Since 1891

The Tiger Timeline.

The moments that built Massillon football — first kickoff, every coach, every title and the biggest nights in the rivalry.

28
Head coaches
Each tenure marked below
25
State titles
9
National titles
14
Regional titles

Key moments

Through the years

Scroll down through more than a century of Tigers football.

  1. 1891
    Origins

    The first game

    Massillon 1, Massillon Ex-Highs 0 — where it all begins.

  2. 1909
    New coach

    Hap Fugate takes over

    Head coach 1909 - 1911 · 20–8–3

    State title

    State champions

    9–0–1 under Hap Fugate.

  3. 1912
    New coach

    Sidney Jones takes over

    Head coach 1912 - 1913 · 9–9–1

  4. 1914
    New coach

    John Snavely takes over

    Head coach 1914 - 1919 · 41–8–2

  5. 1916
    State title

    State champions

    10–0 under John Snavely.

  6. 1920
    New coach

    Elmer Snyder takes over

    Head coach 1920 · 3–4–1

  7. 1921
    New coach

    Dave Stewart takes over

    Head coach 1921 - 1925 · 38–9

  8. 1922
    State title

    State champions

    10–0 under Dave Stewart.

  9. 1926
    New coach

    Dan Atkinson takes over

    Head coach 1926 - 1927 · 8–7–3

  10. 1928
    New coach

    Elmer McGrew takes over

    Head coach 1928 - 1931 · 20–16–4

  11. 1932
    New coach

    Paul Brown takes over

    Head coach 1932 - 1940 · 80–8–2

  12. 1935
    State title

    State champions

    10–0 under Paul Brown.

    National title

    National champions

    10–0 under Paul Brown.

  13. 1936
    State title

    State champions

    10–0 under Paul Brown.

    National title

    National champions

    10–0 under Paul Brown.

  14. 1937
    State title

    State champions

    8–1–1 under Paul Brown.

  15. 1938
    Landmark

    The Tiger Swing Band is born

    New band director George “Red” Bird turns the marching band into a show-band — the halftime show as we know it starts in Massillon.

    Landmark

    Obie the Tiger debuts

    Paul Brown's mascot idea becomes a costume sewn from a real tiger skin; Paul “Pep” Paulson is the first Obie. Named for the school colors — Orange and Black.

    State title

    State champions

    10–0 under Paul Brown.

  16. 1939
    Landmark

    Tiger Stadium opens

    The Tigers move into their new home stadium, later renamed Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

    State title

    State champions

    10–0 under Paul Brown.

    National title

    National champions

    10–0 under Paul Brown.

  17. 1940
    State title

    State champions

    10–0 under Paul Brown.

    National title

    National champions

    10–0 under Paul Brown.

  18. 1941
    New coach

    Bud Houghton takes over

    Head coach 1941 · 9–0–1

    State title

    State champions

    9–0–1 under Bud Houghton.

  19. 1942
    New coach

    Elwood Kammer takes over

    Head coach 1942 - 1944 · 26–4

  20. 1943
    State title

    State champions

    10–0 under Elwood Kammer.

  21. 1945
    Landmark

    The biggest crowd ever

    51,409 pack Cleveland Municipal Stadium for a 6–6 tie with Cleveland Cathedral Latin — still the largest crowd to see a Massillon game.

    New coach

    Augie Morningstar takes over

    Head coach 1945 · 5–0–5

  22. 1946
    New coach

    Bud Houghton takes over

    Head coach 1946 - 1947 · 12–6–2

  23. 1948
    New coach

    Chuck Mather takes over

    Head coach 1948 - 1953 · 57–3

    State title

    State champions

    9–1 under Chuck Mather.

  24. 1949
    State title

    State champions

    9–1 under Chuck Mather.

  25. 1950
    State title

    State champions

    10–0 under Chuck Mather.

    National title

    National champions

    10–0 under Chuck Mather.

  26. 1951
    State title

    State champions

    9–1 under Chuck Mather.

  27. 1952
    State title

    State champions

    10–0 under Chuck Mather.

    National title

    National champions

    10–0 under Chuck Mather.

  28. 1953
    State title

    State champions

    10–0 under Chuck Mather.

    National title

    National champions

    10–0 under Chuck Mather.

  29. 1954
    New coach

    Tom Harp takes over

    Head coach 1954 - 1955 · 17–2–1

    State title

    State champions

    9–1 under Tom Harp.

  30. 1956
    New coach

    Lee Tressel takes over

    Head coach 1956 - 1957 · 16–3

  31. 1958
    New coach

    Leo Strang takes over

    Head coach 1958 - 1963 · 54–8–1

  32. 1959
    State title

    State champions

    10–0 under Leo Strang.

    National title

    National champions

    10–0 under Leo Strang.

  33. 1960
    State title

    State champions

    10–1 under Leo Strang.

  34. 1961
    State title

    State champions

    11–0 under Leo Strang.

