Dunbar’s Commode Bowl celebrates 75th year of blood, sweat and plungers

KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. (WCHS) — Dunbar’s famous Commode Bowl can be summed up in one sentence:

“After the game, we go and have turkey and all that, but during that game, we’re there to kill each other.”

Chris Hughes knows the clash between the River Rats and the Hillside Rams is more than a backyard football game. It’s a Kanawha County institution that has brought blood, sweat and laughter for 75 years.

“When we first started playing, really the only rule was that you couldn’t jump offsides. So I’ve seen referees catch balls and be active players. I remember a kid came off the sideline one time and tackled a guy running for the game-winning touchdown.”

Hughes played in 20 of them and has some hardware to back it up.

“I won MVP in 2010. I won the All Stink award in 2011 for just being the dirtiest player in the game. And I got the Old Fart one year for being the oldest player,” Hughes said.

It started as a Dunbar exclusive, and eventually welcomed players from beyond the fabled railroad tracks – the dividing factor to determine what team you were on. It’s the support from the community that has grown the Commode Bowl into what it is today, now reaching its 75th year. Locals come to expect the parade through Dunbar to kick things off, the evening award ceremony, and a usually-packed stadium at Dunbar Middle School. The players and fans always show up big.

“It’s crazy,” Hughes said. “This parade is as big as any town parade or city parade. The people really get behind it. Most of the times you go there, there are several hundred people in the stands.”

No matter what side of the railroad tracks you live on, everyone is sure to have a good time – even if you’re a little sore the next day.

“I’ve never seen nothing like the Commode Bowl before,” Hughes said. “I’ve played football all over the world with all kinds of people, and I always tell them about it. No one has a game like we have here.”

This year’s game saw the Hillside Rams defeat the River Rats 22-14.