Taking inspiration from 14th century English author Geoffrey Chaucer, Willie Nelson penned the lyrics "Turn out the lights, the party's over, Now they say that all good things must end," in the 1950s. Monday Night Football broadcaster Don Meredith popularized the song in the 1970s, singing the chorus whenever the winner of a game was clearly decided.
Nelson's song also could apply to some of the nation's greatest high school sports dynasties. Schools like Phoenix Union in Arizona, St. Anthony in New Jersey and Power Memorial in New York, produced teams ranked among the greatest ever, but due to various reasons have long since closed their doors. Like Nelson says, "all good things must end."
MaxPreps looks at the top 25 sports dynasties that no longer exist, starting with Phoenix Union, which once held the national record for most football state championships.
Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Bob Hurley won 1,185 games at St. Anthony (N.J.) between 1972 and 2017.
Photo by John Jones
1. Phoenix Union (Phoenix)
Phoenix Union opened in 1895 and was reportedly one of the oldest schools west of the Mississippi. It was also one of the largest with over 6,000 students in the early 1960s. Declining enrollment forced the school's closure in 1982. At one time, Phoenix Union had the most state championships of any school with 24. It also had 16 basketball state titles, eight baseball state championships and 24 track and field state championships. In 1930, Phoenix Union was named as the mythical national champion in football by National Sports News Service.
2. St. Anthony (Jersey City, N.J.)
Perhaps the nation's top basketball program closed its doors in 2017 due to lack of funding and declining enrollment. Under legendary coach Bob Hurley, they won 27 state titles, 13 Tournament of Champions crowns and four national championships.
3. Power Memorial (New York)
Known as the home of Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul-Jabbar), Power Memorial operated for about 50 years from 1931 to 1984. Alcindor was part of a 71-game win streak and led Power Memorial to two straight city championships. The school won a total of eight city championships.
4. Rice (New York)
The Manhattan school closed its doors due to declining enrollment in 2011. Between 1994 and 2009, Rice won six Federation championships, including back-to-back titles in 1998 and 1999. Notable alumni include Felipe Lopez, Dean Meminger and Kemba Walker.
5. Boys/Tech (Atlanta)
Boys High School opened just before 1900 and didn't become a football powerhouse until Shorty Doyal became coach. He led the team to nine state championships and a record of 169-53-22 between 1925 and 1946. Ironically, Tech won five state championships including one in 1946, the final year the two schools operated separately. Between 1932 and 1946, Boys and Tech combined for 12 state championships in football. After the Class of 1947 graduated, Boys and Tech High both closed, along with Girls High, to form Grady High School.
6. Waco (Texas)
There are technically two Waco High Schools. The first began playing football in 1903 and discontinued playing as the Tigers in 1985. After 1985, Waco consolidated with Jefferson-Moore and Richfield to form the new Waco, with the nickname Lions. The Tigers were a dominant force in Texas football, going 489-260-43. Waco won six state championships and two national championships in 1927 and 1948. The 1927 team set a national record (since broken) with 784 points.
7. Tuscaloosa (Ala.)
The Black Bears won just 28 games in their first 14 years of existence but when Paul Burnum took over in 1925, Tuscaloosa became a national football powerhouse. In his five years as head coach before leaving for a job at Alabama, Burnum never lost a game, going 44-0-1 with a pair of teams that earned national championship recognition. Besides going 64 consecutive games without a loss, Tuscaloosa had 13 undefeated teams in its history before closing in 1978.
8. Lincoln (East St. Louis, Ill.)
Lincoln operated for 90 years before consolidating with East St. Louis in 1998. The Tigers were known for their track and field program, which won 29 state championships (14 girls and 15 boys). Jackie Joyner-Kersee led the Tigers to a state championship in track and field before embarking on an Olympic track and field career.
9. East Chicago Roosevelt (East Chicago, Ind.)
Before closing in 1985 to merge with East Chicago Washington to form East Chicago Central, Roosevelt was a football powerhouse from the 1940s to the late 1960s when enrollment began to decline. The Roughriders won seven mythical state championships from 1945 to 1957, including three in a row from 1945-47, that included three straight undefeated seasons.
