Valdosta (Ga.) has been the winningest high school football program for nearly 50 years. But a school from Massachusetts was the winningest school in the country for most of the 20th century, holding the lead for 52 years.
Haverhill (Mass.) no longer resides in the list of the Top 100 winningest schools in the nation. A tough stretch during the last part of the 20th century and the early part of the 21st has dropped the Hillies to around No. 200 on the all-time wins list, according to Friday Night Football. But there was a time when Haverhill ruled high school football.
On the MaxPreps list of the all-time wins leaders through the decades from 1900 to
2020 (listed below), Haverhill was the national leader after 1920, 1930,
1940, 1950 and 1960. It dropped to No. 3 by 1970 behind Male
(Louisville, Ky.) and Washington (Massillon, Ohio) and was hanging on to fifth place by the 1980s. However, Haverhill fell by the 1990s while schools like Valdosta, Highlands (Fort Thomas, Ky.),
Male, Massillon and Mayfield (Ky.) rose to the top.
Based on the book "Hillies, 125 years of Haverhill Football" by Ernest V. Young Jr. and published by his son Michael Young, Haverhill opened in 1890 and by 1910 had 132 wins. The Hillies overtook William Penn Charter (Philadelphia) for the No. 1 spot with 159 wins to 158 at the conclusion of the 1913 season. They kept the lead for over 50 years.
William Penn Charter (Philadelphia) held the national lead for wins
by the end of the 19th century with 84 total. It continued to hold the
lead by 1910 with 142 wins, although Haverhill had moved up from seventh
place in 1900 to fourth in 1910.
The Hillies added 91 wins from 1911 to 1920, including a 14-0 record in 1920 when Haverhill was arguably the best team in the country. Haverhill added 67 more wins in the 1920s and 49 in the 1930s to maintain its lead over the rest of the nation. Haverhill struggled to 33 wins during the 1940s, but rebounded to win 63 games in the 1950s.
Haverhill finally relinquished the lead to Male (Louisville, Ky.) in the second game of the 1965 season. Haverhill led Male 458-457 heading into the season, but Haverhill lost its first six games of the season and Male won its first two to take over as the nation's winningest team.
Male held a 12-win lead over Washington (Massillon, Ohio) at the conclusion of the 1970 season (505-493), but two straight winless seasons in 1971 and 1972 allowed Washington to take the lead. The Tigers went 8-2 in 1971 and 10-1 in 1972, taking over the all-time national wins lead with a 14-6 win over La Salle on Oct. 6, 1972.
Washington held the national lead for 15 seasons before Valdosta overtook the Tigers during the 1987 season. The Wildcats have held the lead ever since.
Massachusetts dominated the first 80 years on the winningest teams list and the reason is simple. Harvard had the most dominant college football program in the nation from 1874 to 1920, winning 12 national championships. As a result, cities around Cambridge and Boston took up the game in the late 1880s. Those teams included Haverhill, Waltham, Somerville, Malden, Salem and Everett, according to research by Boston historian Bob Walsh. There may be even more Boston teams in the Top 10 by 1900, but records for Hyde Park, Cambridge Rindge, Boston Latin and Hopkinson School were not available.
Massachusetts had the top two teams each decade from 1920 to 1960, when Male finally moved up to No. 2 behind Haverhill. Massachusetts had the top four teams by 1940 and four of the top five in 1950. However, since Massachusetts did not institute a playoff system until the 1970s, teams from other states that had longer playoff histories began to take over the top spots on the list.
Following is the progressive list of the Top 10 winningest teams at the conclusion of each decade, starting in 1900 and ending in 2020. Sources for the list include Young's book on Haverhill, Kevin Patrowsky's book "The Great Teams, A History of Wisconsin High School Football," research by Bob Walsh of Boston, The Connecticut High School Football Record Book by Gerry DeSimas, research by Tom Sikorski and Kev Varney of Illinois, Ted Silary's Pennsylvania website, Washington Massillon Tigers team website, Georgia High School Football Historians website, Male High School team website, Roger Saylor's Pennsylvania team histories, Iwasatthegame.com Oklahoma history website, Canton McKinley team website, newspapers.com, Parkersburg football team website, Highlands football team website, Michigan historian Ron Pesch.
Haverhill of Massachusetts was the winningest high school football program for 52 years in the 20th Century while Georgia's Valdosta now holds that distinction with 932 victories.
