Here’s a view from high atop the press box at venerable Griffith Field as the Bakersfield High team runs through a banner prior to second half of 2018 game vs Sierra Canyon. Photo: Mark Tennis.
We’re now going through all team categories in the exclusive Cal-Hi Sports state football record book files. For this post, it’s a monstrous expansion of our category for most wins by a school in its history. We’re also updating many other state football records for team categories in the next few days that will be available for Gold Club members only.
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Note: We hope you enjoy this free post on CalHiSports.com. We have even longer lists available in some of these categories in our exclusive football state records section. Before the 2020 season begins, whenever that turns out to be, we sure have the extra time to have all records updated and ready to go. To become a Gold Club member for as low as 6.8 cents per day, CLICK HERE.
Note: We of course utilize MaxPreps.com leader lists for current players and we encourage all schools and coaches to use that platform. There can be errors in those lists, however, that are not edited (especially duplications) and there are still a few players & teams who have unreported totals. MaxPreps also only goes back to the early 2000s. All California records before that were obtained through research by Cal-Hi Sports. We are the only source for state football records in California.
More Notes: There are several schools that previously weren’t listed and we’ve also expanded this category by adding more than 40 schools so we could get to 100. All new entries were obtained by going through all of the win-loss records we have for every school going back to the 1890s. Those files were compiled by late, legendary sports researcher Bruce McIntosh. We had a hunch by 2020 there would be a number of other schools that were close or higher than 500 wins than we had previously looked up. We essentially went through all of those files and added up wins (both from Bruce’s collection and from MaxPreps after 2009). We didn’t take the time to look up losses. The totals we do have we already had. There could be unreported wins and could be incorrect totals. No schools that have played 8-man football were looked up. For corrections or updates, email markjtennis@gmail.com. And as always, forfeits are not included.
Head coach Raul Lara of Long Beach Poly holds up one of the five CIF Southern Section titles that he won while leading the program. Photo: Mark Tennis.
795 – Bakersfield, 1896-1942, 1945-2019 (795-278-43)*
Drillers should get their 800th reported win next season.
783 – Long Beach Poly, 1904-2019*
If you don’t count rugby as a substitute for football in those early 1910 seasons (we do), then Poly would have more wins than Bakersfield.
664 – Berkeley, 1891-2019 (664-440-61)**
New head coach James Hudgens going to try to keep Yellowjackets on top for Northern California.
663 – Palo Alto, 1897-2019
Vikings count Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh and NFL WR Davante Adams among alums.
657 – Dos Palos, 1923-2019 (657-282-25)
Broncos have moved up two spots since the last time we did this category.
657 – Santa Monica, 1898-2019 (657-415-51)***
We don’t even know how many times SaMoHi has played Loyola so to see these two almost tied is pretty amazing.
656 – Los Angeles Loyola, 1908-1909, 1913-1917, 1919-2019 (656-320-37)
Cubs reached the CIF Southern Section D4 finals last season.
647 – San Jose Bellarmine, 1897-2019
Retiring head coach Mike Janda kept the Bells dominant for many years.
643 – Eureka, 1901-2019
After going 12-1 in 2018, the Loggers slipped to 3-7 last season.
Retiring Bellarmine of San Jose head coah Mike Janda holds one of the CCS title plaques his teams won. Photo: Mark Tennis.
638 – Santa Barbara, 1900-1905, 1908-2019 (638-419-33)
Love the QB (Dakota Hill) that the Dons will hopefully get to have for 2020 season.
636 – Pittsburg, 1924-2019 (636-296-40)
Head coach Vic Galli’s squad reached the 2019 CIF North Coast Section D1 finals.
626 – Los Gatos, 1897-2019
Wildcats went 12-2 last season and had OL Andres DeWerk sign with USC.
617 – Santa Ana, 1894-2019 (617-528-45)
It was winning record (6-5) for the Saints last season.
611 – Monrovia, 1898-2019
This is the highest school now in this category that we hadn’t looked up before. Only one that already had 600 wins prior to last year.
600 – Los Angeles, 1893-2019 (600-439-73) (forfeit losses in 2010, 2013, 2016 not included)
Romans were 4-6 last season. A dominant programs in early years of SoCal football.
600 – Chico, 1896-2019
Didn’t think the Panthers would be this high, but they’ve hardly ever had a poor season and that’s covering well over 100 years.
