Homecoming

NORTHVILLIANS,

Continuing our FALL SERIES, we will transition this week to HOMECOMING activities through the years.  A lot of excitement already this month, and it’s only the 5^th!  On Friday we kicked off “The Skeletons are Alive” and other functions in Northville leading up to Halloween. We also inducted our FIRST CLASS into the Northville Athletic Hall of Fame.  And topping things off, we held a community Crop Walk which started in our downtown, sponsored by Custard Time and the Good Time Party Store. 

Homecoming in Northville

Homecoming week in most communities centers around the Friday night Football game, followed by dances & social gatherings, with spirit week functions leading up to it.  
Our Historic town’s homecomings have included many activities through the years…let’s take a look:

1895 – Football was mentioned in the Northville Record even back in the late 1800s.  In one of the first gridiron contests publicized in our local paper, it spoke about the game and the dance that followed at the Princess Rink.  Many of the last names of our early players are on our street signs today.

1916 – Pep rallies were held in front of the old high school on Main Street for the entire community to join in. For the first time, the athletic boosters presented to the football team BOLD ORANGE Northville sweaters with a black block “N” on them.

1919 – Early Northville football teams were part of the “Four Square Football League” that transitioned to the “Suburban League,” which included Northville, Farmington, Wayne, Plymouth, Redford and Dearborn. It was noted that entire towns would travel to cheer on their teams.

1927 – During our centennial year, the Northville Record commented on the most distinctive Orange & Black jerseys ever worn on the gridiron field that year, which were solid orange with wild sleeves striped in black and white.  And we thought wild uniforms were only for the NFL!

1948 – High School Football games were played under the lights at our very own Ford Field (from the mid-1940’s to the early 1960’s).  The Northville Record spoke about a gala celebration planned that year for homecoming, set up by student council who sponsored the dance at the High School gym. All former alumni were encouraged to attend.

1954 – The Record said, “Northville’s homecoming was a decided success which concluded in a win over Brighton.”  Earlier there were parades with floats and bands, pep rallies and general activities ending the night with a dance. Following the parade, all Northville youth gathered at the Community Center for games and activities.  After the game, the Community Center transitioned to host the homecoming dance.

1960 – The Northville Record posted a picture of their 5-star quarterback Steve Juday.  The caption stated, “Not only did Steve kiss the queen in the traditional half time ceremonies, but in fact he apparently enjoyed the first kiss so much that he continued on to kiss all in the court and got a rousing standing ovation from the Ford Field crowd.”  And surprise — he married one of them…his high school sweetheart and leader of the cheerleaders, Linda Deal.   

1961-62 – Northville’s famous undefeated season!  Detroit papers wrote quite a bit about this talented team, of whom many went on to play collegiately.  “One of the finest groups of athletes ever assembled from Northville” (according to The Detroit News) which included Steve Juday, who went on to be MSU’s All-American quarterback.  Notably, Steve was inducted this past weekend in the first Northville Athlete Hall of Fame.  The community involvement was amplified because both Northville and Novi students attended Northville High through 1968.

1988 – The Northville Record and The Novi News decided to formally recognize this traditional gridiron clash between Novi & Northville by sponsoring the traveling “Baseline Jug” as part of School Homecoming activities.

2014 – Daryl Schumacher (Northville Football Coach) was immortalized in the Michigan Coaches Hall of Fame with over 211 victories at that time. (He, too, was inducted this weekend in the Northville Athlete Hall of Fame.)  It was noted that “Schumacher has had a huge impact on Northville athletics & students for more than 40 years and has been a great mentor for many.” Previous to this, Dr. Robert Mandell was also inducted into this distinguished organization for his decades of service to high school athletics. His son Mark Mandell continues the legacy, coaching at Northville High School today.

2021 – The 2021 Mustangs continue tackling new opportunities. A quote from the Record close to 100 years ago is still pertinent today: “If we can teach them to tackle life with football enthusiasm and fair play…this athletic activity shall have served its noblest purpose.”

I congratulate all our student-athletes and all those who helped prepare for the wild and exciting “Homecoming” activities this week.

The Mustang Homecoming game will be at 7:00 PM, Friday, against Hartland. Come on out and experience the excitement of the band, cheerleaders & dancers, and (of course) the football game.  It truly is an occasion for our community to come together, as we all gather at Tom Holzer Ford Field.

We will continue our “Fall series” next week on the autumn colors in the area and cider mills, then on to HALLOWEEN IN THE VILLE.

Stay #NORTHVILLESTRONG!

Keep that Orange & Black Northville Faith!

Brian Turnbull
Mayor – Northville
BTurnbull@ci.northville.mi.us / 248.505.6849

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