The East L.A. Classic

There are times when you really want to throw out the records in this rivalry.

Roosevelt and Garfield have been playing since 1925, and in all those years neither team has won a title in the City Section's top division.

Yet their annual football game typically draws the biggest crowd for a high school event in Southern California, with a handful of the games being played at the Coliseum.

The game is homecoming for both schools, and the participants have a lot in common.

"If you look at the kids from both schools, they're identical," Roosevelt Coach Javier Cid said. "Same type of ethnic background and socio-economics."

Many players on opposing sidelines have been friends since attending Stevenson Middle School. Those who live east of Indiana Street matriculate to Garfield in East L.A.; those west of the dividing line go to Roosevelt in Boyle Heights.

The split remains in effect even after graduation. Couples who have inter-married from the schools often don't sit with one another during the game.

A victory in the East L.A. Classic means a successful season. In 1990, Roosevelt was winless and Garfield undefeated when the Roughriders pulled off a 7-0 upset.

"That made everyone's year," recalled Cid, whose team leads the series, 39-29-6.

Source: LATimes.com