The Blue–Gray Football Classic was an annual American college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 all-star

All-star

All-star is a term designating an individual as having a high level of performance in their field. Originating in sports, it has since drifted into vernacular and been borrowed heavily by the entertainment industry...

 game held in Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...

 usually on Christmas Day. It was begun in 1939 and held annually through 2001 at the Cramton Bowl in Montgomery, Alabama

Montgomery, Alabama

Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...

. The game was not contested in 2002

2002 in sports

2002 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season champion: Stephan Eberharter, Austria** Women's overall season champion: Michaela Dorfmeister, Austria-American football:...

 and was subsequently revived in 2003

2003 in sports

2003 in sports describes the year's events in world sport.-Alpine skiing:* Alpine Skiing World Cup** Men's overall season championship: Stephan Eberharter, Austria** Women's overall season championship: Janica Kostelić, Croatia-American football:...

 in Troy, Alabama

Troy, Alabama

Troy is a city in Pike County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 18,003. Troy experienced a growth spurt of over 4,000+ people since 2000. The city is the county seat of Pike County....

. However, the game was discontinued because it lacked a major sponsor after that year.

The format, unsurprisingly given the Classic's name, pitted players who attended college in the states of the former Confederacy

Confederate States of America

The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...

, the "Grays," who wore white jerseys, against players who attended school in the northern half of the country, the "Blues," who wore blue jerseys, and also sometimes including players from western teams. Both teams wore gray pants. Only seniors played in this game, because it was their first venture into professional football, as they were paid for their participation.

The game had an interesting and somewhat checkered history. It was almost always the first major college all-star game of the year. For this reason, it was difficult to get some of the truly big-name collegiate stars, because many of them were preparing at the same time for bowl game

Bowl game

In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...

s with their regular teams. Also, many potential players preferred to spend Christmas at home.

In recent years, therefore, most of the players had been players from teams with losing records and from smaller schools which do not play NCAA

National Collegiate Athletic Association

The National Collegiate Athletic Association is a semi-voluntary association of 1,281 institutions, conferences, organizations and individuals that organizes the athletic programs of many colleges and universities in the United States...

 Division I football. The Classic gave these players an opportunity to be noticed by NFL

National Football League

The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...

 scouts

Scout (sport)

In professional sports, scouts are trained talent evaluators who travel extensively for the purposes of watching athletes play their chosen sports and determining whether their set of skills and talents represent what is needed by the scout's organization...

 and others who may not have had the opportunity to observe them previously. Most such players now attend the NFL Combine for evaluation.

Given its setting, it wasn't surprising that this game was slow to desegregate

Desegregation

Desegregation is the process of ending the separation of two groups usually referring to races. This is most commonly used in reference to the United States. Desegregation was long a focus of the American Civil Rights Movement, both before and after the United States Supreme Court's decision in...

, and in fact was once removed from the schedule of NBC

NBC

The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...

 for this reason. Since then, the game had not only been desegregated, but in the process showcased many African American

African American

African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...

 stars from smaller, lesser-known schools (including many historically black colleges and universities

Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Historically black colleges and universities are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before 1964 with the intention of serving the black community....

). In fact, Jerry Rice

Jerry Rice

Jerry Lee Rice is a retired American football wide receiver. He is generally regarded as the greatest wide receiver of all time and one of the greatest players in National Football League history...

 played in the 1984 game and was named the Most Valuable Player.

The Classic also made many concessions to make it more television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

-friendly, such as shortening the first quarter to 12 minutes on at least one occasion to make it fit more easily into a doubleheader package, and changing the rules so that after any score a team down by a double-digit margin would receive the kickoff, even if they in fact were the one which had just scored, presumably to keep the game close and prevent the loss of viewership which often occurs in grossly-uneven contests.

In later years, the game had always been played on Christmas Day, which may have tended to limit the live attendance, but which ensured that it was on television at a time when more viewers were available for it.

Even in its new setting in Troy, Alabama

Troy, Alabama

Troy is a city in Pike County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 18,003. Troy experienced a growth spurt of over 4,000+ people since 2000. The city is the county seat of Pike County....

 on the campus of the Troy University

Troy University

Troy University is a public university that is located in Troy, Alabama, United States. It was originally founded in 1887 as Troy Normal School. Its main campus enrollment is 7,194 students. The total enrollment of all Troy University campuses is 29,689...

 Movie Gallery Stadium

Movie Gallery Stadium

Veterans Memorial Stadium is a stadium in Troy, Alabama. It is primarily used for American football, and is the home field of the Troy University Trojans.Veterans Memorial Stadium opened in 1950...

