The document provides a retrospective on the century-old football rivalry between Biddeford High School and Thornton Academy. It summarizes the rivalry through the decades using interviews, photos, and statistics. Key events and trends from both schools and the surrounding communities are presented to give historical context to the evolving rivalry and its role in bridging the two sides.
4. Bridging Generations
Interviews with multiple generations of
participants in the battle.
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Ron Ouellette: Biddeford
5. Bridging Generations
Interviews with multiple generations of
participants in the battle.
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Mike Redmond: Biddeford
6. Bridging Generations
Interviews with multiple generations of
participants in the battle.
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Brian Curit: Biddeford
7. Bridging Generations
Interviews with multiple generations of
participants in the battle.
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Chuck Cote: Thornton Academy
8. Bridging Generations
Interviews with multiple generations of
participants in the battle.
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Nick Leblond: Biddeford
9. Bridging Generations
Interviews with multiple generations of
participants in the battle.
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Scott Descoteaux: Biddeford
10. Bridging Generations
Interviews with multiple generations of
participants in the battle.
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Jack Morrison: Thornton Academy
11. Bridging Time
The first Biddeford-Thornton Academy
football contest was played in 1893.
The Biddeford-Thornton Academy Rivalry
did not become an annual event on the
school’s athletic calendars until 1963.
Since that year, the school’s have staged
their annual rivalry game without a break.
The following slides display the trends of
results throughout the decades
contextualized with world, national, and
local events.
12. Bridging Time: The Early Years
1893: Thornton Academy 12, Biddeford 0
1893 Thornton Academy 4, Biddeford 0
1901 Thornton Academy 4, Biddeford 0
1908 Thornton Academy 22, Biddeford 6
1909 Thornton Academy 2, Biddeford 0
1910 Biddeford 13, Thornton Academy 5
1910 Thornton Academy 13, Biddeford 5
1912 Thornton Academy 12, Biddeford 0 President Taft at Biddeford Pool
Panama Canal Constructed Pepperell Mills Weave Room Troops at Boxer Rebellion
13. Bridging Time: The “Roaring”
1921: Thornton Academy 2, Biddeford 0
Years
1922: Biddeford 10, Thornton Academy 0
1923: Thornton Academy 19, Biddeford 7
1927: Thornton Academy 0, Biddeford 0 (Tie)
1928: Thornton Academy 2, Biddeford 0
1929: Biddeford 6, Thornton Academy 0
1929: Thornton Academy 0, Biddeford 0
1930: Biddeford 7, Thornton Academy 0 Bibeau Bros. Groceries in Biddeford
1930: Biddeford 9, Thornton Academy 0
Pepperell Square in Saco Beer Hall Putsch Defendants Flappers
14. Bridging Time: The Depression
1931: Thornton Academy 14, Biddeford 6
Years
1932: Thornton Academy 13, Biddeford 4
1933: Thornton Academy 18, Biddeford 0
1934: Thornton Academy 31, Biddeford 0
1935: Thornton Academy 41, Biddeford 0
1936: Thornton Academy 7, Biddeford 0
1937: Thornton Academy 6, Biddeford 6
1938: Thornton Academy 26, Biddeford 6
1939: Thornton Academy 19, Biddeford 0 CCC Sidewalk Repair in Biddeford
1940: Thornton Academy 39, Biddeford 0
Gone With The Wind released 1930s T. A. postcard
The Rape of Nanking
15. Bridging Time: The War Years
1941: Thornton Academy 25, Biddeford 0
1942: Thornton Academy 35, Biddeford 0
1943: Thornton Academy 6, Biddeford 0
1944: Thornton Academy 6, Biddeford 0
1945: Thornton Academy 6, Biddeford 6 (Tie)
1946: Thornton Academy 0, Biddeford 0 (Tie)
1947: Biddeford 33, Thornton Academy 0
