Turkey Tussle is Friday, November 1, 2024 Kickoff 7:00 pm at the Rose Bowl
The Turkey Tussle is the annual homecoming tradition between Pasadena High School and cross-town rival John Muir High School. The tradition began in 1947 when the game was played between Pasadena Community College and John Muir Junior College.
Possession of the Victory Bell is the prize for the winning school. The Victory Bell is a long-standing tradition between Pasadena High School and John Muir High School came as a gift from the Santa Fe Railroad, presented in 1955 at the pep rally for the Turkey Tussle. The student body at PHS, which at that time shared a campus with PCC, though the two were not affiliated, wanted to start many traditions which would last through the years. When it came time for the Turkey Tussle, they talked of having a bell.
Scott Fitzwater, Student Body President at the time and Jim Shelton, then Senior Class Vice-President, were instrumental in bringing the bell to PHS. Jim Shelton told his father, Raymond Shelton, of their idea and Raymond Shelton, General Manager for Santa Fe in Los Angeles at the time, was able to obtain the bell for PHS. The bell formerly rang from the top of an old steam locomotive. To Mr. Shelton’s knowledge, at that time, it was the only one ever given to a school.
The bell was intended to be used, as it still is, as a perpetual trophy to rotate between Pasadena High School and John Muir High School, being kept for the year by the team that wins the annual homecoming game.
One of the highlights for the winning team is to rush to the end zone celebrating their win by ringing the Victory Bell. In June 2005, the John Muir High School campus was burglarized and the Victory Bell was stolen. On February 7, 2006 the Victory Bell was found near a road in the Angeles National Forest.
In November 2007, a documentary about the Turkey Tussle was produced and featured on Fox Sports West cable channel. Although the documentary didn’t tell the entire story of the Turkey Tussle, it did showcase the annual battle that has been going on for 77 years between cross-town rivals, the Pasadena High School Bulldogs and the John Muir High School Mustangs.