, about 50 miles (80 km) south of Montgomery, the Montgomery Lions Club had remained active in the staging of the game, and in fact was instrumental in finding this new venue to replace the aging, and indeed crumbling, Cramton Bowl in Montgomery. In fact, the game's 2002 hiatus was caused by two primary factors: the failure to obtain a new corporate sponsor to purchase the football game's naming rights

Naming rights

In the private sector, naming rights are a financial transaction whereby a corporation or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, typically for a defined period of time. For properties like a multi-purpose arena, performing arts venue or an athletic field, the term ranges from three...

 after the Kelley–Springfield Tire Co. (a subsidiary of the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company

The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company was founded in 1898 by Frank Seiberling. Goodyear manufactures tires for automobiles, commercial trucks, light trucks, SUVs, race cars, airplanes, farm equipment and heavy earth-mover machinery....

) decided to discontinue its sponsorship, and also the crumbling condition of Cramton Bowl. It was generally thought that the Lions Club and others would have liked to have returned the football game to Montgomery, but it did not do so because of deteriorating condition of the Cramton Bowl stadium.

Game results

64 Blue–Gray Football Classics were played. Gray won 33 games, Blue won 29 games, and two games tied. All were played in Montgomery, Alabama

Montgomery, Alabama

Montgomery is the capital of the U.S. state of Alabama, and is the county seat of Montgomery County. It is located on the Alabama River southeast of the center of the state, in the Gulf Coastal Plain. As of the 2010 census, Montgomery had a population of 205,764 making it the second-largest city...

, except the 2003 game, played in Troy, Alabama

Troy, Alabama

Troy is a city in Pike County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 18,003. Troy experienced a growth spurt of over 4,000+ people since 2000. The city is the county seat of Pike County....

.

#	Date	Winner	Score
1	January 1, 1939	Blue	7–0
2	December 30, 1939	Gray	33–20
3	December 28, 1940	Blue	14–12
4	December 27, 1941	Gray	16–0
5	December 26, 1942	Gray	24–0
6	December 30, 1944	Gray	24–7
7	December 29, 1945	Blue	26–0
8	December 28, 1946	Gray	20–13
9	December 27, 1947	Gray	33–6
10	December 25, 1948	Blue	19–13
11	December 31, 1949	Gray	27–13
12	December 30, 1950	Gray	31–6
13	December 29, 1951	Gray	20–14
14	December 27, 1952	Gray	28–7
15	December 26, 1953	Gray	40–20
16	December 25, 1954	Blue	14–7
17	December 31, 1955	Gray	20–19
18	December 29, 1956	Blue	14–0
19	December 28, 1957	Gray	21–20
20	December 27, 1958	Blue	16–0
21	December 26, 1959	Blue	20–8
22	December 31, 1960	Blue	35–7

#	Date	Winner	Score
23	December 30, 1961	Gray	9–7
24	December 29, 1962	Blue	10–6
25	December 28, 1963	Gray	21–14
26	December 26, 1964	Blue	10–6
27	December 25, 1965	Gray	23–19
28	December 24, 1966	Blue	14–9
29	December 30, 1967	Blue	22–16
30	December 28, 1968	Gray	28–7
31	December 27, 1969	Tie	6–6
32	December 28, 1970	Gray	9–0
33	December 28, 1971	Gray	27–15
34	December 27, 1972	Gray	20–14
35	December 18, 1973	Blue	20–14
36	December 17, 1974	Blue	29–24
37	December 19, 1975	Blue	14–13
38	December 24, 1976	Gray	31–10
39	December 30, 1977	Blue	20–16
40	December 29, 1978	Gray	28–24
41	December 25, 1979	Blue	22–13
42	December 25, 1980	Blue	24–23
43	December 25, 1981	Blue	21–9
44	December 25, 1982	Gray	20–10

#	Date	Winner	Score
45	December 25, 1983	Gray	17–13
46	December 25, 1984	Gray	33–6
47	December 25, 1985	Blue	27–20
48	December 25, 1986	Blue	31–7
49	December 25, 1987	Gray	12–10
50	December 25, 1988	Blue	22–21
51	December 25, 1989	Gray	28–10
52	December 25, 1990	Blue	17–14
53	December 25, 1991	Gray	20–12
54	December 25, 1992	Gray	27–17
55	December 25, 1993	Gray	17–10
56	December 25, 1994	Blue	38–27
57	December 25, 1995	Blue	26–7
58	December 25, 1996	Blue	44–34
59	December 25, 1997	Gray	31–24
60	December 25, 1998	Gray	31–24
61	December 25, 1999	Tie	22–22
62	December 25, 2000	Gray	40–37
63	December 25, 2001	Blue	28–10
64	December 25, 2003	Blue	31–24