Hinsdale Central Athletics

Hinsdale Central High School has gained statewide, and sometimes nationwide acclaim for their athletic program.
Football
The Early Years
The history of Hinsdale Football dates back to 1896 when the town team played on a football field located at the south end of Washington Street and the Hinsdale town teams played teams from Downers Grove, Wheaton, Naperville, LaGrange, Lake Forest, Morgan Park and the Chalmers Athletic Club.

The 1920's and Coach Jaggard
The Red Devils first played (as Hinsdale Township) in 1922 under Coach R.K. Jaggard. Four years later, Hinsdale won its first West Suburban Conference Championship, and Coach Jaggard's Devils nabbed the WSC title again in 1928.

===Coach Kreis and the "Old Oaken Bucket"===
Under Coach Don Kreis, the tradition of the Old Oaken Bucket was born. The Bucket itself is awarded each year to the winner of the Downers Grove North-Hinsdale Central football game. As written in the Downers Grove Reporter, October 10, 1935: “Hinsdale started a 'Little Brown Jug' rivalry with the game last Saturday. Boys in their manual training room made an “Old Oaken Bucket” bound with copper strips, which is to be contended for by the heavyweight football teams each year. Downers Grove will have its name and the score engraved on the Bucket this fall. It will be in the possession of the local team until the next game”.

Downers Grove dominated the Devils in the series' first match, winning 18-0. Downers Grove continued to control the series for the next sixteen years, winning ten of the sixteen games and tying two. However, a reversal occurred in 1951 under Coach Dickinson when Red Devils controlled the Bucket for twenty consecutive years (1951 to 1970). In over a half century of competition, the series stands at Hinsdale 47 wins, Downer's 31 wins and 3 games have ended in ties. Twenty-eight games have been decided by a touchdown or less.

This rivalry has maintained its intensity given the closeness of the communities and the fact that both schools were charter members of the West Suburban Conference.
1940: The Dickinson Era
1940 witnessed the arrival of Harvey Dickinson as the head varsity football coach. Coach Dickinson led the Hinsdale team for 25 years, winning the WSC title ten times. Coach Dickinson's teams had a 148-49-8 record. He was honored in 1976 as an initial inductee into the Illinois Football Coaches Hall of Fame.

Gene Strode, Hinsdale Central, and the Doing's Cup
Now officially playing as Hinsdale Central, Coach Gene Strode took over the program in 1968. A new rivalry emerged when the class of 1968 was split to create the foundation for the new Hinsdale South High School. The two school's finally met for the first time on the football field in 1983, when former head coaches Gene Strode (Central) and Dave Smith (South) concluded that the time was right for the start of a new tradition. Hinsdale Central won the first game in the series 14-6.

Since then, the annual non-conference game is always a measure of pride for both schools. The friendly rivalry brings together players and fans who have grown up together in the communities surrounding Hinsdale. The Hinsdale Doings, the local newspaper, saw the opportunity to be instrumental in memorializing each year’s game by donating a traveling trophy. As of 2013, the series stands at: Central 19 wins, South 12 wins.

In Coach Strode's 21 years of coaching, Hinsdale won the WSC title five times and had with an overall 113-74-2 record. Along with Coach Dickinson, Coach Strode was also inducted into the Illinois Football Coaches Hall of Fame.

1992-2007
Ken Schreiner assumed the head coaching duties in 1992. In Coach Schreiner's 11 years, the Red Devils won five WSC Championships and made five playoff appearances, with the 2002 team reaching the IHSA semi-finals. Ken was inducted into the Illinois High School Coaches Hall of Fame in 2003.

Tony Lombardi was the head coach from 2003-2005, with a record of 30-7, reaching the playoffs all three seasons including a semi-final appearance in the 2005 IHSA tournament.

The DiMatteo Era and 2008
Mike DiMatteo was the head coach from 2006-2010 and compiled a record of 35-20. The 2008 team had a magical season with an overall record of 11-3, culminating in a 2nd-place finish in the 8A state playoffs where they ultimately lost to Maine South 41-21 in the finals.

2009-Present
On August 17, 2009, the Hinsdale Township High School District 86 Board of Education voted to install turf fields at both schools in the district. The new field is said to be of better quality than ordinary fields and may be safer as well. The turf field was completed over summer 2010, the last class to graduate on "Old" Dickinson Field being the class of 2010.

The Devil's are currently coached by Dan Hartman, who took over in 2014.
Tennis
Boy's Tennis
The boys tennis team's 57 top ten finishes and 19 state championships is a state record.

Girl's Tennis
The girls tennis team's 34 top ten finishes is the second highest total in state history, though their 11 state titles is the state record. The girls tennis team won the State Championship this past two seasons (2013, 2014)

Cross Country
The Boy's Cross Country team won the State meet in 2013 for the first time ever under the leadership of coaches Jim Westphal, Noah Lawrence, and Jim Kupres. In 2014, the team repeated with another State championship win. In the 2014 season the team also won the Hornet-Red Devil Invitational and the First to the Finish Invitational. They were also West Suburban Silver conference champions and Regional Champions.

Lacrosse
In the 2006-07 season, the girls lacrosse team won the state championship. In 2007-08 and 2009-2010 the girl's lacrosse team finished 3rd in state. In 2010-11 the girls lacrosse team finished 2nd in state. In 2011-12 the girls lacrosse team finished 3rd in state.

Swimming
Boy's Swimming
The boys swimming & diving team's 45 top ten finishes and 18 state titles is the second highest totals in state history.

Girl's Swimming
The girls swimming & diving team, similarly, is second in state history with 27 top ten finishes and 7 state championships.

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