The Cowhide - A High School Football Tradition Review

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The Cowhide - A High School Football Tradition ReviewJohn D. Fischer does a terrific job of setting the stage and describing this cross town high school football rivalry, giving it the significant treatment it deserves.
My only disappointments are that my father and I who both played in the Cowhide exactly 20 years apart were not written up in the "Family" chapter or that I wasn't available,(or considered) to be interviewed. Also, the 90's were a big disappointment for the Pioneers and part of the blame for that can definately be placed on Coach Fischer.
The names of all the players and the games are diligently listed and reported of the first 50 games played up through the publication of the book. So, the thrill of being a part of this time honored and deeply cultural Visalian event can be appreciated by the hundreds of "warriors" who have been in the trenches. It's a great coffee table book for my three sons to look at and see that their old man hasn't just been blowing smoke about the significance of the Cowhide and its' over-the- top magnitude in California's central valley.
As Holden Caulfield says in Catcher in the Rye, "What really knocks me out is a book that, when you're all done reading it, you wish the author that wrote it was a terrific friend of yours and you could call him up on the phone whenever you felt like it."
Mr. Fischer has put together such a book.The Cowhide - A High School Football Tradition OverviewAcross the country are hundreds of high school football rivalries.Each might lay claim that it is special in many ways.In the heart of the great central valley of California is one such rivalry that is exceptional in its power over the people who have beenpart of it.Two high schools, Redwood and Mt. Whitney, began playing an annual football game against each other in 1955.The 50th game ofthis traditional rivalry was played in 2004 before 10,000 fans and a live television audience.The two schools, located only a few blocks from each other in Visalia, California, a city of 100,000 people, have maintained this intense rivalry for over 50 years like very few school have ever done.The game is played before a packed stadium every year and the community claims it as the biggest event during the entire year.Thousands come back every year for this one game, most of them alumni and former players in a gigantic homecoming affair.The pre-game pageantry tops many college games, often with fireworks and skydivers.If a team wins this game, the entire season is successful.The game is called the Cowhide, because the teams play for an old cowhide bolted to a board. The winning team keeps it for a year and the year of the victory is etched under the school's name. Over the years, families have had complete loyalty to one school, but others have had their loyalties split as differnet generations become involved with different schoolsPart 1 explores the history of the Cowhide game, relating the early humble beginning when the original high school split into two schools.The evolution of the game over 50 years is explored.Using hundreds of questionnaires, newspaper accounts, and many interviews with those involved over the years, the real meaning of the Cowhide tradition is explored and the reasons are brought out as to why this rivalry has not only endured but has actually increased in strength over the years.Part 2 gives a detailed account of each of the 50 games, including the teams' records coming into the game, the results of any subsequent playoffs, and a complete roster of the teams for each year.The article of the local newspaper about the game is included in each chapter.At the end is an appendix of stats, a listing of head and assistant coaches, and other interesting items over the years.Finally there is an index of all the players who played in the game and what years they played.

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