The Loose Cannon: Calistoga vs. St. Helena
Calistoga and St. Helena High Schools were intense sports rivals competing for upvalley bragging rights up through the 1960s.
The rivalry goes back about 130 years, maybe longer.
The St. Helena Star of Dec. 18, 1896 reported that the two schools would play a football game on Jan. 1, 1897. Yes, Jan. 1, just like the Rose Bowl. Except the first Rose Bowl wouldn’t be played until five years later, 1902.
So even though the Rose Bowl is nicknamed “The Granddaddy of Them All” in sports rivalries, we know better. Store that one away for your local trivia night!
Calistoga beat St. Helena on New Year’s Day, 1897.
Calistoga vs. Napa on Christmas Day, 1897:
Note: “The visitors will be allowed their expenses, win or lose.”
What do you suppose those expenses would be? I’m guessing they traveled by train, not wagons or horse drawn stages.
Jumping ahead to November 1934, Ukiah was considered the “class” of the four-school league:
But just over a month later, St. Helena had three wins and no losses, while Calistoga had three losses and no wins.
Add to that, on the afternoon of Sunday, Dec. 9, the cellar-dwelling Wildcats would spoil the Saints’ (already declared league champions) perfect season.
I can’t read the following without longing for the nostalgia of the good ‘ole days:
That sweet tradition ended before I was a captain in 1967.
The Calistoga vs. St. Helena rivalry grew over the years. In 1959, the Saints were on a six-game winning streak when the Wildcats fought them to a tie. It was deemed a “moral victory” for Calistoga who embarrassed the Saints on their home field, the last game of the year.
Both teams went on to lose their final games of the 1959 season.
But the winds of change were blowing for the Saints.
St. Helena High School’s growth had outpaced Calistoga High School, and the difference in size became obvious in the sports competition, especially football in the 1960s.
For the 1960 season, George Davis became the (legendary) head football coach for the Saints. In their last game of the season, the Saints overwhelmed the Wildcats 47-7.
The Wildcats small squad was defeated by the “tremendous red machine.”
Five years later, Coach Davis would leave St. Helena High School with a record of 45 wins and no losses. No typos there. 45-0.
My older brothers John and Larry had the honor of playing under Coach Davis. And while I never played for him, he did give me some coaching advice once.
I was first-string junior varsity middle guard ,and we were scrimmaging the third string varsity. I was playing aggressively and having success at creating havoc in the offensive backfield. Coach Davis joined the scrimmage in progress and watched a few plays. He sent a play into his offense. They ran a double reverse. I was just about to make the tackle when the second handoff went to Ron Graham, who sped through the hole I left and ran for a touchdown. And even though he wasn’t my coach, Coach Davis got in my face and with a finger on my chest said, “Son, you just cost your team the football game!”
Sixty years later, it still stings.
I was on the 1967 Saints team when we played Calistoga on Nov 11,1967. The Saints won and it was not a close game.
From the St. Helena Star, Thursday, Nov 16, 1967:
”…leadership in that league usually hinged upon the St. Helena – Calistoga game.”
The Losey brothers, Chris and Greg, were two of Calistoga’s star players. When I was playing defense, I chased Greg Losey around the Calistoga backfield several times that night, just prior to him passing the ball. Frustrating night for me, but Greg was an exceptional athlete. Not only did he go on to play football at West Point, he earned an Olympic medal as a pentathlete in the 1984 Olympics: Greg Losey – Wikipedia
Isn’t that a great picture above? The fonts and print styles convey a 1960s feeling that I just can’t duplicate in this font.
“A Long Rivalry Ends Tonight’s Calistoga -St. Helena football game definitely will be the final contest between these two rivals on the field of gridiron combat. The school boards of the two districts have issued a joint policy statement to this effect. It reads: ‘The competition between Calistoga and St. Helena High Schools has been a truly outstanding one over a long period of years, and therefore, the thought of reducing this is not one to be taken lightly.
“‘We do feel, however, and have for some time, that the difference in the size of our schools is creating a situation which is not in the best interest of the participating athletes…
“Enrollment is the critical factor here,’ St. Helena coach George McCormick told us this week, ‘We have about 500 youngsters in our school and I understand they have only about 150.
“…Frank Stagnaro, the coach at Calistoga, viewed the end of the rivalry with regret. ‘I hate to see it go,’ he said, ‘and I’m not looking forward to its end even though we usually lose.’ He pointed out that ‘the kids always want to play against St. Helena and it’s sort of part of tradition, the tradition between these two towns and the natural rivalry that exists.’
“‘My emotions are really mixed,’ he said. ‘It’s kind of a shame to see it end, but at the same time it’s probably necessary.
“‘…Right now, in football, when a St. Helena man is injured there’s a replacement from the bench waiting to go in the game. When a Calistoga youngster is hurt, Stagnaro has all of four substitutes from which to choose.
That makes it rough.’”
One last note:
When the Calistoga vs. St. Helena rivalry ended, St. Helena had about 500 students, and Calistoga had about 150. Now, St. Helena has about 420 students and Calistoga has about 250. With St. Helena’s census dropping and Calistoga’s rising, maybe they will end up back in the same league some day and again compete in football. It could happen.
And don’t think there’s a lack of interest in resurrecting that rivalry! The rivalry was so strong that years later, alumni from both schools got together for a yearly game against their old rivals.
The football rivalry isn’t dead. It’s just forever smoldering beneath the surface.
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