United in Rivalry - Richmond's Armstrong-Maggie Walker Classic

Around Richmond, it's simply known as The Classic. From 1938 to 1979, Armstrong High and Maggie Walker High, the only two all-black high schools within the city limits, converged on the gridiron each Thanksgiving weekend as spirited rivals. Each year more and more people packed the old City Stadium, sometimes as many as thirty thousand, sometimes too many to count. They cheered as the players fought for field position, pride, and bragging rights, and when the game was over, they fought for equality in the face of segregation, prejudice, and Jim Crow justice. Enjoy a view from the press box as Richmond sports historian Michael Whitt offers a summary of every Armstrong-Maggie Walker Classic and the often volatile social and political context in which they were played. The two schools may have produced one of Virginia's greatest prep rivalries, but they also helped shape its greatest achievement in unity.

About the author

Currently, Mr. Whitt works as a Special Projects Assistant at the Virginia Baptist Historical Society on the campus of the University of Richmond. He graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University and spent twenty years in the newspaper business including positions as a sports reporter both in Richmond and Fredericksburg. An active member of the Touchdown Club of Richmond, Virginia Historical Society and the Library of Virginia, he has lived in the Richmond area since 1960.

Product details

• Authors: Michael Whitt
• Publisher: Arcadia Publishing (SC)
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 06.11.2009
• EAN: 9781596296541
• ISBN: 978-1-59629-654-1
• No. of pages: 144
• Dimensions: 150 mm x 226 mm x 10 mm
• Weight: 249 g
• Series: Sports; Sports
• Subjects: Non-fiction book > History > Miscellaneous; Football, Fußballvarianten und verwandte Spiele, Geschichte des Sports, SPORTS & RECREATION / History, History - U.S., USA Süden, South Atlantic States, HISTORY / United States / State & Local / South (AL, AR, FL, GA, KY, LA, MS, NC, SC, TN, VA, WV), SPORTS & RECREATION / Football