    National title

    National champions

    11–0 under Leo Strang.

  35. 1964
    New coach

    Earle Bruce takes over

    Head coach 1964 - 1965 · 20–0

    State title

    State champions

    10–0 under Earle Bruce.

  36. 1965
    State title

    State champions

    10–0 under Earle Bruce.

  37. 1966
    New coach

    Bob Seaman takes over

    Head coach 1966 - 1968 · 20–9–1

  38. 1969
    New coach

    Bob Commings takes over

    Head coach 1969 - 1973 · 43–6–2

  39. 1970
    State title

    State champions

    10–0 under Bob Commings.

  40. 1971
    Milestone

    Win No. 500

    36–6 over Alliance.

  41. 1972
    Landmark

    Ohio high school playoffs begin

    The OHSAA introduces a playoff system, replacing poll-decided state titles.

    Milestone

    First playoff game

    Lost 14–17 vs Cincinnati Princeton.

  42. 1974
    New coach

    Chuck Shuff takes over

    Head coach 1974 - 1975 · 12–7–1

  43. 1976
    Landmark

    Tiger Stadium renamed for Paul Brown

    The Tigers’ home field is renamed Paul Brown Tiger Stadium, honoring the coach who built Massillon’s first dynasty.

    New coach

    Mike Currence takes over

    Head coach 1976 - 1984 · 79–16–2

  44. 1980
    Regional title

    Regional champions

    Beat Canton McKinley 14–6 in the regional final.

  45. 1982
    Regional title

    Regional champions

    Beat Sandusky 29–7 in the regional final.

  46. 1983
    Milestone

    Win No. 600

    23–0 over Wash. D.C. Gonzaga.

  47. 1985
    New coach

    John Maronto takes over

    Head coach 1985 - 1987 · 20–10

  48. 1988
    New coach

    Lee Owens takes over

    Head coach 1988 - 1991 · 35–13

  49. 1989
    Landmark

    Artificial turf arrives at Tiger Stadium

    Massillon installs artificial turf at Paul Brown Tiger Stadium.

    Regional title

    Regional champions

    Beat Akron Garfield 43–7 in the regional final.

  50. 1991
    Regional title

    Regional champions

    Beat Toledo St. John's 42–21 in the regional final.

  51. 1992
    New coach

    Jack Rose takes over

    Head coach 1992 - 1997 · 48–17

  52. 1994
    Rivalry

    100th Massillon–McKinley game

    Massillon wins the centennial meeting 42–41 in overtime.

  53. 1996
    Milestone

    Win No. 700

    36–6 over Akron Garfield.

  54. 1998
    New coach

    Rick Shepas takes over

    Head coach 1998 - 2004 · 53–27

  55. 2001
    Regional title

    Regional champions

    Beat North Canton Hoover 27–7 in the regional final.

  56. 2002
    Regional title

    Regional champions

    Beat Pickerington 14–0 in the regional final.

  57. 2005
    New coach

    Tom Stacy takes over

    Head coach 2005 - 2007 · 26–11

    Regional title

    Regional champions

    Beat Canton McKinley 21–3 in the regional final.

  58. 2008
    Landmark

    The Paul L. David Athletic Training Center opens

    Massillon builds the Paul L. David Athletic Training Center, giving the program its own training and conditioning facility.

    New coach

    Jason Hall takes over

    Head coach 2008 - 2014 · 57–25

  59. 2009
    Milestone

    Win No. 800

    35–10 over Canton Glenoak.

    Regional title

    Regional champions

    Beat Canton McKinley 10–7 in the regional final.

  60. 2013
    Landmark

    Massillon moves to Division II

    The OHSAA moves the Tigers from Division I to Division II, starting with the 2013 season — Jason Hall’s team finishes 9–3 in its first year in the division.

  61. 2015
    New coach

    Nate Moore takes over

    Head coach 2015 - Present · 119–29

  62. 2017
    Regional title

    Regional champions

    Beat New Albany 24–6 in the regional final.

  63. 2018
    Regional title

    Regional champions

    Beat Wadsworth 41–19 in the regional final.

  64. 2019
    Regional title

    Regional champions

    Beat Akron Hoban 17–14 in the regional final.

  65. 2020
    Milestone

    Win No. 900

    35–0 over Columbus Bishop Sycamore.

    Regional title

    Regional champions

    Beat Massillon Perry 43–13 in the regional final.

  66. 2022
    Regional title

    Regional champions

    Beat Lake 24–6 in the regional final.

  67. 2023
    Regional title

    Regional champions

    Beat Green 31–6 in the regional final.

    State title

    State champions

    16–0 under Nate Moore. Finished the year ranked No. 10 in the country — No. 3 among public schools.

  68. 2026
    Landmark

    The largest high school video board in the nation

    Paul Brown Tiger Stadium installs a video scoreboard billed as the largest in high school football.