NORTH SOUTH ALL STAR CLASSIC

The Ohio High School Football Coaches Association has been staging a statewide all-star game since 1946, making the Ohio All-Star Classic the longest-running high-school all-star game in the nation.

The name of the game has changed throughout the years, having been known as the North-South All-Star Game, Dial All-Star Game and Ohio All-Star Classic. And the venues have changed, with at least one game being held in Akron, Canton, Columbus, Mansfield, Massillon, Middletown, Springfield, and Toledo.

But despite the changes, every summer the best high-school players in the state have gathered each summer to showcase their talents in an all-star football game that has featured players that have gone on to win Heisman trophies and have Hall of Fame professional careers.

“The best high-school football in the country is played right here in Ohio and we are proud to showcase our best players each year in the Ohio All-Star Classic,” said Jack Rose, president of the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association. “This is the premier All-Star football game in the nation and we are most proud that the proceeds go to a scholarship fund the helps student-athletes from all sports attend college.”

Four alumni of the Ohio All-Star Classic have gone on to win a combined five Heisman trophies, including Vic Janowicz, Roger Staubach, Archie Griffin and Desmond Howard. Griffin, of course, is the only two-time winner of the prestigious award.

Other notable game participants include Len Dawson, Jim Marshall, Paul Warfield, Alan Page, Jim Lachey, Bernie Kosar, Cris Carter, Chris Spielman, Elvis Grbac, Joey Galloway, Ki-Jana Carter and Orlando Pace.

New England Patriots linebacker Mike Vrabel, who played in the All-Star Classic in 1993, and Carolina Panthers running back Nick Goings, who participated in 1996, continued the tradition this year of having an All-Star alumnus play in the Super Bowl. At least one All-Star alumnus has played in 36 of the 38 Super Bowls.

The Ohio All-Star Classic was played at a variety of sites between 1946 and 1955 before finding a home in Canton from 1956 to 1975. After being played in Columbus in 1976 and 1977, the game returned to northeastern Ohio, where it was contested primarily at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium in Massillon.

The Ohio All-Star Classic returned to Columbus in 2001, when the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association and Greater Columbus Sports Commission partnered to bring the game to Columbus Crew Stadium.

Notre Dame head coach Frank Leahy was on the sidelines when the first North-South Ohio All-Star Game was played at Toledo Waite High School on Aug. 17, 1946.

But Leahy was not there just to watch. He was actually the winning coach of the North squad in a 26-21 win over the South. The next year, Ohio State coach Wes Fesler and Illinois coach Ray Eliot were the head coaches as the two teams played to a 6-6 tie in Canton.

Since those first two game, the Ohio High School Football Coaches Association have selected the state’s best high school coaches to coach in the Ohio All-Star Classic. Future Ohio State coach Earle Bruce coached the North to a 16-6 win in the 1965 game when he was the head coach at Massillon Washington.

The North leads the all-time series

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