File photo by Mike Braca
1900
William Penn Charter (Philadelphia), 84
Germantown Academy (Fort Washington, Pa.), 70
St. John's Northwestern Military Academy (Delafield, Wis.), 68
New Britain (Conn.), 59
Hyde Park (Chicago), 58
Hillhouse (New Haven, Conn.), 56
Haverhill (Mass.), 54
Salem (Mass.), 51
Englewood Stem (Chicago), 44
Haverford School (Haverford, Pa.), 43
1910
William Penn Charter (Philadelphia), 142
Somerville (Mass.), 140
St. John's Northwestern Military Academy (Delafield, Wis.), 135
Haverhill (Mass.), 132
Salem (Mass.) 117
Germantown Academy (Fort Washington, Pa.), 115
New, Britain (Conn.), 114
Waltham (Mass.), 114
Everett (Mass.), 110
Hill School (Pottstown, Pa.), 102
1920
Haverhill (Mass.), 225
Waltham (Mass.), 202
William Penn Charter (Philadelphia, Pa.), 201
Everett (Mass.), 190
Somerville (Mass.), 182
St, John's Northwestern Military Academy (Delafield, Wis.), 182
Malden (Mass.), 181
Fostoria (Ohio), 165
New, Britain (Conn.), 157
Oak Park-River Forest (Oak Park, Ill.), 153
1930
Haverhill (Mass.), 292
Waltham (Mass.), 268
William Penn Charter (Philadelphia), 250
Everett (Mass.), 248
St, John's Northwestern Military Academy (Delafield, Wis.), 235
Malden (Mass.), 235
Salem (Mass.), 233
Muskegon (Mich.), 228
Fostoria (Ohio), 217
New, Britain (Conn.), 213
Male (Louisville, Ky.), 209
1940
Haverhill (Mass.), 341
Everett (Mass.), 310
Salem (Mass.), 306
Malden (Mass.), 300
St, John's Northwestern Military Academy (Delafield, Wis.), 295
Muskegon, (Mich.), 294
William Penn Charter (Philadelphia), 283
Male (Louisville, Ky.), 280
New, Britain (Conn.), 280
Waltham (Mass.), 279
Fostoria (Ohio), 278
1950
Haverhill (Mass.), 374
Everett (Mass.), 360
Salem (Mass.), 357
Muskegon, (Mich.), 355
Malden (Mass.), 350
Male (Louisville, Ky.), 349
New, Britain (Conn.), 348
Brockton (Mass.), 344
Oak, Park-River Forest (Oak Park, Ill.), 341
Williamsport (Pa.), 339
St, John's Northwestern Military Academy (Delafield, Wis.), 337
1960
Haverhill (Mass.), 437
Male (Louisville, Ky.), 421
Little, Rock, Central, 411
Washington (Massillon, Ohio), 410
Williamsport (Pa.), 410
Muskegon, (Mich.), 407
Malden (Mass.), 406
New, Britain (Conn.), 403
Everett (Mass.), 401
Waco (Texas), 397
1970
Male (Louisville, Ky.), 505
Washington (Massillon, Ohio), 493
Haverhill (Mass.), 482
New Britain (Conn.), 472
Central (Little Rock, Ark.), 470
Muskegon, (Mich.), 466
Everett (Mass.), 465
McKinley (Canton, Ohio), 456
Parkersburg (W. Va.), 454
Malden (Mass.), 453
1980
Washington (Massillon, Ohio), 576
Central (Little Rock, Ark.), 550
Valdosta (Ga.), 547
Parkersburg (W.Va.), 540
Haverhill (Mass.), 539
New Britain (Conn.), 537
McKinley (Canton, Ohio), 534
Muskegon, (Mich.), 528
Mount Carmel (Pa.), 527
Male (Louisville, Ky.), 522
1990
Valdosta (Ga.), 674
Washington (Massillon, Ohio), 655
Central (Little Rock, Ark.), 638
McKinley (Canton, Ohio), 615
Parkersburg (W.Va.), 611
Male (Louisville, Ky.), 601
Mount Carmel (Pa.), 601
Muskegon, (Mich.), 593
Brockton (Mass.), 591
Easton Area (Easton, Pa.), 591
2000
Valdosta (Ga.), 779
Washington (Massillon, Ohio), 735
Mount Carmel (Pa.), 708
Male (Louisville, Ky.), 706
Central (Little Rock, Ark.), 706
McKinley (Canton, Ohio), 704
Parkersburg (W.Va.), 700
Highlands (Fort Thomas, Ky.), 694
Ada (Okla.), 674
Easton Area (Easton, Pa.), 669
Mayfield, 669
2010
Valdosta (Ga.), 858
Washington (Massillon, Ohio), 815
Highlands (Fort Thomas, Ky.), 813
Male (Louisville, Ky.), 811
Mount Carmel (Pa.), 793
Parkersburg (W.Va.), 784
McKinley (Canton, Ohio), 778
Mayfield (Ky.), 776
Central (Little Rock, Ark.), 772
Easton Area (Easton, Pa.), 768
2020
Valdosta (Ga.), 932
Male (Louisville, Ky.), 914
Washington (Massillon, Ohio), 909
Mayfield (Ky.), 907
Highlands (Fort Thomas, Ky.), 906
Muskegon, (Mich.), 868
Mount Carmel (Pa.), 868
Easton Area (Easton, Pa.), 857
Highland Park (Dallas), 854
McKinley (Canton, Ohio), 851
