Midland League (Massachusetts)
{{Infobox sports league
| title = Midland League
| conference = Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association
| founded = 1905
| folded = 1989
}}
The Midland League was a high school sport conference in Massachusetts part of the Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association. During its existence, it consisted of schools from Middlesex, Norfolk, and Worcester Counties, along with one school from Rhode Island. The league was in existence from 1905-1989, when it would merge with the Wachuesett League and create the Midland Wachusett League.
History
The Midland League was founded circa 1905 by schools Milford High School, Framingham High School, and Woonsocket High School.{{Cite news |date=December 4, 1905 |title=Champions of the Midland League |work=The Boston Globe |pages=22}} The lack of organizing bodies like the MIAA at the time allowed for schools to form leagues with out of state schools. Milford won the first league title in Football, defeating Framingham by a score of 17-11. In 1906, the league admitted Grafton High School and Northbridge High School (then known as Whitensville High School), only for them to leave by October presumably due to Milford's dominance.{{Cite news |date=October 12, 1906 |title=Break in Midland League |work=The Boston Globe |pages=13}} However they seemed to be back in league by the end of the month.{{Cite news |date=October 29, 1906 |title=School Boys Showing Much Improvement |work=The Boston Globe |pages=8}} By 1908, both schools had left for good; replacing them would be Natick High School and Needham High School.{{Cite news |date=January 10, 1908 |title=Kenneth Webb Captain |work=The Boston Globe |pages=5}}
The landscape changed again in 1911 at the Midland League reformed into the Midland Interscholastic League. With Needham and Woonsocket's departure, the league admitted rivals Hudson High School and Marlborough High School, along with nearby Westborough High School.{{Cite news |date=May 8, 1911 |title=New Athletic League Formed By Schools |work=The Boston Globe |pages=7}} At the end of the 1916 football season, Framingham elected to withdraw after a controversy in which the league voted to give Milford the league championship.{{Cite news |date=December 14, 1916 |title=Framingham High Quits the Midland League |work=The Boston Globe |pages=5}} This didn't help the league the next year, when only Hudson, Milford, and Natick were able to field teams due to World War I.{{Cite news |date=September 12, 1917 |title=No Football At Westboro High On Account Of War |work=The Boston Globe |pages=7}}{{Cite news |date=October 4, 1917 |title=Only Three Schools In The Midland League This Fall |work=The Boston Globe |pages=6}}
With a new decade came a new league makeup; Needham was back by 1922, replacing Westborough,{{Cite news |date=March 31, 1922 |title=Marlboro H.S. Baseball Team Has Long Schedule |work=The Boston Globe |pages=17}} only for Westborough to rejoin the following year and replace recently departed Milford.{{Cite news |date=January 24, 1923 |title=Milford Quits League And Westboro Joins |work=The Boston Globe |pages=9}} Wellesley High School also joined in 1923, now able to play league games against their rivals in Needham.{{Cite news |last=Woodlock |first=Albert J. |date=October 9, 1923 |title=Midland League To Open Season Oct 20 |work=The Boston Globe |pages=11}} Natick had become too dominant by the end of 1925, and chose to leave to be an independent.{{Cite news |date=December 2, 1925 |title=No Title To Be Awarded In The Midland League |work=The Boston Globe |pages=15}} To replace them was Milford, coming back to the league in 1926.{{Cite news |date=June 28, 1926 |title=Milford High Nine Had One Of It's Best Years, Winning Midland League Title |work=The Boston Globe |pages=10}} Maynard High School joined in 1927, bringing the number of members up to seven.{{Cite news |date=June 13, 1927 |title=United Spanish War Veterans To Meet This Week At Marlboro |work=The Boston Globe |pages=13}} By the end of the 20's, the league started to take familiar shape with the departure of Needham and Wellsley, and the arrival of Hopkinton High School.{{Cite news |date=August 24, 1928 |title=Marlboro High Issues Its Football Schedule |work=The Boston Globe |pages=6}}
