Suburban One League
| Suburban One League (SOL) |
|
|---|---|
 |
|
| Established | 1922 |
| Association | Pennsylvania Interscholastic Athletic Association (PIAA), District 1 |
| Division | American Conference Continental Conference National Conference |
| Members | 24 |
| Sports fielded | 26 (men's: 15; women's: 11) |
| Region |
Montgomery County (12 Schools) and Bucks County (12 Schools) |
| Former names | Suburban League |
| Website | SOL Website |
Suburban One League, often abbreviated "SOL" is an athletic conference in Southeastern Pennsylvania, serving high schools in Montgomery County and Bucks County. The league was established in 1922 as the "Suburban League." Since its inception, SOL has produced many district, state, and even some national championships. It has also produced some great athletes, perhaps none more famous than Baseball Hall of Fame great Reggie Jackson.
Today's Suburban One League is a direct descendant of the Philadelphia Suburban High School Athletic Association, or Suburban League as it became popularly known. The first sport in which the Suburban League competed was basketball in 1922-23. Eleven schools, eight from Delaware County and three from Montgomery County, comprised the league that first season. Two of those schools, Abington and Norristown, remain members of the Suburban One League to this day. Media High School, which closed in 1966, was the league's first basketball champion. The other participating schools in that first season were Chester, Darby, Lansdowne, Lower Merion, Radnor, Ridley Park, Swarthmore and Upper Darby. Early-season standings from that first season, located on page 5 of the January 11, 1923 edition of The Chester Times, confirm that these were the only 11 schools in the basketball league in 1922-23.
In the spring of 1923, baseball and track schedules were played; Cheltenham, another school still in the Suburban One League, made its league debut in the 1923 baseball season. In the fall of 1923, the Suburban League added football, though more than a quarter-century would pass before round-robin schedules were attempted. Almost all of the Suburban League's football champions until after World War II were unofficial, chosen either by a points system or by vote of newspapermen who covered the schools.
Already, in the second year of its existence, the Suburban League split into Section A and Section B, divided approximately by school size. Only in the 1923-24 basketball season did a post-season playoff determine an overall champion. Since then, the league has crowned champions in each section, conference or division without a league-wide playoff. In the 2014-15 season, the Suburban One League held a post-season tournament, in boys and girls basketball only, to determine an overall league champion, though it was in addition to, rather than a substitute for, the conference regular-season titles.
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