With the Abington-Cheltenham football game currently on “pause,” local historian Chuck Langerman shared that the rivals usually played the Saturday before Thanksgiving during the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.

According to Langerman, the days leading up to the game were designated as “Spirit Week” at both high schools.

If you have any memories to share of “Spirit Week” or the Abington-Cheltenham football rivalry, Langerman asks that you leave them in the comments.

In related history, on Saturday, November 21, 1970, Cheltenham High School junior running back Calvin Christopher (pictured above) scored four touchdowns in the Panthers’ 34-0 rout of Abington in their annual backyard clash. The following season, Christopher became the first running back in Cheltenham High history to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season, breaking baseball Hall of Famer Reggie Jackson’s single-season school record in the process.  

Happy Thanksgiving from Glenside Local.

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