Clinton High School had been looking into joining the midland for some time, and by 1931, they finally got their chance.{{Cite news |date=April 27, 1931 |title=Sport Chatter |work=Fitchburg Sentinel |pages=8}} Hopkington and Westborough were out of the league by the mid 30's, bringing the total amount of teams back down to five.{{Cite news |last=Dalton |first=Ernest |date=October 21, 1936 |title=School Teams Bounce Out of Unbeaten-Untied Buggy |work=The Boston Globe |pages=19}} In 1941, Natick made a surprising return to the Midland as a football only member, leaving the Bay State League.{{Cite news |date=September 15, 1941 |title=Schoolboy Sidelights |work=The Boston Globe |pages=8}} Leading up to the 1943 Baseball season, the League had to drop the schedule due to transport difficulties;{{Cite news |date=February 20, 1943 |title=Midland League Decides to Drop 1943 Schedule |work=The Boston Globe |pages=4}} thankfully they were able to fix these problems by the fall in time for Football season. Franklin High School was next up to join the Midland in 1948 as a Basketball only memeber, although it is unclear why they made this move.{{Cite news |date=January 28, 1948 |title=Winthrop Tips Swampscott |work=The Boston Globe |pages=9}}
Like 25 years prior, Natick had become too great a football opponent and after Milford and Maynard refused to play them in 1950, they left the league. Replacing them would be Shrewsbury, but it never ended up coming to fruition.{{Cite news |date=March 3, 1950 |title=Shrewbury Joins Midland League as Natick Replacement |work=The Boston Globe |pages=15}} History was made in May 1958 when Milford hosted Hudson in the first night baseball game in Midland League history.{{Cite news |date=May 13, 1958 |title=Milford High to Host in 1st Night Duel |work=The Boston Globe |pages=26}}
The 1960s spelled trouble for the league. Maynard, unhappy with playing night games during the 1964 football season, and mixed with other smaller issues, caused schedules to fall apart and the league to collapse. This in turn uprooted many longstanding rivalries, like that of Maynard-Clinton. Clinton would go on to find new rivals in Nashoba, a much closer opponent than Maynard.{{Cite news |date=December 10, 1964 |title=FSC Booter, Letter Winners, Streak Ends, Loop Collapsing |work=Fitchburg Sentinel |pages=8}} This breakup didn't last long, and by the end of 1966, the schools had come together to bring the league back for the following season. The schools had been and would continue to be a part of an older Central Mass Conference, and would be finally be adding conference mate Shrewsbury. Only football would be played fully in the Midland, while other sports would straddle both leagues.{{Cite news |date=December 7, 1966 |title=Old League, Midland, to be Revived |work=The Boston Globe |pages=59}} By the end of the decade, Algonquin Regional High School joined the league having been established only ten years prior.{{Cite news |date=May 7, 1969 |title=School Results |work=The Boston Globe |pages=63}} Schools would also completely leave the old Central Mass Conference by this point, all now full members of the Midland.
Maynard made the jump to the Dual County League for the 1973 season, once again ending it's rivalry match with Clinton that had been reinstated less than ten years prior.{{Cite news |last=Pave |first=Marvin |date=December 12, 1971 |title=Rivers five gathers no moss |work=The Boston Globe |pages=33}}{{Cite news |last=Cowles |first=Al |date=November 24, 1972 |title=Oska runs wild as Maynard Wins |work=The Lowell Sun |pages=35}} By 1974, however, they would be back in the Midland.{{Cite news |last=Sharkley |first=Frank |date=March 29, 1975 |title=Maynard known for great track record |work=The Lowell Sun |pages=6}} Westborough, having spent time in different leagues since their departure in the 30's, left the Southern Worcester County League to rejoin the Midland in 1975.{{Cite news |last=Bause |first=Rick |date=October 1, 1975 |title=Huck's 100th moves Leominster up front in football ratings |work=Fitchburg Sentinel |pages=6}} The league would stay with these eight members for the next 13 years. In 1988, for the last year of the league, Fitchburg High School, Leominster High School, and Wachusett Regional High School all left the Central Massachusetts Conference for the Midland.{{Cite news |last=Ames |first=Larry |date=September 15, 1987 |title=MIAA lifts suspensions |work=The Boston Globe |pages=90}}
