Significant League Dates

Last changed: Sunday, November 11, 2007

Significant Dates

1887 Eureka High plays first Football game.  The coach is a student.

1904 Ferndale High School begins in August 1904 with 30 students.

1906 As a result of a motion made in the assembly of high school teachers at the County Institute on September 22, 1996, two representatives, one from the facility and one from the student body of each of the four high schools of Humboldt County met together in Eureka for the purpose of establishing a permanent Athletic and Debating League for the High Schools of Humboldt County.  These representatives constitute an executive committee, and their fist work was the drafting of a constitution, which was to go in force when adopted by three schools.  Ferndale, Arcata and Fortuna student bodies adopted the constitution, as presented, the Eureka High School, because of certain handicaps, inserted because of the size of that school, refused to sign it unless some proposed amendments were adopted.  The other schools did not agree to adopt the amendments, and Eureka stayed out of the league.  Only students can play and no professionals are allowed.

1911 Arcata Beats Eureka 60 to 0 in football and wins County Championship third Time.

1911 This year a change in the regulations of the Humboldt County High School Athletic Association, the championship honors in baseball will be obtained after every team in the association has played each other once.  The first round games will be April 27 and another series on May 11th.  The championship game was held May 18th.

1913 Fortuna's first Boy's Basketball Team

1913 Fortuna forfeits to Eureka after winning 11 to 1 in Baseball.  Fortuna had two players that were not students.  Fortuna is 4th and Ferndale is champion.

1914 First year of Boy's Basketball with three game schedule.

1914 Donald Lambert pitches 16 innings for Eureka High School Baseball Team on April 18th in Fortuna.

1916 First male coach hired at Fortuna High School

1917 First football All-Star Game

1917 Ferndale's first gym was built for $2,465.00

1920 Fortuna High School re-enters Football after 4-year absence

1920 First year of Baseball at Fortuna High School

1925 First CIF football competition Eureka vs. Ft. Bragg

1927 First year of Girl's Basketball "B" Teams

1928 Del Norte High School joins League with Unlimited Basketball Team

1929 Fortuna's Girl's Baseball team.

1929 First Golf competition between Fortuna and South Fork

1929 Fortuna High students vote to discontinue Football in the Fall of 29.  Board of Trustee's and the Athletic Director adopted Golf for Football's replacement.

1933 South Fork officially joins League.  (Arcata, Eureka, Fortuna, Ferndale, Del Norte, South Fork)

1935 Baseball Season not completed because of rainy weather

1942 From 1942-1945 several schools do not competed during war years, Fuel Shortage

1945 Del Norte fielded is first 11 man Football team since 1938.  Clarence W. Kruger was the Coach.

1946 Hoopa joins League ???

1948 Del Norte adds baseball and Tennis teams.

1953 South Fork joins League, begins Little 3 football

1955 St. Bernard joins the HDN

1957 Del Norte, South Fork and St Bernard have their first tennis teams.

1958  Wrestling:  Del Norte head coach Mel Hurd created a team which competed only with schools along the Oregon border.

1961 Basketball splits into Big 4 and Little 4

1962 Big 5 Football Conference starts with McKinleyville

1962  Wrestling: South Fork and Fortuna create teams to compete with Del Norte.

1963 Baseball splits into Big 6 and Little 4 (St Bernard In both)

1965 Basketball Heavy/Light weight system replaced by Varsity, Junior Varsity System.

1966  Wrestling:  St. Bernard, McKinleyville, Hoopa, Eureka and Arcata join.  HDN becomes official Wrestling League. 

1968 Fortuna High School has its first cross-country team

1997 South Fork breaks the States longest losing streak at 33 games.

1997 Soccer is broken into the Big Five and Little Six

1999 Girls Golf begins on Monday, September 20, 1999   First event is H-DNL League Golf Tournament at Beau Pre.  Arcata 279  Eureka 355  Fortuna 393  Del Norte 399   Arcata junior Hana Kim shot an 86 to take first place.

2000  Boy's Varsity Basketball - Hoopa High School is Nor Cal Champions.  Hoopa High School Boy's Varsity defeats Branson 64-45 on March11, 2000 at San Joaquin Delta College in Stockton to place first in the Nor Cal "Division V".

2000  Swimming returns to area.  Eureka High Invitational at College of the Redwoods April 8, 2000.  20 local swimmers from Eureka, Arcata and McKinleyville compete with 26 swimmers from Ukiah High School.  Carly Ross and Ashley Vrieze of Arcata High made automatic NCS Qualifying times.

2000  Crosswhite of Fortuna sets State Record in Baseball  (See Times-Standard Story)

2001 Del Norte Wrestlers Win First Section Crown 02/22/01  (See Times-Standard Story)

2002 Hoopa High School Cancels Football during season.   (See Times-Standard Story) Story)

2002 Ferndale High School Football 23 straight wins in Conference Play (10/26/02)

2003 Prep Swimming returns to Eureka    (See Times-Standard Story)

2004 Ferndale's winning streak is the longest among California high school softball teams. (See Times-Standard Story)

2004 Eureka High School Football departs league to play as independent

2006 Ashely Curry scores Quad triple Double in Basketball..   (See Story 1)      (See Story 2)

2007 Ferndale's Sara Hubbard, who took second at 103, was the first girl in the history of HDN wrestling to make it to the finals in her weight class.

2007 Chris Hubbard, who took first at 171, was only the fifth wrestler in HDN history -- and the first in 17 years --to become a four-time champion.

2007  Ferndale's Coach Kim Jorgensen has 161st Football victory, breaking coach Carl Carlson's Wildcats Football record.

2007  Ferndale Football on November 10, 2007 Completes season with no points socred against them in League play.  (See Times-Standard Story)