1948: Biddeford 6, Thornton Academy 0 1949 Chinese revolution
1949: Biddeford 7, Thornton Academy 0
1950: Thornton Academy 28, Biddeford 0
Ration Coupon Book
Civil Defense helmet 1940s Ferry beach postcard
16. Bridging Time: The Crisis &
Recovery Years
1951: Thornton Academy 37, Biddeford 13
1952: Thornton Academy 53, Biddeford 7
1953: Thornton Academy 13, Biddeford 7
1954: Thornton Academy 40, Biddeford 0
1963: Thornton Academy 20, Biddeford 0
1964: Thornton Academy 13, Biddeford 7
1965: Thornton Academy 7, Biddeford 7 (Tie)
1966: Biddeford 18, Thornton Academy 12
1967: Biddeford 12, Thornton Academy 6
1968: Thornton Academy 32, Biddeford 0 1968 Paris Revolution
Little Rock Nine 1958 Biddeford Breadline Saco’s Cascade Lounge
17. Bridging Time: The Gas Line
Years
1969: Thornton Academy 35, Biddeford 16
1970: Biddeford 44, Thornton Academy 19
1971: Thornton Academy 14, Biddeford 14 (Tie)
1972: Biddeford 12, Thornton Academy 0
1973: Biddeford 19, Thornton Academy 13
1973: Thornton Academy 37, Biddeford 13
1974: Thornton Academy 16, Biddeford 13
1974: Thornton Academy 22, Biddeford 5
1975: Thornton Academy 21, Biddeford 0
1976: Thornton Academy 25, Biddeford 8
1977: Biddeford 8, Thornton Academy 7 Mid 1970s Gas Lines
1978: Thornton Academy 14, Biddeford 0
1979: Biddeford 28, Thornton Academy 7
Biddeford Celebrates Bicentennial
The Iranian Revolution Vic & Whit’s Opens in Saco
18. Bridging Time: The Supply-Side
Years
1980: Biddeford 50, Thornton Academy 18
1980: Biddeford 7, Thornton Academy 0
1981: Biddeford 20, Thornton Academy 14
1982: Thornton Academy 18, Biddeford 14
1983: Thornton Academy 7, Biddeford 0
1984: Biddeford 15, Thornton Academy 6
1985: Biddeford 41, Thornton Academy 19
1986: Thornton Academy 45, Biddeford 20
1987: Biddeford 15, Thornton Academy 14
1988: Biddeford 19, Thornton Academy 14
1989: Biddeford 35, Thornton Academy 0 Challenger Tragedy
Fall of Berlin Wall MERC Opens
Ray’s becomes Permanent
19. Bridging Time: The Networking
Years
1990: Biddeford 41, Thornton Academy 13
1990: Biddeford 31, Thornton Academy 19
1991: Thornton Academy 27, Biddeford 21
1991: Biddeford 29, Thornton Academy 28
1992: Biddeford 22, Thornton Academy 21
1993: Biddeford 28, Thornton Academy 13
1994: Biddeford 10, Thornton Academy 0
1995: Biddeford 27, Thornton Academy 21
1996: Biddeford 21, Thornton Academy 14
1997: Biddeford 41, Thornton Academy 7
MacArthur Library Renovated
1998: Biddeford 43, Thornton Academy 21
1999: Biddeford 7, Thornton Academy 0
Funtown Updated Attractions
Rabin Assassinated Jerry Garcia Passed Away
20. Bridging Time: The Recent Years
2000: Thornton Academy 28, Biddeford 19
2001: Thornton Academy 32, Biddeford 3
2002: Thornton Academy 20, Biddeford 12
2003: Biddeford 47, Thornton Academy 8
2004: Thornton Academy 7, Biddeford 6
2005: Biddeford 30, Thornton Academy 7
2006: Thornton Academy 21, Biddeford 14
2007: Thornton Academy 20, Biddeford 14 (OT)
2007: Thornton Academy 28, Biddeford 6 Passenger Trains Return
2008: Thornton Academy 23, Biddeford 6
2009: Thornton Academy 42, Biddeford 7
2010: Biddeford 27, Thornton Academy 22
2011: Thornton Academy 34, Biddeford 0
2012: Thornton Academy 42, Biddeford 14
Biddeford High School Renovates An Historic Election The Advent of Social Media
21. Bridging Places
A look at the venues where
the game is played and their
feeling/atmosphere as a
cultural reflection of the
neighboring communities.
Waterhouse Field in Biddeford
Hill Stadium in Saco
22. Waterhouse Field
Located off campus on the corner of
West Street and Wendall Ave.
Waterhouse Field was constructed in
1929 with the help of Alfred L.
Waterhouse and other local
investors, who purchased land off
West Street and built a playing field
under the name of the Biddeford
High School Alumni Association.
