Bakersfield High School - Sports

Sports

The Drillers have been competing in football since 1896. The Drillers hold the California State records for most state football titles (7), and the most section championships (35), commonly called Valley Titles for being within the San Joaquin Valley. Bakersfield high has the most wins in California high school football History running neck and neck with Long Beach Poly at a close number two. Bakersfield has 729 wins to date.Bakersfield clinched the 700th win, the first team in California to do so, Friday night October 23 for the 2009 Home Coming game. The most recognized Driller Alum is Frank Gifford who played college ball both at Bakersfield College and the University of Southern California, and pro football with the New York Giants. Gifford is a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame and was a part of the legendary Monday Night Football broadcasting team with "Dandy Don" Meredith and Howard Cosell during the 1970s and 80's on ABC television. The Drillers, have called Griffith Field their home field since 1923. The field features a monolithic concrete structure for home seating on the western home side with the Driller locker rooms inside it. The field is unusual in that the visiting eastern bleachers are located on the grass inside the track. The bleachers run from end zone to end zone with the front row only about 12-feet away from the sideline with nothing separating the fans from the field. Griffith Field can seat approximately 8,000 spectators.

The Bakersfield High football tradition was the basis of the movie The Best of Times starring Kurt Russell and Robin Williams. The story is based on an actual football game in the mid-1970s between mighty Bakersfield High and the small ill-respected Taft High Wildcats.