In 1989, the Midland League merged with the Wachusett League to form the Midland Wachusett League.{{Cite news |last=Herman |first=Howard |date=November 14, 1989 |title=It's Greylock vs. Nashoba, one more time |work=The Berkshire Eagle |pages=D1-D2}}
Member Schools
| class="wikitable"
|+ !School !Location !Mascot !Colors !Years in League† !Current Conference |
| Algonquin Regional High School
|Titans |Maroon & Gold {{color box|maroon}} {{color box|goldenrod}} |~1970-1989 |
|---|
| Clinton High School
|Gaels |Green & Gold {{Color box|green}} {{Color box|Gold}} |1931-1989 |
| Fitchburg High School
|Red Raiders |Red & Gray {{color box|red}} {{color box|gray}} |1988-1989 |
| Framingham High School
|Flyers |Navy Blue & White {{color box|darkblue}} {{color box|white}} |1905-1916 |
| Franklin High School
|Panthers |Navy Blue, Sky Blue, & White {{color box|darkblue}} {{color box|lightblue}} {{color box|white}} |1948-~1960 (basketball only) |
| Grafton High School
|Gators |Green & White {{Color box|green}} {{Color box|white}} |1906-1908 |
| Hopkinton High School
|Hillers |Green, Orange, & White {{color box|green}} {{color box|orange}} {{color box|white}} |~1930-~1935 |
| Hudson High School
|Hawks |Red & White {{color box|#ff0000}} {{color box|#ffffff}} |1911-1989 |
| Leominster High School
|Blue Devils |Blue & White {{color box|blue}} {{color box|white}} |1988-1989 |
| Marlborough High School
|Panthers |Orange & Black {{Color box|Orange}} {{Color box|Black}} |1911-1989 |
| Maynard High School
|Tigers |Orange & Black {{Color box|orange}} {{Color box|black}} |1927-1973, 1974-1989 |
| Milford High School
|Scarlet Hawks |Red & White {{Color box|red|border=}} {{Color box|white|border=}} |1905-1922, 1926-1989 |
| Natick High School
|Redhawks |Red, Blue, & White {{Color box|red|border=}} {{Color box|blue|border=}} {{Color box|white|border=}} |1908-1925, (football only 1941-1950) |
| Needham High School
|Rockets |Navy Blue & Gold {{Color box|#000080|border=}} {{Color box|#C5B358|border=}} |1908-1911, 1922-~1930 |
| Northbridge High School
|Rams |Maroon & White {{Color box|maroon}} {{Color box|white}} |1906-1908 |
| Shrewsbury High School
|Colonials |Navy Blue & Vegas Gold {{Color box|blue}} {{Color box|gold}} |1966-1989 |
| Wachusett Regional High School
|Mountaineers |Green & White {{color box|darkgreen}} {{color box|white}} |1988-1989 |
| Wellesley High School
|Raiders |Red & Black {{Color box|red|border=}} {{Color box|black|border=}} |1923-~1930 |
| Westborough High School
|Rangers |Cardinal & Navy Blue {{Color box|red}} {{Color box|darkblue}} |1911-1922, 1923-~1935, 1975-1989 |
| Woonsocket High School
|Villa Novans |Maroon & White {{Color box|maroon}} {{Color box|white}} |1905-1911 |
† Not including the 1964-1966 league breakup
State Champions
This is a list of MIAA State championships won by schools while a part of the Midland league
= Football =
Source:https://www.miaa.net/sites/default/files/2024-05/miaa-state-champions-football.pdf
Note: From 1972 to 2012, football state championships were separated by region, so there would be multiple champions from each division. From 1972 to 1977 and from 1997 to 2008, it was split between Eastern Mass and Central/Western Mass and there would be two champions in each division. From 1978 to 1996 and from 2009 to 2012 Central and Western Mass split so there would be three champions in each division. In 2013 everything was combined and therefore only allowed one state champion per division.
- Algonquin - 1973 D2 Central/Western
- Milford - 1975 D2 Central/Western; 1983 D1 Central
- Marlborough - 1979 D1 Central
- Westborough - 1984, 1986, 1987 D1 Central
= Ice Hockey =
== Boys ==
- Hudson - 1978 D1
= Baseball =
Source:https://www.miaa.net/sites/default/files/2024-05/miaa-state-champions-baseball.pdf
- Westborough - 1980 D2
= Tennis =
== Boys ==
- Hudson - 1980 D2
= Outdoor Track =
== Girls ==
- Shrewsbury - 1983, 1989