During the Great Depression, it was
Waterhouse, a local hardware store
worker, who provided the funds to
keep the field going, including paying
for lighting for night football games
and for installing fencing.
23. Hill Stadium
Located on campus
on Route 1/ Main St
in Saco.
Opened in the early
1980s.
Named for one-time
Saco physician and
TA trustee…
Dr. Paul S. Hill Jr.
24. Bridging the Social Divide
A look at the perspective of each
community’s students as they project on
their neighbors the prevailing attitude
they have toward the other.How is this
attitude manifested through the
performance of the “battle”?
In asking current and former students to
share their perspective of their rivals
across the river, the following is a
sampling of quotes.
25. Bridging the Social Divide
“They’re snobs! They think they are
better than us and consider us scum”
Biddeford Cheerleader.
“I sense that they struggle over there,
with the economy, with reputation, it
seems like its always been that way,
going back to the mill days.” Saco Banker
26. Bridging the Social Divide
“I don’t know, sometimes the whole thing
was so ridiculous. Why couldn’t these
people get themselves a life.” Thornton
Parent
“Nothing was more important than
beating them, than giving this community
something to hang their hat on.”
Biddeford Teacher
27. Bridging the Social Divide
“Back then, the noise, the uproar, I hated it. I
was in school to work toward getting out of
school, getting out of Saco, so I wasn’t about
to concern myself with how the Golden Trojans
were doing. It’s funny that I ended up right
back here and now take some pride in our
recent state title.” Thornton Teacher
“Growing up in this town, football was
everything. Game days against TA were more
nerve racking than state title games.” Biddeford
Teacher
28. Bridging Attitudes
A look at the battle through the eyes of the
“other” participants, the fans, parents,
students, etc.
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Cathy Baillargeon TA Parent
29. Bridging Attitudes
A look at the battle through the eyes of the
“other” participants, the fans, parents,
students, etc.
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Keegan Moody TA Graduate
30. Bridging Attitudes
A look at the battle through the eyes of the
“other” participants, the fans, parents,
students, etc.
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Cady Toussaint: Biddeford Cheerleader
31. Bridging Attitudes
A look at the battle through the eyes of the
“other” participants, the fans, parents,
students, etc.
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Pat Bolin: Biddeford Band Teacher
32. Bridging Performance
A look at parades, floats,
bridge decorating, pre-game
ritual from both sides of the
river.
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33. Bridging Performance
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34. Bridging Performance
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36. Bridging History
A look at the (in)famous battle that
took place without football. The
thwarted Labor Day KKK march from
Saco into Biddeford, stopped by local
bands of Irish/French immigrants at
either bridge.
37. Bridging History
September 1. 1924: The “Battle of the Bridge”
takes place as Saco Klansmen intend to march
into Biddeford.
The objects of their derision were both the
French and Irish Catholic immigrant
communities.
Although the Klan’s intentions proved a
depolarizing event for their divergent enclaves,
both Biddeford’s French and Irish stayed with
their own and defended separate bridges.
38. Bridging History
As increasing numbers of knife-wielding Francos
who had been covering the Main Street bridge
began to arrive, the Klansmen lost their
enthusiasm and the parade melted away, ending
the “Battle.”
One common story-the so-called “Battle of the
Bridge”-holds that the Klan got as far as the
middle of the Elm Street bridge to Biddeford’s
Spring’s Island when it halted upon seeing the
Irish with piles of “Irish confetti”. (A euphemism
for bricks and stones).
39. Bridging History
Although the following images do not directly
originate from Saco, or its Klansmen of the
1920s, they do confirm the existence of the Klan
in Maine and its strong hold on the imagination
of members of the dominant culture threatened
by the emergence of an immigrant labor force.
As an aside, the images from the program are an
heirloom belonging to a Biddeford resident,
believed to have once belonged to an ancestor
who resided down east.
41. Bridging History
Images from a program for
a “Women of the Ku Klux
Klan” rally in Portland on
July 25, 1925. This
reinforces the existence of
the Klan locally in Maine,
not far from the
Biddeford/Saco area.
42. Contested Adversaries
The opinion of opposing
players toward one another.
Both at the time of
engagement and through
the lens of reflection.
43. Contested Adversaries
“It was a battle of the haves and the have-
nots. We’re the poor guys and we beat those
guys and it was a tremendous feeling.”
