Occidental–Whittier football rivalry

The Occidental–Whittier football rivalry was a college football rivalry between the Occidental College Tigers and the Whittier College Poets, both members of the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference. The rivalry has been played 108 times, renewed annually since 1907, except for interruptions during the World Wars and in 2017. By 1935, the Los Angeles Times was already referring to the Tigers and Poets as "old rivals".^[1] The schools met twice in the years of 1913, 1984, and 1989, the latter two due to the SCIAC's doubling up of one opponent per season in the 1980s. The game is often referred to as the Shoes Game, as the winner maintains possession of Myron Claxton's bronzed shoes as a trophy. Over its more than 100-year history, the rivalry has been relatively even, with Oxy maintaining a 57–52–2 edge. Whittier dominated the rivalry from the 1950s through the 1970s,^[2] but Oxy has won 27 of the last 35 games since 1983. Following the abandonment of Occidental's 2017 football season, no game was played in 2017, but the series resumed in 2018. The series is on hiatus following Occidental's discontinuation of its football program amidst the coronavirus pandemic, and Whittier's discontinuation of football following the 2022 season.^[3]

Occidental–Whittier football rivalry

Teams	Occidental Tigers Whittier Poets
First meeting	1907 Occidental 10, Whittier 0
Latest meeting	2019 Whittier 21, Occidental 18
Trophy	Myron Claxton's Shoes
Statistics
Meetings total	111
All-time series	Occidental leads, 57–52–2
Occidental Whittier Locations in Los Angeles metropolitan area

Myron Claxton's Shoes

Prior to the 1939 game between the two schools, Occidental decided to steal the shoes of Little All-American tackle (and future Whittier mayor) Myron Claxton in an attempt to hinder his performance. Claxton played in his work boots, and Whittier went to Oxy and won 36–0. Following the game, Claxton went to the Oxy sideline and reclaimed his shoes. After the Second World War, Claxton's shoes were bronzed by Whittier College's Franklin Society and became a trophy that the winner of the game maintains possession of for a year.^[4][5] In anticipation of winning this trophy, both teams have been known to shout "Shoes!" as a rallying cry. The Shoes were featured on a 2013 episode of ESPN's College Gameday broadcast from the University of Southern California.^[6][7]

