When Chief Technology Officer Devareaux Brown (N ’97) was asked to recall his time on the Nobles football team, a distinct visual came to mind: walking through a passageway consisting of Nobles alumni on either side, leading all the way down to the football field, and hearing a booming chant of “Go Dogs, Beat Milton.”
“You’re going through a rite of passage, traveling through time as you see the grads next to you, and finally, when you hit the field, it’s your turn,” Brown said, as he reminisced on his time as a football player before a Nobles-Milton game.
The relationship between Nobles and Milton Academy dates back to before Nobles moved to its current location in Dedham in 1922, though the rivalry’s early years centered around football. Former Assistant Headmaster Richard T. Flood’s history book “The Story of Noble and Greenough School” – written to celebrate the centennial of the school – denotes 1898 as the year during which Nobles, along with Milton, Roxbury Latin, and the Volkmann School, founded the Interpreparatory School League for football. However, more than 10 years of Nobles-Milton football games had preceded the establishment of the league. Football games between the two schools started in 1886, making the Nobles-Milton rivalry the fifth-oldest high school football rivalry in the United States, according to USA Football.
Until the two schools merged in 1917, Nobles’ key rivalry was the Volkmann School. After their union and Nobles’ move from Boston to Dedham, Milton took Volkmann’s place as the chief athletic rival. The first football game that Nobles won against Milton seems to be contested across different sources, with the sesquicentennial Nobles magazine dating the first victory as 1932, and Flood’s history attributing a 1917 win to the increased manpower on the team due to the merger between Nobles and the Volkmann School.
Nevertheless, the Nobles-Milton rivalry has always been a source of school spirit and connection, although it was once characterized by certain behavior that is less prevalent now. “I started here in seventh grade, and it was always a big deal,” Brown said. “It probably was not as friendly as it is now. There was a little more jeering … where I think now it’s a fun rivalry that the schools are engaged in.”
Regarding the changes to the manifestation of the rivalry, Director of Athletics Alex Gallagher (N ’90) said, “It’s a heated and friendly rivalry, but there’s also camaraderie between our two schools. There are a lot of rivalries where respect is not at the center. Nobles has a lot of respect for Milton and [vice versa].”
James Bourell (Class III) spent 11 years at Milton Academy before arriving at Nobles in his freshman year. Playing on Milton’s varsity squash team as an eighth grader, Bourell recalled the friendship on and off the courts during Nobles-Milton games. “For me, there wasn’t really a rivalry … I played Krishnan Menon (N ’25) a few times when I was still at Milton. We would always be friendly on the court. Once I came to Nobles, it was really great to get to know the people that I had played against on the other team.”
The sense of pride that comes with winning a Nobles-Milton game is a significant motivator at both schools. “It’s one of our last games, and it’s the most important. We’re gearing up to it the whole season,” Lily Bourell, a senior squash player at Milton and sister of James Bourell (Class III), said. “It’s the point of the season. Even if we lose to other schools, as long as we beat Nobles, that’s fine.”
For some teams, Nobles-Milton weekend is a rematch between the teams from earlier in the season, adding to the pressure of the event due to the opportunity to defend a winning streak or redeem a past loss. Ella Zhang (Class IV), member of the JV Volleyball A team, said, “The last game we had against Milton, we beat them. We’ve been working hard on our skills, and I feel like we’ve improved a lot … We really want to win again. We have to bring the spirit.”
Students also agree that the energy surrounding Nobles-Milton games is unparalleled by events against other schools. “Nobles is our biggest rival. It’s a total shift in tension and energy,” Eileen Chi, a freshman and JV soccer player at Milton, said. “When playing against other schools, there’s energy for sure, but because they’re not the rivals that we’ve had for so long, it’s not the same.”
Brown mentioned how his favorite part of the Nobles-Milton event now is being able to see the traditions and connections, within and across the schools, continue. Varsity Football Captain Mac Bianchi (Class I) shared this sentiment, saying, “Getting lifelong bonds from football is great … There’s also something different about the rivalry that makes it a little more meaningful. You’re playing for more than just the win.”
Legacy remains an essential aspect of Nobles athletics, especially in its rivalry against Milton. “On this campus, you can hear echoes. The experience of the Nobles-Milton games has changed over the years,” Gallagher said. “Still, at the end of the day, it’s always been about young people on both sides who have committed to something bigger than themselves and have done everything they can to honor the legacy of the uniform they’re wearing as they move forward … There is nothing like shared experience to tie different generations of athletes together.”