“I remember my senior year. We gathered at
Deering Ice Cream, they gathered at a Saco
establishment. There was a radio station at
both facilities and we were sort of, in a polite
way, sort of jabbing back and forth at each
other.”
44. Contested Adversaries
“Just this past year on my team, I had three players
whose Dads played against me either as a players
or a coach and they are now playing at Thornton
Academy, so there is a mixture of the communities.
There always has been.”
TA is the largest school, population wise, in the
state of Maine. So, because of that you can always
expect a battle from those guys. We’ve been
competing with them since as early as third grade,
the beginning of Peewees and have always
respected their many athletes.
45. Contested Adversaries
“There was a general superiority kind of thing where
Thornton Academy people were considered back then
as sort of economically superior and more educated and
there may have been some truth to that.”
“Even when I was at Thornton Academy, I think the
community of Biddeford had a greater support for their
team. We all know that parents and student bodies go
out to these games, but I felt even playing at Thornton
that Biddeford had a greater community sense.”
“We had great respect for our opponents. No doubt
Thornton Academy was a team that we did not want to
lose to but at the same time we certainly respected
them. Back in the day, the schools were very, very
similar. Since then, TA has gone the private route and
the rivalry has changed.”
46. Bridging Battles
Placing meaning on the conflict.
The performance of the battle simultaneously divides and
binds the two communities of Biddeford and Saco.
It is a profoundly meaningful identity marker for both
communities and their schools that participate in it.
Students from both schools and citizens of the towns
acquire a strengthened sense of place through
performance of the battle.
A recent USA Today poll resulted in the Battle of the
Bridge being named as the top high school rivalry in the
state of Maine.
Regardless of the differences between the divergent
towns, regardless of their real or perceived notions of one
another, and regardless of the projections foisted across
their divide, the communities now collectively enjoy the
ownership of their shared experience.
47. Image Citations
Slide 2: Author’s personal collection
Slide 3: Author’s personal collection
Slide 12: President Taft-http://www.mainememory.net
Panama Canal-http://supplychainalmanac.com
Pepperell Mills- http://www.mainememory.net
Boxer Rebellion-http://en.wikipedia.org
Slide 13: Bilbeau Bros.-http://www.mainememory.net
Pepperrell Square-http://www.mainememory.net
Beer Hall Putsch-http://en.wikipedia.org
Flappers-http://hemingwaysparis.blogspot.com
Slide 14: CCC Repair-http://www.mainememory.net
Nanking-http://movies.nytimes.com
Gone with the Wind-http://www.leninimports.com
TA Postcard-http://www.ebay.com
Slide 15: Chinese Revolution-http://www.japanfocus.org
Civil Defense Helmut, Ration Coupon Book-author’s collection.
Ferry Beach Postcard-http://www.ebay.com
48. Image Citations
Slide 16: Paris Revolution-http://www.onthisdeity.com/13th-may-1968-–-paris-
revolts
Little Rock Nine-http://imagine-yesterday.blogspot.com
Biddeford Bread Line-http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm
Boxer Rebellion-http://en.wikipedia.org
Slide 17: Bilbeau Bros.-http://www.mainememory.net
Pepperrell Square-http://www.mainememory.net
Beer Hall Putsch-http://en.wikipedia.org
Flappers-http://hemingwaysparis.blogspot.com
Slide 18: CCC Repair-http://www.mainememory.net
Nanking-http://movies.nytimes.com
Gone with the Wind-http://www.leninimports.com
TA Postcard-http://www.ebay.com
Slide 19: Chinese Revolution-http://www.japanfocus.org
Civil Defense Helmut, Ration Coupon Book-author’s collection.
Ferry Beach Postcard-http://www.ebay.com
Slide 20: Amtrak-http://www.city-data.com
BHS Rennovation-http://www.keepmecurrent.com
Obama/McCain-http://www.votetruth08.com
Social Media-http://www.ideaover10.com
49. Image Citations
Slide 21: Waterhouse Field-http://www.leaguelineup.com/
Hill Stadium-http://www.leaguelineup.com
Slide 22: Tiger Pride-http://www.johnpineauphotography.com Text
from-http://www.keepmecurrent.com
Slide 23: Hill Stadium Sign-http://www.nevco.com
Slides 34-36: Excerpts takes from Downs, Cities on the Saco
Slide 37: All images- www.mainememory.net
Slide 38: All images-author’s personal collection.