St. Louis County Football Conference Champions
Football, in the early years of St. Louis County, Missouri was a small affair. In time, the population grew with large growth periods happening after World War I and World War II. The first football conference was formed in 1908, with three known teams, and has now grown to 31 public high schools in St. Louis County. The conference has not only included St. Louis County teams, but also has included western neighboring St. Charles High School in St. Charles County, Missouri and Northeast High School and Northwest High School in Jefferson County, Missouri.
History
The first three teams playing public high school football in St. Louis County were Kirkwood, Webster Groves, and Ferguson. There was also the Kirkwood Military Academy in Kirkwood. Ferguson was in north St. Louis County and Kirkwood and Webster Groves were neighbors in eastern St. Louis County, along the Missouri Pacific Railroad route, which is what caused their creations as cities. Kirkwood's first teams were in 1894 and 1895 and they were forced to play teams in the City of St. Louis, where the heavy action in the game was happening. Webster Groves became a four-year high school in 1898, which is when they organized their first high school football team. The game between Kirkwood and Webster Groves is now the famed Turkey Day Game, but the first game they played was November 18, 1898 and ended in a 6–6 tie. Between 1898 and 1905, the teams played four games, the years in which the teams did not play were because one of the schools did not have a team. In 1906, Kirkwood and Webster Groves played two games, one at Kirkwood and one at Webster Groves. The first game, played at Kirkwood, ended in a 0–0 tie and the second game, held at Webster Groves was a 5–0 victory for Kirkwood.The St. Louis County Football Championship
The two games played in 1906 caused Kirkwood and Webster Groves to create a best of three series for the championship of St. Louis County. A cup was purchased by the schools and the first game was played at The Stadium at Washington University. Kirkwood won the first two games but, regardless, the third game was still played Thanksgiving Day. Kirkwood again won the game and the cup, which was intended to rotate annually to the winner. Winning the cup three years in a row would cause a school to keep the trophy, with a new one being purchased.By 1908, the St. Louis County League was started with new schools coming into existence, all joining the new league. Kirkwood and Webster Groves chose to play their own original championship but also played each other for the championship of the County League. Kirkwood won both championships in 1908, causing a five-game win streak in two years against Webster Groves.
The 1907 Kirkwood football team was the first football champion of St. Louis County.
The St. Louis County League Football Championship
The County League began in 1908 with Kirkwood, Webster Groves, and Ferguson. In time, other schools joined the County League which, in 1926, joined the Missouri [State High School Activities Association]. Those schools who later joined the County League were: Clayton, Maplewood [Richmond Heights High School|Maplewood], Normandy, Ritenour, St. Charles, University [City High School (Missouri)|University Cit]y, and Wellston. Webster Groves and Kirkwood dominated the championship of the County League until the latter part of the 1920s.The 1908 Kirkwood football team was the first football champion of the St. Louis County League.
The St. Louis Suburban League Football Championship
In 1947, the St. Louis County League was reorganized as the St. Louis Suburban League. From 1947 to 1951, all of the suburban teams played for one conference title.In 1952, the suburban schools were organized as "Big" or "Little" schools, with a third "Middle" school conference being added in 1956. Group 1, the "Big" schools, were Ferguson, Kirkwood, Maplewood, Normandy, Ritenour, University City, and Webster Groves.
Group 2, the "Middle" schools, were Affton, Hazelwood, Lindbergh, Mehlville, St. Charles, and Pattonville. Mehlville, which started as a Big school, would later become a Middle school and Ladue, which started as a Small school, would move into the Middle schools too.
The Group 3, or "Small" or "Little" schools, were Berkeley, Brentwood, Clayton, Ladue, Parkway, Pattonvile, and Wellston.
The St. Louis Suburban Conference Football Championship
In 1959, the Suburban League was renamed the Suburban Conference and it continued using its standard of Big, Middle, Little designations until 1963. In 1964, the Middle Conference teams were split between the Big and Little conferences until 1966, when the schools were reorganized as the Suburban North and Suburban South conferences. The Little Six remained a conference with the smallest St. Louis County schools staying in it.In 1970, the Little Six Conference was renamed the Suburban League and kept that name until 1975. In 1974, the Suburban North divided its teams into an I-270 Division and a Rock Road Division, which only lasted a year. The Suburban South created a Red Division and a Green Division, which lasted two years.
In 1976, the Suburban Conference reorganized as the Suburban North, Suburban South, Suburban East, and Suburban West conferences and they remained organized that way until 2014.