For 92 years, the football teams from Fullerton College and Santa Ana College have done battle on the gridiron once a year in what is believed by many to be California community college's longest-running football rivalry.
Since their first meeting in 1916, a most-fitting scoreless tie, the two teams have played 91 times including 69 consecutive years from 1945 to the present. Fullerton has won 46 of the previous 91 meetings and holds a 46-41-4 series advantage over Santa Ana. The Hornets have kept the key on the Fullerton campus (12 out of the last 13 years) with a 56-35 victory at Fullerton's Nathan Shapell Stadium last season.
The Dons will host the Hornets for the 92nd time this Saturday, October 18th at 1:00 pm on Santa Ana's Eddie West Field. For those fans that can't make the game, SportsNetUSA.net will be live streaming the game for $5.99 with a share of the proceeds going to the Santa Ana College athletic department.
Early on, the rivalry captured the attention of Orange County, when the two teams began meeting on Thanksgiving Day. The "Turkey Bowl," as it was known, lasted from 1925 until 1958 and reportedly drew crowds of 15,000 and more.
Several times in the series, the stakes have gone beyond local bragging rights. In 1968, both teams entered the contest with identical records of 6-0 and the game had to be played at the newly constructed Anaheim Stadium to accommodate the large crowd.
Santa Ana dominated the early years of the series holding an 18-7-4 edge through 1951, but then Fullerton Coach Hal Sherbeck came along.
"They told me not to unpack my bags until I beat them," said Sherbeck, who lost to the Dons, 47-16, in 1961, his first season.
Sherbeck and the Hornets would lose again in 1962, but proceeded to win eight straight and 14 of 15.
The latest chapter was written in 1997, when former Fullerton mayor and former State Assemblyman Chris Norby, a longtime Hornet fan, introduced the "Key to the County," a perennial trophy to be turned over to the winner of each year's game. The key was unveiled at the 75th meeting at Titan Stadium on November 15, 1997.
The large iron key features Santa Ana's colors (red and black) on one side and lists the score of every Dons' victory in the series. The flip side displays the Hornets' colors (navy and gold) with the scores of all the Fullerton wins.
