 The City @-@ Poly football rivalry is the oldest American football rivalry in Maryland , and one of the oldest public school football rivalries in the United States . The rivalry began in 1889 , when City College met the Baltimore Polytechnic Institute ( Poly ) at Clifton Park for a football scrimmage in which City 's freshman team beat Poly . City remained undefeated in the series until 1908 . In the 1920s , the rivalry turned so fierce that riots erupted on the streets of downtown Baltimore on the day before " The Game " when opposing parades clashed resulting in the sons of both the Mayor of Baltimore and the Governor of Maryland were arrested in 1928 . By the 1930s a " Peace Pact " was sworn annually and signed by student government leaders of both schools before the cameras of the press in the Mayor 's Ceremonial Office in City Hall . Several student disturbances at games or on transit buses afterwards in the late @-@ 1960s and early @-@ 1970s threatened to put an end to the athletic tradition reflecting the tense tenor of the times , but goodwill eventually prevailed again by the quieter 1980s . By the 1950s , it had become a Baltimore tradition that after a morning of church services , parades and rallies , the two Catholic high school football powers of Loyola High School ( Loyola <unk> ) and Calvert Hall College would play on Thanksgiving Day morning at 10 a.m. , followed at 2 p.m. by City @-@ Poly as the two public school rivals at Memorial Stadium on 33rd Street . That evening 's TV news and sports casts led off with the scores and highlights of " The Game " and half @-@ time shows and parades . Next day 's The Sun and The News @-@ Post and American had special sections and stories covering all facets of the day before . 
