MIKE BURKE

Allegany Communications Sports

Another Homecoming Week in Cumberland is upon us, or, as some of us used to call it back when things were a bit more edgy between Allegany and Fort Hill, Idiot Week, which was never directed toward any of the participants in the game even when a coach or a player now and again took occasion to act outside of the box. It was attributed to the behavior of, uhhh, overzealous parents and boosters who had yet to come to the realization that they were not the ones playing in the game.

At the same time, those days were good days and a whole lot of fun. So many memorable games, moments, players and coaches have come our way this weekend.

It remains a great day for both schools, their communities and for the city as a whole. Everything’s just buzzing. The schools have something planned each day, Greenway Avenue has been draped in blue and white streamers since last week (Allegany’s the home team this year) and the stadium decorations from both schools started to go up early Saturday morning.

There’s just something in the air when Allegany and Fort Hill are going to play, likely because it involves most of us, at least emotionally, as most of us have a vested interest in who wins the game.

Saturday will mark the 105th meeting between Allegany and Fort Hill and is that even possible? Of course it is, because despite Fort Hill’s dominance for the past 16 years, this game and this day, be it Thanksgiving or Homecoming, became an enduring fixture in the community from almost the moment it began in 1936 a few months after brand new Fort Hill High School had opened.

The day is nothing short of a holiday in the Cumberland area and around the country for alumni who return home for the game or follow it on social media, and when you play in this game, you’re part of something. You’re part of something forever. You join the legacy. You’re part of history.

Allegany and Fort Hill have played in front of as many as 14,000 fans, with the attendance on Homecoming routinely reaching 8,500, roughly 2,400 over the seating capacity of Greenway Avenue Stadium at the time. Many more in the overflow crowd that lined the ring and the hills of the bowl stood or sat there by choice for every game.

They have played in a half-foot of snow, the field having been cleared that morning by the community. They have played on grass, on mud, on dirt, on sand and on artificial turf.

The game is covered in depth by local radio, television and newspaper. It has been covered by metropolitan newspapers and television, was the subject of a documentary by NFL Films in 2007, and the setting itself provides a patriotic sea of brilliant scarlet (Fort Hill) and royal blue (Allegany).

There remains a significant faction in the community that believes the only reason the two public high schools are not consolidated is the Allegany-Fort Hill football game, which, aside from the pros and cons of consolidation, is laughable, but in Cumberland, a so-called mixed marriage is still when a graduate of Allegany marries a graduate of Fort Hill.

The game has produced nearly a dozen NFL players, as well as USFL players, Arena League players and Canadian League players.

Countless Allegany and Fort Hill players have starred at major colleges, including quarterbacks in the Rose, Cotton, Orange and Sugar bowls. Fort Hill’s Greg Hare was the starting quarterback in the 1973 Rose Bowl for Ohio State University, and three years later, former Sentinel quarterback Mark Manges was featured on the Oct. 4, 1976 cover of Sports Illustrated as the quarterback for the undefeated University of Maryland Cotton Bowl team.

Eight players from Fort Hill played on Maryland’s 1953 national championship team and there were plenty more on Coach Jim Tatum’s national power Terps teams through the early and mid-1950s.

Former Allegany running back Earle (Lefty) Bruce succeeded Woody Hayes as the head football coach at Ohio State and led the Buckeyes for nine seasons. Former Fort Hill running back Ty Johnson is in his seventh NFL season playing for the Buffalo Bills.

They say the old game just ain’t what she used to be, but it really is because it remains a central topic of conversation and concern in Cumberland every day of the year. And when it’s not being talked about, it’s being thought about and prepared for.

It just is.and it should be. The entire day means a whole lot to a whole lot of people. At one time for most of us, it’s once in a lifetime and you want to soak in every second of it.

The day of the Allegany-Fort Hill football game has always been one of the best days of the year in the city of Cumberland, and it always will be.

Mike Burke writes about sports and other stuff for Allegany Communications. He began covering sports for the Prince George’s Sentinel in 1981 and joined the Cumberland Times-News sports staff in 1984, serving as sports editor for over 30 years. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @MikeBurkeMDT