October 26, 1949 program for Appleseed v. Simpson (Sherman Room Archives)
Starting in 1940, with the opening of Johnny Appleseed and the new John Simpson Junior High Schools, an annual football battle would be fought by the ninth grade teams to determine the city champion. These games were immensely popular with over 6,000 fans watching in the late 1940s after the construction of Arlin Field. These games would be complete with cheerleaders, majorettes and marching bands for each school. For twenty years these two schools battled for the title of city’s best, with Simpson taking the advantage 13-8 between the years 1940-1960. In 1961 a new school entered the race, John Sherman. Simpson would repeat as Champion that year and a three-way tie would be the result in 1962. In 1963 John Sherman won its only championship. Johnny Appleseed would be the team to beat in the late 1960s and early 1970s before the championship came to an end with the reorganization of the schools when the ninth grade began attending Mansfield Senior High. Below is a list of the city champions, with the date of the game, score and attendance, if available, and the program above can be seen in full by clicking here.
From the Mansfield News-Journal (Mansfield, Ohio), 25 October 1949, p10.
Junior High City Championship Results 1940-1976
| Date | Winner | Score | Attendance |
| October 18, 1940 | John Simpson | 6-0 | 3,000 |
| October 29, 1941 | John Simpson | 26-6 | 3,000 |
| November 6, 1942 | John Simpson | 45-0 | N/A |
| November 3, 1943 | John Simpson | 13-9 | N/A |
| November 2, 1944 | Johnny Appleseed | 18-0 | 5,000 |
| October 31, 1945 | Johnny Appleseed | 19-0 | 4,500 |
| October 31, 1946 | John Simpson | 38-0 | 4,200 |
| October 29, 1947 | John Simpson | 18-6 | 4,000 |
| October 24, 1948 | Johnny Appleseed | 7-0 | 6,600 |
| October 26, 1949 | Johnny Appleseed | 13-7 | 6,000 |
| October 26, 1950 | Johnny Appleseed | 38-19 | 5,000 |
| October 17, 1951 | John Simpson | 14-6 | 4,000 |
| October 5, 1952 | John Simpson | 38-6 | 3,500 |
| October 21, 1953 | John Simpson | 13-6 | 6,000 |
| October 20, 1954 | Johnny Appleseed | 6-0 | 2,500 |
| October 19, 1955 | John Simpson | 18-7 | 2,500 |
| October 22, 1956 | John Simpson | 12-7 | 1,800 |
| October 29, 1957 | Johnny Appleseed | 26-6 | 800 |
| October 25, 1958 | Johnny Appleseed | 36-0 | 1,100 |
| November 7, 1959 | John Simpson | 42-8 | 2,000 |
| October 29, 1960 | John Simpson | 32-22 | 1,500 |
| October 14. 1961 October 21, 1961 October 28, 1961 | John Sherman (defeats Appleseed) John Simpson (defeats Sherman) John Simpson (defeats Appleseed) Champions: John Simpson | 14-8 32-20 38-0 | N/A N/A 1,000 |
| October 13, 1962 October 18, 1962 October 25, 1962 | John Sherman (defeats Appleseed) John Simpson (defeats Sherman) Johnny Appleseed (defeats Simpson) Champions: Three-Way Tie | 19-14 22-7 22-20 | 3,000 2,000 N/A |
| October 6, 1963 October 12, 1963 October 26, 1963 | John Sherman (defeats Simpson) Johnny Appleseed (defeats Simpson) John Sherman (defeats Appleseed) Champions: John Sherman | 14-6 8-0 6-0 | N/A N/A N/A |
| October 3, 1964 October 17, 1964 October 24, 1964 | Johnny Appleseed (defeats Simpson) Johnny Appleseed (defeats Sherman) John Simpson (defeats Sherman) Champions: Johnny Appleseed | 8-0 22-0 14-6 | N/A N/A N/A |
| September 29, 1965 October 7, 1965 October 14, 1965 | John Sherman (defeats Appleseed) John Simpson (defeats Sherman) John Simpson (defeats Appleseed) Champions: John Simpson | 16-14 48-8 24-16 | N/A N/A N/A |
| October 15, 1966 October 22, 1966 November 7, 1966 | John Simpson (defeats Appleseed) Johnny Appleseed (defeats Sherman) John Simpson (defeats Sherman) Champions: John Simpson | 20-12 12-0 6-0 | N/A N/A N/A |
| October 14, 1967 October 21, 1967 October 27, 1967 | John Simpson (defeats Sherman) Johnny Appleseed (defeats Sherman) John Simpson( defeats Appleseed) Champions: John Simpson | 46-8 26-0 20-0 | 1,000 N/A 400 |
| October 12, 1968 October 19, 1968 October 26, 1968 | John Sherman (defeats Simpson) Johnny Appleseed (defeats Sherman) Johnny Appleseed (defeats Simpson) Champions: Johnny Appleseed | 35-22 8-0 28-7 | N/A 1,500 N/A |
| October 11, 1969 October 18, 1969 October 25, 1969 | John Simpson (defeats Sherman) Johnny Appleseed (defeats Sherman) John Simpson (defeats Appleseed) Champions: John Simpson | 14-8 26-12 16-6 | N/A N/A N/A |
| October 10, 1970 October 17, 1970 October 24, 1970 | John Sherman/John Simpson Tie Johnny Appleseed (defeats Sherman) Johnny Appleseed/John Simpson Tie Champions: Johnny Appleseed | 6-6 13-6 0-0 | N/A N/A N/A |
| October 9, 1971 October 16, 1971 October 23, 1971 | John Simpson (defeats Sherman) John Sherman (defeats Appleseed) John Simpson (defeats Appleseed) Champions: John Simpson | 38-0 8-6 41-6 | N/A N/A N/A |
| October 7, 1972 October 14, 1972 October 28, 1972 | John Simpson (defeats Sherman) Johnny Appleseed (defeats Sherman) Johnny Appleseed (defeats Simpson) Champions: Johnny Appleseed | 8-0 14-12 14-12 | 750 1,000 750 |
| October 6, 1973 October 13, 1973 | John Simpson (defeats Sherman) Johnny Appleseed (defeats Sherman) Note: Unable to find results for final game. | 28-6 36-6 | N/A N/A |
| September 21, 1974 October 6, 1974 October 26, 1974 | Johnny Appleseed (defeats Simpson) Johnny Appleseed (defeats Sherman) John Sherman (defeats Simpson) Champions: Johnny Appleseed | – 26-14 30-6 | N/A N/A N/A |
| October 5, 1975 October 11, 1975 October 18, 1975 | John Sherman (defeats Simpson) Johnny Appleseed (defeats Sherman) Johnny Appleseed (defeats Simpson) Champions: Johnny Appleseed | 18-6 19-12 6-0 | N/A N/A N/A |
| September 25, 1976 October 9, 1976 October 16, 1976 | Johnny Appleseed (defeats Simpson) John Simpson (defeats Sherman) Johnny Appleseed (defeats Sherman) Champions: Johnny Appleseed | 24-6 14-0 20-6 | N/A N/A N/A |