597 – Lompoc, 1921-2019 (597-363-21)
Braves were 7-4 last season and were able to move up two spots on the all-time list.
596 – Tehachapi, 1930-2019 (596-327-25)
It’s been a bit of a struggle for the Warriors (1-9 last season) since longtime coach Steve Denman retired a few years ago.
594 – Vallejo, 1898-1900, 1907-1914, 1922-2019 (forfeit from 2019 not included)
Apaches will always be known for their 1954 team — one of top five in our all-time greatest team rankings.
591 – Manteca, 1923-2019
Mark Varnum went 11-3 in his first year as head coach after great run by previous head coach Eric Reis.
Head coach Eric Reis is part of winning tradition at Manteca, which has a chance to win its 600th game next season. Photo: Mark Tennis.
587 – San Francisco Lowell, 1891-2019 (incomplete before 1923; forfeit win in 2009 not included; forfeit losses in 2017 & 2018 not included)
We’ve always known Lowell probably has a lot of scores that are unreported from its early years.
584 – Paso Robles, 1897-2019
Former principal Greig Welch did a great job looking up Paso’s grid logs in 2014.
580 – Tulare, 1896-2019 (580-458-39)
It was a two-spot rise for the Tribe after last season. They finished 8-3.
579 – Sacramento Grant, 1932-2019 (579-312-20) (three forfeit wins, one forfeit loss not included)
It was hard to see the Pacers only win once last season. Forever known for being first-ever CIF Open Division state champion in 2008.
578 – Oceanside, 1926-2019
The school of Junior Seau, Willie Buchanan and many others won 10 games in 2019 and expected to get a lot more whenever 2020 season gets played.
578 – Fowler, 1903-2019
CIF Central Section small school powerhouse combines a lot of history and a lot of strong seasons.
578 – San Pedro, 1908-2019
Along with Long Beach Poly, our friend Bruce loved the Pirates since he lived not far from the school for many years in the 1980s into the late 2010s.
576 – Pomona, 1901-2019
This school won a ton of games in the first 20 years of the 20th century.
573 – Carpinteria, 1928-2019 (573-303-27)
Always remember the Warriors from 2003 that went 14-0 and won games vs. Oaks Christian when Jimmy Clausen was a freshman QB for the Lions.
569 – Redlands, 1891-2019 (569-516-47)
Terriers will try to bounce back from 2-8 record from 2019.
567 – Napa, 1898-2019
Almost all of the wins came when the Grizzlies were known as Indians.
564 – Santa Ana Mater Dei, 1950-2019 (564-192-15)
Despite starting in 1950, the Monarchs are climbing in this list. They’re up three from last season and no end in sight in their recent dominance of the state along with league rival St. John Bosco.
563 – Escalon, 1929-2019 (563-276-43)
After going 14-1 and winning CIF D4A state title last season, Cougars rose up several spots on the all-time wins list.
Escalon’s 2010 CIF state title in D3 was the pinnacle moment for that small school program. Photo: escalonfire.com.
563 – Brawley, 1921-2019
Had a hunch that the Wildcats might be over 500 and after looking them up they were way over.
560 – San Diego, 1892-1893, 1895-2019 (forfeit win in 2010 not included)
Cavers won a CIF state title two years ago up in the mountain community of Colfax.
560 – Sanger, 1900-2019
The Apaches play at Tom Flores Stadium in honor of the former NFL coach and pioneer who should be in the NFL Hall of Fame.
560 – Los Angeles Manual Arts, 1910-2019 (560-440-36) (forfeit win in 2016 not included)
The first great head coach in SoCal was Jim Blewett of Manual Arts in the early years of 20th centurty.
558 – El Centro Central, 1914-2009
Similar to Brawley, looking up this school was a hunch that paid off.
557 – Kingsburg, 1922-2019 (557-3923-24)
Alma mater of Olympic legend Rafer Johnson went 10-1 last season and got a win over San Joaquin Memorial.
557 – Brea Brea Olinda, 1926-2019
Yes, a school doesn’t have to be in the higher divisions of the CIFSS to pile up lots of wins.
556 – South Pasadena, 1912-2019
The Tigers aren’t thought of like Muir or Pasadena, but they’ve had a lot of great teams over the years.
