The Big Bone game is a 72 year old tradition between the Abraham Lincoln High School and the San Jose High. The game always takes place on Thanksgiving Day at San Jose City College and usually attracts students, parents, and teachers to cheer for their school to get the trophy. Below are selections from The Lion Tales archive that represent the early days of this rivalry.

“Lions To Play SJ Bulldogs For Big Bone”

November 19, 1954

Next week Lincoln Lions and San Jose Bulldogs will once more be viewing for the bone. How did this trophy originate and why?

In the spring of 1944, exactly 10 years ago, Lincoln entered the PAL. When it was known that we would be playing against San Jose, a boy at San Jose went to his father’s butcher shop and got a beef bone. Both schools approved the bone as an ideal trophy, and San Jose painted it putting the score of the game played the Fall of 1943. San Jose won that game. Since then on every Thanksgiving morning the Bulldogs and Lions fight to see who will have the bone for a year. The rules concerning the trophy are:

1. The school that wins the game keeps the trophy for a year.

2. If a tie results the school that had won the bone in the previous year keeps it for another year.

3. The bone is taken to the opposing school and left there for one week, but not the week preceding the game between the two schools.

This year at half time the Lincoln band, in their new uniforms, along with our Pep Squad, San Jose’s band and Pep Squad will be working together to give a mammoth display. During half time the Lincoln rooting section will present card tricks.