10. Harrisburg Tech (Harrisburg, Pa.)
Harrisburg Tech had a very brief history, opening in 1910 and closing in 1926 when the city built two new schools to take its place. During that time, Harrisburg Tech won three state championships and the 1918 and 1919 teams were retroactively selected as national champions by the National Sports News Service. The 1919 team outscored opponents 701-0.
11. Knoxville (Tenn.)
Knoxville closed in 1951 but had a nationally recognized football program during the first half of the 20th century. The Trojans won mythical state championships in 1942, 1943 and 1944. Meanwhile, the 1930 team that went 13-0 claimed a national championship and the 1933 team that went 12-0 claimed a national championship as well.
12. Polytechnic (San Francisco)
A San Francisco power before closing in 1972, the Parrots dominated the Bay Area football scene from the late 1920s to the early 1960s. Poly went 10-0 in 1944, 1947, 1948, 1952 and 1953 and won 36 games in a row at one point. Poly also won 13 league championships.
13. Springarn (Washington, D.C.)
Built in the early 1950s, Springarn closed in 2013 but featured an outstanding basketball program. Home to NBA Hall of Famers Elgin Baylor and Dave Bing along with NBA players Sherman Douglas, Michael Graham and Ollie Johnson, Springarn won District of Columbia city championships in 1961, 1980, 1985 and 2000.
14. Southwestern (Detroit)
Southwestern closed in 2012 but it was a basketball powerhouse in the 1980s and early 1990s. The school reached the finals nine times in 10 seasons with back-to-back state titles in 1990 and 1991. Graduates included Jalen Rose, Antoine Joubert, Voshon Lenard and Howard Eisley.
15. Omaha Tech (Omaha, Neb.)
Featuring some of the greatest athletes in Nebraska history, Omaha Tech opened in 1923 and closed in 1984. Tech won four state championships in basketball, six in track and one in baseball. Among the top athletes to play at Tech included Hall of Fame pitcher Bob Gibson, Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Rodgers and NBA players Ron Boone and Bob Boozer.
16. Lansing Central (Lansing, Mich.)
Before it closed in the early 1950s, Lansing Central enjoyed success in football, winning three state titles between 1917 and 1919 and doing it again 20 years later from 1937 to 1939.
17. Decatur (Ill.)
A basketball powerhouse during Illinois' one class-era, Decatur won four state championships and had six other Final Four finishes. It had over 1,300 basketball wins by the time it closed in 2000.
18. East Phoenix (Phoenix)
Financial problems and declining enrollment doomed one of the top basketball programs in Arizona in the early 1980s. East won five state championships from 1969 to 1982 and went as far as the quarterfinals eight other times.
19. Flaget (Louisville, Ky.)
A Catholic school, Flaget opened in 1942 and closed in 1974 due to declining enrollment. The football team went 196-79-17 during that span with five state championships. The top graduate was future Hall of Fame running back and Heisman Trophy winner Paul Hornung, who led the team to a state title in 1952.
20. Fair Park (Shreveport, La.)
Now a middle school after consolidation forced its closure in 2017, Fair Park was one of the top baseball programs in the nation in 1950s and 1960s, winning four state championships and pegged by MaxPreps as the national champion for 1965.
21. Broadway (Seattle)
Opened in 1902, Broadway was converted into a training center following the conclusion of World War II. By 1906, Broadway was one of the top football programs in the country and it is recognized as the nation's top football team for the 1906 season with a 9-2 record and a win over Chicago North Division for the national championship.
22. Newport News (Va.)
Closed in the early 1970s when schools in the city combined to form new schools following desegregation. Newport News won nine basketball state championships, four football titles and 21 state track and field championships.
23. Ensley (Birmingham, Ala.)
Before Ensley merged into Jackson-Olin High School in 2006, it had a strong football history with four mythical state titles in 1924, 1938, 1945 and 1961. Home to former NFL linebacker Cornelius Bennett.
24. St. Cecilia (Rockaway, N.J.)
The Catholic school closed in the 1980s but it had its heyday in the 1940s under future NFL Hall of Fame coach Vince Lombardi. As the football coach, he led St. Cecilia to 25 straight wins and two unbeaten seasons in 1943 and 1944. The 1945 basketball team also won a state championship under Lombardi.
25. Rockford Central (Rockford, Ill.)
Prior to closing in 1940, Rockford Central had one of the top basketball and track and field programs in the state, winning three basketball championships and eight track titles.
