of five seasons as a Tigers first baseman in the 1940s before entering baseball’s executive ranks.
Detroit owner Walter O. Briggs was a major supporter of the game, donating the use of his stadium and selling refreshments at half-price. At its peak in the late 1950s and early ‘60s, the Goodfellows Game drew crowds approaching 40,000. The spectators often included a Dearborn kid named Gary Danielson.
“As a kid, my dad had taken me to Tiger Stadium several times to see the Lions and the annual Goodfellows Game,” he recalled. “In 1967, I remember seeing Mel Farr score a long touchdown for the Lions, and that same year I played in the last Goodfellows Game.”
Divine Child, with Danielson barking signals, upset top-ranked Denby, 14-7. “I was a junior, and just a few games earlier I had been converted to quarterback. I scored the last touchdown on a rollout into the centerfield end zone.” Danielson went on to star at Purdue and later played nine seasons for the Lions, beginning in 1976. By then the Lions had moved to Pontiac. The Lions’ annual Turkey Day contest continued, but the other football tradition, the Goodfellows Game, had already ended, a victim of safety concerns in the wake of the ’67 riot.
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History of the Detroit Goodfellows Game
The Goodfellows Game was played from 1938, when Catholic Central beat Hamtramck, 19-13, until 1967, when Divine Child defeated Denby, 14-7.
1938 — Goodfellows – Detroit Catholic Central 19, Hamtramck 13
1939 — Goodfellows – U-D High Detroit 20, Catholic Central 0
1940 — Goodfellows – Detroit St. Theresa of Avila 6, Detroit Cooley 6
1941 — Goodfellows – Detroit Cooley 47, Detroit St. Theresa of Avila 6
1942 — Goodfellows – Detroit Catholic Central 46, Hamtramck 0
1943 — Goodfellows – Detroit Catholic Central 8, Detroit Cooley 0
1944 — Goodfellows – Detriot Mackenzie 3, Detroit Holy Redeemer 0
1945 — Goodfellows – Detroit Catholic Central 19, Detroit Denby 19
1946 — Goodfellows – Detroit Cooley 21, Detroit St. Anthony 13
1947 — Goodfellows – Detroit Denby 14, St. Mary of Redford 0
1948 — Goodfellows – Detroit Denby 28, St. Mary of Redford 0
1949 — Goodfellows – Detroit St. Anthony 19, U-D High 13
1950 — Goodfellows – Detroit Redford 7, Detroit St. Gregory 6
1951 — Goodfellows – St. Mary of Redford 23, Detroit Western 6
1952 — Goodfellows – St. Mary of Redford 13, U-D High 6
1953 — Goodfellows – Detroit Pershing 21, River Rouge Lady of Lourdes 7
1954 — Goodfellows – U-D High 23, St. Mary of Redford 20
1955 — Goodfellows – Detroit Pershing 13, St. Mary of Redford 7
1956 — Goodfellows – Detroit De La Salle 26, Detroit Denby 20
1957 — Goodfellows – St. Mary of Redford 25, Detroit Southeastern 6
1958 — Goodfellows – Detroit Redford 27, St. Mary of Redford 7
1959 — Goodfellows – Grosse Pointe St. Ambrose 13, Detroit Cooley 7
1960 — Goodfellows – Detroit Denby 21, Detroit Catholic Central 18
1961 — Goodfellows – Grosse Pointe St. Ambrose 20, Detroit Pershing 0
1962 — Goodfellows – Grosse Pointe St. Ambrose 19, Detroit Cooley 0
1963 — Goodfellows – Detroit Denby 7, Harper Woods Notre Dame 0
1964 — Goodfellows – Grosse Pointe St. Ambrose 20, Detroit Southeastern 0
1965 — Goodfellows – Harper Woods Notre Dame 14, Detroit Denby 14
1966 — Goodfellows – Grosse Pointe St. Ambrose 33, Detroit Denby 19
1967 — Goodfellows – Dearborn Divine Child 14, Detroit Denby 7
1963 Catholic League Final Standings
CATHOLIC LEAGUE – (CENTRAL)
Harper Woods Notre Dame Fighting Irish: 6-1-0, 6-2-1
Detroit Catholic Central Shamrocks: 6-1-0, 6-1-0
Detroit Cathedral Wildcats: 4-2-1, 4-2-1
Detroit Salesian Knights: 4-3-0, 4-3-0
Detroit De La Salle Collegiate Pilots: 4-3-0, 4-3-0
Detroit University of Detroit High School Cubs: 2-4-1, 3-4-1
Detroit Austin Friars: 1-6-0, 1-6-0
Birmingham Brother Rice Warriors: 0-7-0, 0-8-0
Sep. 20, 1963, Weekend
Detroit Cathedral 21, Birmingham Brother Rice 0
Detroit University of Detroit High School 7, Detroit Austin 6
Harper Woods Notre Dame 14, Detroit Salesian 13
Detroit Catholic Central 14, Detroit De La Salle Collegiate 13
Sep. 27, 1963, Weekend
Detroit Austin 16, Birmingham Brother Rice 0
Harper Woods Notre Dame 12, Detroit University of Detroit HS 7
Detroit Catholic Central 7, Detroit Salesian 0
Detroit De La Salle Collegiate 18, Detroit Cathedral 14
Oct. 4, 1963, Weekend
Detroit Salesian 13, Detroit University of Detroit HS 7
Harper Woods Notre Dame 40, Birmingham Brother Rice 0
Detroit Catholic Central 32, Detroit Cathedral 6
Detroit De La Salle Collegiate 21, Detroit Austin 0
Oct. 11, 1963, Weekend
Detroit Cathedral 28, Detroit Salesian 13
Detroit University of Detroit HS 34, Birmingham Brother Rice 6
Harper Woods Notre Dame 32, Detroit De La Salle Collegiate 13
Detroit Catholic Central 13, Detroit Austin 7
Oct. 18, 1963, Weekend
Detroit Cathedral 33, Detroit Austin 18
Detroit Salesian 28, Birmingham Brother Rice 0
Harper Woods Notre Dame 14, Detroit Catholic Central 0
Detroit De La Salle Collegiate 27, Detroit University of Detroit HS 0
Oct. 25, 1963, Weekend
Detroit Cathedral 21, Harper Woods Notre Dame 14
Detroit Salesian 34, Detroit Austin 0
Detroit Catholic Central 20, Detroit University of Detroit HS 6
Detroit De La Salle Collegiate 41, Birmingham Brother Rice 6
Nov. 1, 1963, Weekend
Detroit Cathedral 7, Detroit University of Detroit HS 7
Detroit Salesian 26, Detroit De La Salle Collegiate 6
Harper Woods Notre Dame 27, Detroit Austin 0
Detroit Catholic Central 27, Birmingham Brother Rice 7
Nov. 8, 1963, Weekend
Birmingham Groves 14, Birmingham Brother Rice 6 *
Detroit University of Detroit HS 7, Redford Saint Mary 0 *
Harper Woods Notre Dame 0, Royal Oak Shrine Catholic 0 *
Nov. 22, 1963, Weekend
Detroit Denby 7, Harper Woods Notre Dame 0 *
* Signifies that game is non-conference
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