page_title: Green Bay East–Green Bay West football rivalry
section_title: Official start, 1905–1919
hierarchical_section_title: Green Bay East–Green Bay West football rivalry / History / Official start, 1905–1919
caption_attribution_description: English: An article of the first meeting of the Green Bay East-West football rivalry.
context_page_description: The Green Bay East–Green Bay West football rivalry is a high school football rivalry between Green Bay East High School and Green Bay West High School, two public high schools in Green Bay, Wisconsin. Played annually since 1905, it is Wisconsin's longest-running consecutively-played high school football rivalry. The teams first met unofficially in 1895, but did not begin playing annually until ten years later. For much of the early 20th century, the rivalry game was one of the most popular events of the year in Green Bay due to East and West being the only city high schools, drawing crowds that exceeded those of the fledgling Green Bay Packers.
  With the addition of Southwest High School in 1964 and Preble High School in 1965, enrollments at East and West declined along with the town-wide popularity of the game, but East and West continued to meet, celebrating 100 years of games in 2005. East has led the series four times, and currently leads overall 62–49–3. West has led the series three times and their longest period of dominance stretched from 1942 to 1962, where they won all but three games.
context_section_description: The first official meeting occurred on November 30, 1905, at Green Bay's Hagemeister Park. East won 21–0, with some later sources claiming the score was 22–0. According to Christl, attendance at the first game was between 100 and 500 spectators. The following year, amidst a nationwide outcry against the violent nature of football, Green Bay's school board dissolved the programs at both schools. Though they would later reverse the decision, only East fielded a team that year and the game was not played. The series resumed in 1907 and continued uninterrupted. Once the series continued as a regular event, it became "a homecoming of sorts for college students who attended the two high schools." Beginning in 1908, the games were relegated to the city's disused minor league baseball field at Hagemeister, known as the League Ball Grounds. Despite fears of the series' cancellation due to fights during and after the 1908 game, the series continued and West won its first game in 1909. West would then win seven straight games until East, with the aid of Curly Lambeau (who would help found the Green Bay Packers three years later), won the 1916 game. Despite fears that the 1918 game would be cancelled due to the Spanish flu (and indeed it was postponed three times), the series continued.
caption: The December 1, 1905, Press-Gazette's report of the first East–West game
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