Game results

Occidental victories

Whittier victories

Ties

No. Date Location Winner Score 1 1907 Occidental 10–0 2 1908 Occidental 25–6 3 1909 Whittier 35–9 4 1910 Tie 0–0 5 1911 Occidental 38–2 6 1912 Occidental 28–7 7 1913 Los Angeles Occidental 6–0 8 1913 Whittier Whittier 30–6 9 1914 Whittier 14–7 10 1915 Occidental 13–6 11 1916 Whittier Tie 13–13 12 1917 Los Angeles Occidental 32–7 13 1919 Occidental 13–0 14 1920 Whittier 21–7 15 1921 Whittier 10–6 16 1922 Occidental 27–6 17 1923 Occidental 12–3 18 1924 Occidental 13–0 19 1925 Occidental 13–0 20 1926 Occidental 27–7 21 1927 Whittier 7–0 22 1928 Occidental 19–7 23 1929 Occidental 28–0 24 1930 Occidental 25–0 25 1931 Whittier 21–0 26 1932 Occidental 20–7 27 1933 Whittier 7–6 28 1934 Whittier 12–0 29 1935 Whittier Whittier 52–0 30 1936 Whittier 21–0 31 1937 Whittier 23–7 32 1938 Whittier 14–0 33 1939 Whittier 36–0 34 1940 Occidental 7–6 35 1941 Whittier 14–7 36 1942 Occidental 19–7 37 1946 Occidental 7–6 38 1947 Occidental 6–4 39 1948 Occidental 20–6 40 1949 Whittier 54–6 41 1950 Whittier 15–0 42 1951 Occidental 7–0 43 1952 Whittier 14–6 44 1953 Occidental 7–6 45 1954 Occidental 13–7 46 1955 Whittier 7–0 47 1956 Whittier 20–7 48 1957 Whittier 30–6 49 1958 Whittier 40–14 50 1959 Whittier 28–6 51 1960 Whittier 13–12 52 1961 Whittier 28–8 53 1962 Whittier 27–7 54 1963 Whittier 20–7 55 1964 Whittier 32–17 56 1965 Occidental 21–17 No. Date Location Winner Score 57 1966 Whittier 12–7 58 1967 Whittier 20–13 59 1968 Occidental 20–8 60 1969 Whittier 53–8 61 1970 Whittier 23–10 62 1971 Whittier 23–14 63 1972 Whittier 23–17 64 1973 Whittier 29–12 65 1974 Whittier 16–7 66 1975 Occidental 41–32 67 1976 Occidental 21–0 68 1977 Whittier 28–14 69 1978 Whittier 17–0 70 1979 Whittier 28–26 71 1980 Whittier 21–12 72 1981 Whittier 41–6 73 1982 Whittier 35–23 74 1983 Occidental 18–8 75 1984 Occidental 27–23 76 1984 Occidental 17–0 77 1985 Los Angeles Occidental 20–7 78 1986 Whittier Whittier 28–25 79 1987 Los Angeles Occidental 6–0 80 1988 Whittier Occidental 27–10 81 1989 Los Angeles Occidental 7–0 82 1989 Whittier Whittier 26–16 83 1990 Los Angeles Occidental 38–13 84 1991 Whittier Occidental 20–14 85 1992 Los Angeles Occidental 36–34 86 1993 Whittier Occidental 37–25 87 1994 Los Angeles Occidental 17–13 88 1995 Whittier Occidental 10–0 89 1996 Los Angeles Occidental 14–10 90 1997 Whittier Whittier 41–7 91 1998 Los Angeles Whittier 30–14 92 1999 Whittier Occidental 17–7 93 2000 Los Angeles Whittier 28–27 94 2001 Whittier Occidental 34–7 95 2002 Los Angeles Occidental 29–20 96 2003 Whittier Occidental 35–20 97 2004 Los Angeles Occidental 42–13 98 2005 Whittier Occidental 28–20 99 2006 Los Angeles Occidental 34–30 100 2007 Whittier Whittier 67–61 101 2008 Los Angeles Occidental 48–14 102 2009 Whittier Occidental 44–23 103 2010 Los Angeles Occidental 25–22 104 2011 Whittier Occidental 31–17 105 2012 Los Angeles Whittier 61–30 106 2013 Whittier Whittier 59–52 107 2014 Los Angeles Occidental 23–17 108 2015 Whittier Occidental 62–15 109 2016 Los Angeles Occidental 56–38 110 2018 Los Angeles Whittier 28–13 111 2019 Whittier Whittier 21–18 Series: Occidental leads 57–52–2

See also

• List of NCAA college football rivalry games

References

1. "Oxy Pits Speed and Deception Against Rugged Whittier Poets Today: Old Rivals Meet Again". Los Angeles Times. November 11, 1935. ProQuest 163358948.
2. Jack Hawn (October 22, 1978). "Whittier Rolls Over Occidental: Poets Use Strong Defense For 17-0 Win in Conference Opener". Los Angeles Times. p. C17. ProQuest 158628230.
3. "Occidental Makes Difficult Decision to End Football Program". October 13, 2020.
4. "The Battle for the Shoes". Occidental Athletics. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
5. Steve Ramirez (October 10, 2014). "Occidental, Whittier renew the "Battle for the Shoes"". San Gabriel Valley Tribune. Retrieved October 14, 2015.
6. "Journey of the Shoes". YouTube.
7. Sandra Molina (November 15, 2013). "Whittier College Poets v. Occidental College Tigers rivalry featured on ESPN College Game Day". Whittier Daily News. Retrieved October 15, 2015.