The annual Radnor versus Lower Merion match-up is recognized by many as the longest continuously played public high school football rivalry in the United States.
The first game was in 1897. After missing 1901 and 1905, for lack of players and illness respectively, Radnor and Lower Merion have met on the gridiron for 127 games.
According to RADNOR FOOTBALL HISTORY, “For those outside the ten-mile or so bubble that encompasses these two Pennsylvania townships, invoking this football rivalry means very little.
“But for those within its modest ambit, it is woven into the fabric of their towns and the evolution of the rivalry over more than a century is in many ways a reflection of their changing communities.
“Fathers’ footsteps on the football field were followed by sons, grandsons and great grandsons.
“The rivalry found a willing foil in the two townships’ newspapers – The Suburban and Wayne Times and The Main Line Times — that followed this game as front page news and trash talked each other as well as any Twitter patrons.
“For decades the teams met on Thanksgiving Day and the game was a galvanizing community event.
“However, evolution does not necessarily mean advancement. Many of the traditions that made this rivalry, and these towns, so special, have been lost to time.
“Over the rivalry’s duration, our students, news delivery, athletic conferences, interests, and mobility, among so many other things, have changed dramatically.
“It is unlikely that we will ever see the equal of the crowd of 10,000 fans who packed Villanova Stadium in 1930 to watch Radnor tie the unbeaten and untied Aces – and then celebrate as if they had won.
“Modern scholastic conferences now require seasons to conclude in October. Newspapers merge or fade away. New students make new traditions and adapt the experience to their tastes, desires and enjoyment.
“Yet Radnor and Lower Merion still meet on a field 100 yards long and struggle over a cowhide prolate spheroid, just like they have done for more than a hundred years.
“They block, tackle, run and throw.
“As always, the score is kept and a winner declared. There is a comfort in this century plus consistency.”
The first Saturday in November 2023 was no different. Both teams brought their lunch pails to sustain them through the rugged series of downs.
This year, the Lower Merion Aces, Bulldogs to the final horn, can take the glory, besting the once-upon-a-time Radnor Red Raiders, 56-12, on 4th down, 9 yards to go, with the ball on the 31 yard line.
“Congratulations” to both teams for maintaining the heralded tradition of the “the game with a final score and a winner but a game with no losers.”