DALLAS — South Oak Cliff became the first Dallas ISD football team to win a state championship in more than 60 years. And now they're getting their own day on the calendar -- and a parade to celebrate.
Dallas Mayor Eric Johnson declared Saturday "South Oak Cliff Day" in honor of the Golden Bears' historic title, which they earned in a December with a win over Liberty Hill at AT&T Stadium.
On Saturday morning, more than 20 Dallas ISD schools, bands and drill teams participated in a downtown parade for South Oak Cliff.
The parade started at 10:30 a.m. at Pearl and Main in downtown and proceeded up Main, before looping around to City Hall.
The day culminated in a celebration outside City Hall, featuring Mayor Eric Johnson, U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson and other local leaders.
Mayor Johnson presented South Oak Cliff Jason Todd with the key to the city.
Watch the full celebration here:
While South Oak Cliff's snapped a long title drought for Dallas ISD football, Todd hoped the win would show Dallas athletes what could be done in the district.
"You have to know your history," Todd said. "That's a lot of stuff that's got lost through time. We have to make sure these kids understand where they come from. So they can understand they're not doing something new. It's already in them. It's in their DNA."
South Oak Cliff's championship marked Dallas ISD's first UIL title since 1950.
The win was also the city's first statewide honors since Booker T. Washington High School's state title in the pre-integration Prairie View Interscholastic League in 1958.
In clinching SOC's first ever state title in football, the Golden Bears -- whose defense alone featured three players carrying on a bloodline legacy from the last Dallas ISD team to win a state title -- also helped their their head coach Jason Todd become the first Black high school coach from the Dallas area to lead a team to that feat since 1990.