An estimated 43,000 fans watched Maggie Walker defeat Armstrong 18-0 in the final matchup between the rivals in 1978. (Photo by Bob Brown courtesy Richmond Times-Dispatch Collection, The Valentine)
From 1938-78, Richmond’s Armstrong and Maggie Walker high schools met on the gridiron at City Stadium in “The Classic,” a football game between the two rivals contested annually on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
The Classic ended in 1978 when the school district consolidated — Armstrong merged with Kennedy High School, and Maggie Walker closed completely. Maggie L. Walker Governor’s School, which operates on Leigh Street today, is a different institution and does not field a football team.
Saturday, Nov. 27, at 10 a.m., the Armstrong/Walker Football Classic Legacy Parade will march 2 miles from the Richmond Coliseum to Virginia Union University. Dreamed up in large part by Cary Mitchell, son of The Classic’s well-known announcer, John Thomas “Tigertom” Mitchell of WANT 990 AM, the Legacy Parade features 50 units, including trolleys, floats and American muscle cars. Participants include local dance teams, cheerleaders and bands, as well as graduates from Maggie Walker and Armstrong, many of whom participated in the original Classic.
“We’re getting calls every day from alumni who want to be in the parade,” says Hopkins, who serves as co-chair of the parade committee. “People have to catch onto this thing again, but each week, more people are calling.
“I know some older folks can’t make that 2-mile walk, so they might walk for a bit, then get on a trolley. At Virginia Union, there’s going to be tailgating. That’s going to be one of the magic moments of the entire event, when everybody from both schools is mingling with each other. Food, cooking, trucks, music. Just getting together with that family atmosphere.”
During the days of segregation, Walker and Armstrong were ineligible to play in the Virginia High School League championship and held the regular-season game deep into November. Even after Richmond schools were desegregated, Walker and Armstrong continued to hold the game on its traditional date, the Saturday after Thanksgiving.
Howard Hopkins (Photo by Jay Paul)
“We waived our eligibility for the state championship to play in this game,” recalls Dr. Howard Hopkins, who was the assistant coach at Maggie Walker from 1967-78. “One of those years we were undefeated, and we certainly would have qualified. But how could you stop that tradition?”
Glenn Anderson, current athletic director at Armstrong High School, attended The Classic every year as a kid. His father, Lou Anderson, was the head coach at Maggie Walker. Today’s Armstrong High School will play a supportive role during Saturday’s event, and Anderson plans to attend.
“My mother used to take me and my three sisters to every Classic as far as I can remember,” he says. “It was a great time to be there, with so many people supporting the city schools.
“It was a family-type vibe. You might have some families split, where some went to Armstrong and some went to Walker. On one given day, that Saturday, it was a rivalry.”
Hopkins brims with similar enthusiasm. “The atmosphere was electric,” he recalls. “The people, the colors, the streamers, the cars, the halftime show by both bands, the homecoming queens riding around in Corvettes. It was a competition, from the game itself to the music, to who was the best-dressed, to who had the most streamers.
“In all my years, we never had an incident at one of those games. When it was over, no matter who won, we shook hands, then partied together on into the night.”
Glenn Anderson (Photo by Jay Paul)
The Legacy Parade will also include two football games between recreational youth teams dressed as Walker Dragons and Armstrong Wildcats. The teams are playing for the under-8 and under-12 city championships.
“The game is free, and the idea is to teach the history of The Classic to a younger generation,” Mitchell says.
Over the years, The Classic saw a number of closely contested games. Hopkins recalls one particular game in which his Dragons made a dramatic comeback.
“We went up to play, and it looked like rain,” he says. “Coach Anderson says, ‘Let’s bring an extra set of jerseys in case it rains.’ And sure enough, the rain came.
“At halftime, we were down by two touchdowns, and we went into the locker room. We put the clean jerseys on, came back out, and first of all, the people went crazy. Then we won the game. And they’re still talking about, ‘If they hadn’t changed jerseys, they wouldn’t have won the game.’
“I think it had an effect. We came out fresh.”
Hopkins and Mitchell are joined by more than 150 alumni who have helped organize the event, serving on committees for everything from logistics to fundraising. Gov. L. Douglas Wilder, himself an Armstrong graduate, will serve as the parade’s grand marshal. And Hopkins is working hard to recruit Willie Lanier, an NFL Hall of Famer who starred on the Walker Dragons in the 1960s.
“The rivalry will never end,” Hopkins says. “We love each other, but we josh each other. A lot of Armstrong and Walker graduates got married, and that competition is in the household. Who’s got on the prettiest green and white, who’s got on the prettiest orange and blue?
“It’s going to be a big, big party.”
Never miss a Sunday Story: Sign up for the newsletter, and we’ll drop a fresh read into your inbox at the start of each week. To keep up with the latest posts, search for the hashtag #SundayStory on Twitter and Facebook.
