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INTRODUCTION

When people from Massillon are asked about their football team, they often say that you have to be from Massillon to understand.

Tiger Legacy is a community storytelling project that offers a firsthand account of the Massillon football experience through personal narratives and photographs from 2011 through 2014.

In October 2011, Alexandra Nicholis Coon, executive director of the Massillon Museum, contacted us about collaborating on a storytelling project focusing on the Tiger Football Booster Club. Alex believed it was essential for the museum to embrace Massillon’s football traditions.

The original concept of documenting the Booster Club expanded, and six Kent State University Visual Storytelling students, Caitlin Bourque, Chelsie Corso, Coty Giannelli, Matt Hafley, Jenna Watson, and Jessica White, joined the project team. We felt that Tiger Legacy would provide valuable experiences for our students.

Our efforts centered on the connection between the community of more than 32,000 residents and its passion for Tiger football. It is a passion that has endured for generations. Our coverage included the players, coaching staff, principal, Tiger Swing Band, cheerleaders, Booster Club, Orangemen, Sideliners, Tiger Moms, families, mayor, season ticket holders, tailgaters, and orange-and-black-clad fans, as well as Obie, the live tiger cub mascot.

Tiger football has a more-than-100-year history that can be traced back to the origins of the sport. While football was not created in Massillon, it took root there in ways that popularized the game. The rivalry between Massillon and the nearby Canton McKinley Bulldogs began in 1894 and is considered to be among the greatest high school football rivalries in the United States. Both teams are in the top 10 nationally for total victories, and historians believe the rivalry had a key role in the evolution of pro football. The American Professional Football Association was founded in 1920 in Canton, Ohio, and a few years later it became the National Football League. In 1963, the Pro Football Hall of Fame was established in Canton.

The Tigers have won 24 state championships, compiled 849 total victories as of 2014 (the third highest number of victories in the United States), completed 20 undefeated seasons, and won nine scholastic national championships. But the Tigers have not won a state championship since 1970. Massillon and football are connected in ways that are greater than the teams, the seasons, the history, and even the sport itself. The shared excitement, anticipation, pride, and optimism that exist between Massillon and its Tigers—these are experiences that you don’t need to be from Massillon to understand.

— Gary Harwood

David Foster