# Big 33 Football Classic

The Big 33 Football Classic is an all-star American football game featuring the top high-school football players in Pennsylvania. Played since 1958, the game is often described as the "Super Bowl of High School Football." Contests currently pit players from Pennsylvania against players from Maryland, but opponents in the past have also included players from Ohio and Texas. While most earlier games were held at Hersheypark Stadium in Hershey, Pennsylvania, the game is now played at Cumberland Valley High School in Mechanicsburg.
No Super Bowl has ever been contested without a Big 33 alumnus.
While the game was originally played with the best 33 players in each state (hence its name), the organizers added a 34th player to give kickers a chance to be separate of the 33 count as to give one more non-kicker a chance to be named to the Big 33. Thus, there are 34 players from each state who are invited to play in this game on the original roster. If there are players that are selected are unable to play, the staff of the team and the Big 33 will select other players to fill their places on the roster.
In 2006, the game was moved from mid-to-late July to mid-to-late June due to the NCAA rule changes that made some coaches prohibit many players from these teams from playing in the game due to the closeness of the upcoming summer practices.
In October 2012, it was announced that Pennsylvania had dropped Ohio from the Big 33 game and replaced them with Maryland.
Big 33 matchups by year :
| Home | Visitor | Years |
| Pennsylvania | Maryland | 1985–92, 2013–present |
| Pennsylvania | Ohio | 1972–76, 1993–2012 |
| Pennsylvania | Texas | 1964–67 |
| Pennsylvania Blue | Pennsylvania Gray | 1963 |
| East Pennsylvania | West Pennsylvania | 1961–62, 1968–71, 1977–84 |
| Pennsylvania | Nation | 1957–60 |

## Game-related activities

A wide variety of activities take place on the weekend of the game, typically in June or July. These activities include cheerleading exhibitions, scholarship presentations, youth clinics, and visits by the players to local hospitals, the Boys & Girls Club and other charities. Over $2 million in academic scholarships have been awarded as a result of the game and its sponsors. Each team has its own host families who host a player. The Ohio players arrive in Hershey and meet their host families Friday night (one week and a day before the game) and the Pennsylvania players arrive in Hershey and meet their host families on Saturday at the kickoff picnic that includes the host families and cheerleaders. The players visit hospitals and receive a "Buddy". Many of the players keep ties with their host families while in college and throughout their careers and the event is a very family-like event.

## Notable alumni

| Year | Name | Position | Notes |
| 1957 | Herb Adderley | CB | 3× Super Bowl Champion (I, II, VI) Pro Football Hall of Fame (1980) |
| 1961 | Joe Namath | QB | Super Bowl champion (III) Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee (1985) |
| 1973 | Tony Dorsett | RB | Super Bowl Champion XII Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductee (1994) |
| 1974 | Joe Montana | QB | 4× Super Bowl champion (XVI, XIX, XXIII, XXIV) Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductee (2000) |
| 1978 | Jim Kelly | QB | Pro Football Hall of Fame Inductee (2002) |
| | Dan Marino | QB | 1984 NFL MVP (AP, PFWA, NEA, SN, MX) Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee (2005) |
| 1987 | Ricky Watters | RB | Super Bowl champion (XXIX) |
| | Kerry Collins | QB | 2× Pro Bowl (1996, 2008) |
| | Marvin Harrison | WR | Super Bowl champion (XLI) 3× First-team All-Pro (1999, 2002, 2006) 5× Second-team All-Pro (2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005) |
| | Curtis Martin | RB | Pro Football Hall of Fame (2012) |
| 1993 | Jim Fitzgerald | RB/FB | |
| | Ty Law | CB | 3× Super Bowl champion (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX) 2× All-Pro (1998, 2003) |
| | Orlando Pace | OT | Super Bowl champion (XXXIV) 5× All-Pro (1999, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004) |
| 1995 | Darnell Dinkins | TE | Super Bowl Champion (XLIV) |
| 1997 | LaVar Arrington | LB | 3× Pro Bowl (2001, 2002, 2003) 3× All-Pro (2001, 2002, 2003) |
| | Kyle Brady | TE | |
| | Zach Strief | OT | Super Bowl Champion (XLIV) |
| | Bob Sanders | SS | Super Bowl champion (XLI) AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year (2007) 2× First-team All-Pro (2005, 2007) |
| | Brett Veach | WR | Kansas City Chiefs Scout |
| 1999 | Robb Butler | DB | |
| 2000 | Ben Roethlisberger | QB | 2× Super Bowl Champion (XL, XLIII) NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year (AP, Diet Pepsi, PFWA, SN) (2004) |
| | Marlin Jackson | CB/S | Super Bowl champion (XLI) |
| | Anthony Gonzalez | WR | |
| 2004 | Javon Ringer | RB | |
| | Brian Hoyer | QB | |
| | Ted Ginn Jr. | WR | |
| | Darrelle Revis | DB | |
| | Haruki Nakamura | WR | |
| 2005 | Alex Boone | G | |
| 2005 | Brian Hartline | WR | |
| 2005 | Mario Manningham | WR | Super Bowl Champion (XLVI) |
| 2005 | Zoltán Meskó | K | |
| 2005 | Brian Robiskie | WR | |
| 2005 | Austin Spitler | LB | |
| 2005 | Tyrell Sutton | RB | |
| 2005 | Matt Tennant | C | |
| | Jon Baldwin | WR | |
| | Jason Pinkston | G | |
| 2009 | Fitzgerald Toussaint | RB | |
| 2009 | Micah Hyde | RB | |
| 2010 | Greg Mancz | LT | |
| 2011 | Joel Heath | DE | |
| 2012 | Tyrique Jarrett | DL | |
| 2022 | Abdul Carter | DE | |