Tickets Go on Sale Thursday For Thanksgiving Football at Fenway

Fenway Sports Management announced on Thursday that the longstanding Massachusetts tradition of Thanksgiving Football rivalries will take main stage at Fenway Park with doubleheader games on both Thanksgiving eve and Thanksgiving Day on Nov. 25 and 26.

Four games will be played over the two days at Fenway Park, featuring some of Greater Boston’s most iconic perennial matchups including: St. John’s Prep vs. Xaverian, BC High vs. Catholic Memorial, Wellesley vs. Needham, and Boston Latin vs. Boston English.

“High School football takes center stage on Thanksgiving in one of New England’s longest-standing sporting traditions,” said Fenway Sports Management President Sam Kennedy. “This is going to be an unforgettable experience for all the young athletes, parents, alumni and fans of these high school football teams.”

The four high school games represent some of the most venerable Greater Boston Thanksgiving matchups:

Wednesday, November 25
Xaverian vs. Saint John’s Prep – Two of the Boston-area’s preeminent football schools, Xaverian leads St. John’s Prep in the overall series 26-20.

Boston College High vs. Catholic Memorial – 2015 will be the 54th time the two teams meet, with BC High holding a 36-16-1 series lead over Catholic Memorial.

Thursday, November 26
Wellesley vs. Needham – The oldest public high school rivalry in the country, Wellesley holds a slight 60-58-9 edge over Needham in the pairs’ 127-year history.

Boston English vs. Boston Latin - This will be the 129th year these two rivals have met, making it the oldest continuous high school football rivalry in the U.S. Boston Latin has a 78-36-13 series lead over Boston English since the two started playing in 1887.

High school football games were commonly played at Fenway Park in the early 20th Century. The ball park also hosted the 1912 high school national championship game when Everett was defeated by Oak Park, IL. High school football was last played at Fenway in 1935, when a series of games were held featuring high schools from around Boston.

“We would like to thank Mayor Walsh and the city of Boston for helping to make these events possible and securing the participation of Boston Public Schools,” Kennedy said. “It is wonderful to have the opportunity to open our ballpark to our young athletes and bring the community together to celebrate one of New England’s time-honored traditions. We strive to bring new and dynamic events to Fenway Park and these games will be a special day for all those involved.”

A full schedule of high school football games at Fenway Park can be found at redsox.com/hsfootball. Tickets go on-sale October 8 at noon, and will cost $20. $5 of every ticket sold will be given back to the school each patron is supporting.

Photo Credit: St. John’s on Facebook/Eric Russo on Twitter