The Baltimore City College football team, known as the "Black Knights", or formerly "Castlemen", and "Alamedans", has represented Baltimore City College, popularly referred to as "City", the flagship publiccollege preparatory school in Baltimore, Maryland, United States, for nearly 150 years in the sport of gridiron football.[1] Until 1953, the school's athletic teams were primarily referred to as the "Collegians", a moniker that is still used alternatively today. The team is the oldest high school football program in Maryland and is among the oldest high school football programs in the United States.[2] The program was among the nation's best in the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, finishing ranked in national high school football polls on multiple occasions.[3]
The program has a history of producing NFL talent, with 14 alumni reaching the professional ranks of the National Football League.[5] City College also has a legacy of successful head football coaches. This list includes George Young, former General Manager of the New York Jets and George Petrides, whose 257 career wins ranks eighth all-time among Maryland high school football coaches.[6]
In the mid-1870s, as American football gained popularity, City College emerged as one of the first high schools in the Baltimore area to sponsor the sport. In the program's early years, the team played intersquad games with students also serving as coaches. This early adoption led to a unique situation where, due to a lack of comparable high school teams in the region, the team routinely traveled by train to face out-of-state high school opponents like the Central High School Lancers from nearby Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, a matchup featuring the second- and third-oldest public high schools in the country. During this period, City College football also played against current NCAA Division I, II, and III college teams like the Maryland Terrapins, the Navy Midshipmen, the Frostburg State Bobcats, and the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays.
The first football game against the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute Engineers (often referred to as Poly) was played during the programs early years. The first recorded City-Poly football game was played at Baltimore's Clifton Park in 1889. This game marked the beginning of what is believed to be the second-longest continual public high school football rivalry in the United States, after the Boston Latin School-The English High School rivalry, which started two years earlier in 1887.[10] From 1889 to 1900, City College dominated this rivalry, winning all 12 games during this period. However, by 1918, Poly and other local schools began to surpass City College football in their training and game preparations. This shift was partly due to City College's downtown Baltimore location, which limited the program's access to bonafide practice fields.[10] The City College football continued scheduling a mix of high schools and colleges until the school became a founding member of the Maryland Scholastic Association in 1919.
Maryland Scholastic Association (MSA) era (1919-1993)
Under the guidance of Head Coach Harry Lawrence, City College consistently defeated local rivals, including Polytechnic, whom they beat each year from 1934 to 1942. The team also began facing out-of-state opponents, notably defeating Petersburg High School (VA) in 1936. The 1936 squad finished its season with an undefeated record, but later lost the MSA championship due to eligibility issues with a player. Despite beating McDonough High School during the season, the title was awarded to them. By 1940, Lawrence's coaching prowess had led City College to an impressive 38-game undefeated streak and three MSA championships. In 1941, the undefeated Knights traveled to Florida to play Miami High School in the sweltering heat of the Orange Bowl stadium, a drastic change from their usual colder playing conditions, and suffered a loss. During World War II, Lawrence and assistant coach Otts Helms joined the military. Lawrence returned to coaching in 1947 at Bucknell University, where he mentored future City College head coach George Young). In 1950, Andy Defassio took over as head coach, with Robert Lumsden as his assistant. However, Lumsden soon moved to Baltimore Polytechnic Institute, where he became a legendary coach.
George Young, who became head football coach in 1959, brought significant changes. Originally a history teacher at City and an assistant coach at Calvert Hall College High School, Young emphasized discipline and academic performance. Young's summer training camps focused heavily on running and conditioning, contributing to his teams winning six out of eight games against Poly during the 1960s and securing six MSA championships. One of the most notable City-Poly games under Young's coaching occurred on Thanksgiving Day in 1965 at Baltimore Memorial Stadium, drawing roughly 25,000 spectators. City triumphed over Poly with a score of 52–6, completing an undefeated 9–0 season and finished ranked No. 8 nationally by National Sports News Service (NSNS). Many coaches argued that the team should have finished the season ranked as high as No. 2 in the country, but the team was penalized in the poll for not playing at least 10 games and not playing in a state championship tournament.[11] This game set a record for the highest points scored in the rivalry, and notable players like Sykes and Person advanced to the NFL. Kurt Schmoke, who later served as Mayor of Baltimore, was the quarterback. Following Young's departure from the program in 1967, three head coaches led the program until 1974. George Young was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2021.[12]
George Petrides served as head football coach from 1975 until he retired in 2015.[13] Petrides, a 1967 City College graduate, coached the team through MSA football seasons from his hire in 1975 until the school left the MSA for the MPSSAA in 1992. Under his leadership, the Black Knights achieved remarkable success, including a record 29-game winning streak and multiple MSA conference championships.
