Rumors have started to heat up about Wellesley High School and Needham High School possibly renewing their annual Thanksgiving football rivalry this November at Fenway Park rather than in the ‘burbs.
Thanksgiving football at Fenway is not official, according to Wellesley High’s sports department.
But those claiming to be in the know say that Wellesley and Needham could face off Nov. 26, Thanksgiving morning (or maybe Wednesday night). Also rumored to be playing there are BC High and Catholic Memorial, as well as Boston Latin and Boston English, rivals who actually did play a game at Fenway back in 1912 — the same year Fenway hosted the National High School Football Championship Game. Fenway has also played host to high school hockey games in recent years.
The thinking this time around is that Fenway will be prepped for football come Thanksgiving Day given that Boston College and Notre Dame do have a scheduled game at Fenway on Nov. 21 (prices are obscene, with BC looking to extract thousands of dollars from donors for the privilege of watching the Eagles go down in person).
The other thinking is that Wellesley is pretty darn tight with Fenway these days, with resident Sam Kennedy recently being named Red Sox president. Not to mention that Fenway didn’t have quite as many game dates this season as it did during recent years when the Sox made it to the playoffs and World Series, so can use the additional attractions.
If all this comes to nothing, the Raiders vs. Rockets football game is otherwise scheduled to be played at Wellesley High. Needham and Wellesley hold the distinction of playing in the longest running public high school football matchup, one that began in 1882.[polldaddy poll=9023711]
