Turkey Day Program,

Courtesy of Jim Holland

Thanksgiving, 1952 cover

Athens, 1955 cover

(Yes, they didn't print a new cover for each game!)

Beauty Queens 

and Handsome Squires

1955 Thanksgiving Day Court

Gayle Steverson/Bill Mitchell

Nancy Pugh/Andy Burch

Lindsay Nathan/Allen Hyde

Patsy Green/Hooty Crittenden

Fall and back to school bring eager students together for a new academic year--and FOOTBALL.  Of all the sports programs on the high school scene, football, especially in Alabama, is the king of sports.  It is the first major sporting program of the year.  It kicks off the year as students are returning to school.  It accommodates the largest number of would-be athletes, and football heroes are accorded great respect and deference by fellow students, faculty and townspeople alike.  With the ascendancy of good-paying jobs in a wide variety of professional sports, the primacy of football may not be as dominant nowadays.  An especially talented baseball player, basketball player, gymnast or golfer might become a hero, but in our day, football was where the glory was.  

And we celebrated it accordingly.  Like tournaments of medieval times or The Games of ancient times, there was a pageantry associated with the game of football.  For weeks preceding the opening game, there were articles in the paper, talk at the diners and barbershops and watchers at practices who speculated about the team's prospects with animation and vigor.

Homecoming brought out the full student body and alumni in preparation for a football contest which by prearrangement was usually not the most heated rivalry or the most likely toughest test of the team.  Contests that determined the fairest damsels of the land, parades and banquets (or at least our versions of "tailgating parties") were held.  The football game might not be the most exciting, but the excitement lay in the full participation of everybody--students, alumni and townspeople--in the the total spectrum of pageantry that occurred.

In our day, "Turkey Day" was another special football contest, this time conducted by tradition with SHS's most serious rival, Coffee High School.  Thanksgiving Day was not a quiet day of reflection over the blessings our Creator had bestowed upon us.  It was about beating the stew out of Coffee.  Of course, that hardly ever occurred, because the two teams were usually evenly matched, and the outcomes of these contests were never certain.  Nevertheless, the event was accompanied by pageantry that rivaled Homecoming.  We had contests for Thanksgiving beauties--although I seem to remember that some of the slots for the court of beauties at Thanksgiving were elected by certain groups, such as the football team. The pep rally for this game was the epitome of savage pagan fire and passion.  The blood of all who attended was made to rise by the band, the exhortations of the cheerleaders and words from the team and Coach Wright.   As in the Homecoming Game, halftime was celebrated by presentation of the court of beauties and their escorts.  Almost everybody who attended this game wore their Sunday best and stayed to the end of the game.  Spectacular football and spectacular weather could be expected.  I believe I remember one Thanksgiving Day game on which it actually snowed!

Homecoming Events

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Taunting