Maryland Public Secondary School Athletic Association (MPSSAA) era (1993-present)
City College joined the Maryland Public Secondary School Athletic Association (MPSSAA) in 1993 and was expected to compete for football championships immediately after having won a MSA football championship in 1992. City College football has won four MPSSAA regional championships in 1996, 2001, 2005, and 2023 and two MPSSAA district championships in 2005 and 2006. George Petrides, the longest-serving head football coach in school history, announced his retirement in 2015. His 275 career wins ranks eight all-time among Maryland high school football coaches. His contributions to the program is commemorated by the naming of the team's stadium George Petrides Stadium at Alumni Field. The current head coach is Rodney Joyner, who led the program to an appearance in the 2023 MPSSAA Class 3A state semifinals, the program's first state semifinals appearance since 2005.
"The Game", as this rivalry is commonly referred to, has featured legendary high school football coaches like Harry Lawrence, Bob Lumsden,[15] George Petrides,[16] and George Young. In all, 25 former players in the City-Poly game ultimately played in the National Football League (NFL), which includes the 14 NFL players City has produced.[5][17][18]
Baltimore City College has had 28 head coaches since organized football began in the early-1900s. The program has been led by several successful head coaches over the years. This list of notable head football coaches includes:
Harry Lawrence, who was head football coach from 1934 to 1941 and again in 1946, leading the team to a win-loss-tie record of 69–10–6 (.870). Lawrence left City College following the 1946 season to become head football coach at Bucknell University.
George Young was head football coach from 1959 to 1967. In his nine seasons as head coach, Young led the program to a win-loss-tie record of 60-11-2 (.927) and six MSA conference championships. After a coaching stint with the Baltimore Colts, Young became the General Manager of the New York Giants. Under Young's leadership, the Giants won fifty-three percent of their games, four NFC titles and two Super Bowls and the senior vice president of football operations for the National Football League.[20]
George Petrides served as head football coach from 1975 until his retirement in 2015. In his 40 years at the helm, Petrides led the program to a win-loss-tie record of 257-144-1 (.670) and retired as the second-winningest high school football coach (by career wins) in Maryland behind only Good Counsel High School's Bob Malloy.[16] Petrides won five MSA conference championships in 1986, 1987, 1988, 1991, 1992, two MPSSAA division championships in 2005 and 2006, and three MPSSAA regional championships in 1996, 2001, 2005.
The 28 individuals who have served as Baltimore City College head football coach during the years are listed below.[21]
No.
Name
Seasons
1
Hay Eichelberger
1904–1907
2
Captain Steinbacker
1908–1909
3
D. Claude Stonecipher
1910–1911
4
Harry (Dutch) Ruhle
1912–1914
5
Michael J. Thompson
1915–1916
6
Ferdinand Bonnette
1917
7
Herb Armstrong
1918
8
John Coulbourn
1919–1921
9
Chester H. Katenkamp
1922
10
Henry "Pop" Goodard
1923–1928
11
Vic Schmid
1929–1930
12
David Kaufman
1931–1933
13
Harry Lawrence
1934–1941
14
Charles Hirschauer
1942–1944
15
Charley Rudo
1945
16
Harry Lawrence
1946
17
Otts Helms
1947–1949
18
Andy Defassio
1950–1951
19
Otts Helm
1952–1953
20
Frank Lee
1954–1958
21
George Young
1959–1967
22
Robert Patzwall
1968
23
Robert Terpening
1969–1970
24
Ron Chartrand
1971–1974
25
George Petrides
1975–2015
26
Daryl Wade
2015–2017
27
Mike Hamilton
2017–2019
28
Rodney Joyner
2020–present
City College players in the National Football League
The program has a history of producing talented players who ultimately play professional football at the highest level. 14 City College football alumni have played in the National Football League (NFL).[5] This list includes current NFL player Malik Hamm (Baltimore Ravens), as well as former NFL players like Charles Tapper, Bryant Johnson, and others, showcasing the program's ability to develop athletes capable of competing at the highest levels of the football.[22]
Player
Pos
Teams
From
To
Malik Hamm
LB
BAL
2023
present
Charles Tapper
DE
DAL
2017
2017
Bryant Johnson
WR
ARI,SFO,DET,HOU
2003
2011
George Ragsdale
RB-WR
TAM
1977
1979
Tom Gatewood
TE-WR
NYG
1972
1973
Ara Person
TE
STL
1972
1972
John Sykes
WR
SDG
1972
1972
Bob Baldwin
FB
BAL
1966
1966
Reid Lennon
G-C-T
WAS,LAD
1945
1947
Gil Meyer
E-DE
BCL
1947
1947
John Wright
B
BCL
1947
1947
Art Brandau
C-G
PIT
1945
1946
Nick Campofreda
C-T
WAS
1944
1944
Past seasons results, standings
Results and standings 1895–1934
Year
W
L
T
PF
PA
Comments
1895
3
12
0
50
260
losses included 42-0 (Naval Academy), & 6-0 (University of Md.)[23]
1896
2
5
0
24
116
opponents included a mix of high school and college teams[24]
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