Having lived in the Windy City a couple of times, I’m well aware of the storied history of the Chicago Prep Bowl and its massive crowds in the 30’s, 40’s and 50’s. The Prep Bowl began in 1927 at Soldier Field where the champion of the Chicago Public League played the Chicago Catholic League champs.
The impetus behind today’s Throwback Thursday story was a tweet from the CIF Southern Section on Wednesday celebrating the anniversary of its 1957 Shrine North vs. South All-Star Game that was played at the Los Angeles Coliseum before 85,931 fans.
#OnThisDay in 1957 the second-largest crowd ever to view a prep football game in the United States was played at @lacoliseum in the Shrine North vs. South All-Star Game.
— CIF Southern Section (@CIFSS) July 31, 2019
85,931 were in attendance and 5,000 had to be turned away! pic.twitter.com/ZFwDOyNUQy
So, which game is No. 1 when it comes to attendance? The answer is easy — the 1937 Prep Bowl game between Austin and Leo that attracted 120,000 fans. The game was played Saturday, November 27, 1937. The Austin Tigers won the game 26-0.
Now, I’m sure you’re wondering, how did a high school football game draw a crowd that large? For that, I read quite a few online accounts to give you the answer.
The best explanation comes from a 1987 Chicago Tribune story:
The selling of the Prep Bowl, then called the Mayor`s Charity Game, was a triumph of merchandising. General admission tickets, costing 50 cents and $1, were available at any fire station in the city, with all proceeds going to charity. The firemen were told to sell tickets, and they did so with gusto.
Chicago Tribune – November 27, 1987
How amazing was that crowd? When the Chicago Bears played the Washington Redskins in the 1937 NFL Championship game, only 15,870 fans filled the stands at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, which at that time served as the Bears’ home stadium.
The Austin/Leo matchup also caught the national spotlight with the New York Times covering the game that featured the city’s two star running backs — Bill DeCorrevont (Austin) and Johnny Galvin (Leo).
DeCorrevont was the star of the game. He ran for three touchdowns and passed for another. He finished the season with 34 touchdowns, which was just shy of Red Grange’s Illinois state record of 36 touchdowns.
Earlier in the year, DeCorrevont, who would go on to play college football at Northwestern, had an incredible game against McKinley High School. He scored nine touchdowns and kicked three extra points in a 93-0 victory. The 57 points were two shy of the state record also owned by Grange, who played at Wheaton High School.
Related: Red Grange Field photos
DeCorrevont was drafted in the 14th round of the 1942 NFL Draft by the Washington Redskins. However, he didn’t play professionally until 1945 when his military service ended.
His professional career included playing time with the Redskins, Detroit Lions, Chicago Cardinals and Chicago Bears. He ran for 233 yards in his career, scoring three touchdowns. He also intercepted ten passes playing defense.
Galvin would go to Purdue where he played football, baseball and basketball. On the gridiron, he set a new Big Ten punting record with an average of 43.3 yards per boot. Upon graduation, he focused on baseball, playing for the New York Yankees minor league team in Denver. He switched to football in 1947. He was a punter for the Baltimore Colts.
After his playing days ended, Galvin became a high school football coach for 25 years at Argo Community High School in Chicago.
Two other Prep Bowls attracted massive crowds. Leo’s 46-13 win over Tilden had a crowd of 95,000. The 1962 game between Fenwick and Schurz had 91,328 fans in the stands. Fenwick won that game 40-0.
When the Illinois High School Association began state playoffs, the Prep Bowl lost some of its glimmer. St. Rita won the 89 Prep Bowl championship last year with a 56-6 win over Taft.
The last four championship games have been played at Gately Stadium, not Solder Field, which last hosted the game in 2014.
While there is no video of that 1937 game that I could find online, below you’ll find video of the oldest Prep Bowl we could find — the 1967 game between Mt. Carmel and Dunbar. Mt. Carmel won that game 37-0.