553 – Fullerton, 1908-2019
Before Brea Olinda opened, youngsters in that part of Orange County went to Fullerton. Team went 6-5 last season.
552 – San Fernando, 1914-2019
Alma mater of Charles White, Anthony Davis also had a 15-0 squad just a couple of seasons ago.
552 – Willows, 1920-2019
Hooray for the Honkers making this list. First thing Nelson ever asked for us to look up at state library was Lenus Luce of Willows for touchdowns scored in 1922.
551 – Clovis, 1922-2019 (551-366-21)
Cougars were once again among best in Central Section last season (7-5).
548 – Monterey, 1907-2019
Head coach Herm Edwards once played for the Toreadors.
546 – Anaheim, 1900-2019 (546-392-39)
Colonists make the list. Downey, the team they tied in that legendary 1956 CIFSS final, did not.
546 – Covina, 1905-2019
The Colts won three CIFSS titles in the 1920s.
546 – Pasadena, 1893-2019
Hey, Bulldog fans, we have Muir now just three wins behind and Muir started about 30 years later.
545 – Woodland, 1896-2019
The Wolves had teams in 1936 and 1970 that were 10-0.
De La Salle QB Anthony Sweeney celebrates after 2015 CIF Open Division final. Spartans reached 500 all-time wins in 2019 even though their first season was in 1971. Photo: Harold Abend.
NEXT 50 IN ORDER:
543 – Tracy, 1921-2019 (543-375-43)
543 – Pasadena Muir, 1926-2019
542 – San Andreas Calaveras, 1929-2019
536 – Ferndale, 1987-2019
536 – Hollister San Benito, 1902-2019
536 – Sonora, 1920-2019
536 – Turlock, 1920-2019
533 – Alameda, 1894-2019
533 – Corning, 1920-2019
530 – La Mesa Helix, 1951-2019
529 – Lodi, 1913-2019
528 – Claremont, 1922-2019
527 – Merced, 1896-2019 (527-373-33*)
524 – Oakdale, 1922-2019
524 – San Diego Point Loma, 1926-2019
523 – Riverside Poly, 1895-2019****
522 – Salinas, 1899-2019
521 – Elk Grove, 1926-2019 (521-368-32)
519 – Piedmont, 1921-2019
517 – Sacramento, 1892-2019
516 – Vacaville, 1898-2019
513 – San Mateo, 1904-2019 (513-466-38)
513 – Dinuba, 1900-2019
511 – Hilmar, 1922-2019
510 – Newport Beach Newport Harbor, 1931-2019
509 – La Mesa Grossmont, 1920-2019
508 – Porterville, 1898-2019
506 – Concord De La Salle, 1971-2019 (506-73-8)
505 – Newhall Hart, 1946-2019
505 – National City Sweetwater, 1910-2019
503 – Tustin, 1922-2019
502 – Hanford, 1899-2009
500 – Antioch, 1908-2019 (500-393-28)
500 – Hayward, 1894-2019
498 – Sutter, 1927-2019
498 – Woodlake, 1916-2019
498 – Wilmington Banning, 1921-2019
497 – Caruthers, 1921-2019
494 – Fort Bragg, 1924-2019 (494-301-24)
494 – Los Angeles Dorsey, 1937-2019
494 – Auburn Placer, 1899-2019 (494-377-27)
493 – Lemoore, 1908
493 – Ventura, 1923-2019
492 – Colton, 1911-2019
490 – La Verne Bonita, 1911-2019
489 – Downey, 1921-2019
488 – Los Banos, 1925-2019 (488-370-31)
488 – Oxnard, 1923-2019
485 – Chino, 1923-2019
484 – Mountain View St. Francis, 1957-2019 (484-220-11)
*Bakersfield total doesn’t include 22 wins and three losses by default; seven of the wins forfeited in 1984. Long Beach Poly total doesn’t include four forfeit losses from 2015.
**Plus six wins and two losses by default; record also incomplete for 1890s.
***Plus six wins and one loss by default.
****First year of football estimation; includes years known as Riverside High School.
Notes: Some of the wins may have been forfeited (above records are on-the-field reported totals). San Francisco Lowell has many early year games not reported.
Mark Tennis is the co-founder and publisher of CalHiSports.com. He can be reached at markjtennis@gmail.com. Don’t forget to follow Mark on the Cal-Hi Sports Twitter handle:
