Bluegrass Bowl
Encyclopedia
Bluegrass Bowl was played only once, on 13 December 1958 in Louisville, Kentucky
. Oklahoma State University defeated Florida State University
15-6.
and the University of Alabama
, which went 5-4-1 in its first season under Bear Bryant
, who previously coached at UK for eight seasons. Kentucky was given an invitation to play in the game but the team's lettermen voted 18-12 to refuse the bid. (Kentucky's players also voted to turn down bowl bids, including one to the Gator Bowl
, in 1953 despite a 7-2-1 record in Bryant's final season in Lexington, and in 1954 after going 7-3.) One reason that Kentucky declined was that the Wildcats had received poor treatment from the Louisville crowd during a 51-0 win over the University of Hawaii
at Cardinal Stadium in their season opener. Oklahoma State University and Florida State University
eventually accepted invitations.
Bowl organizers successfully negotiated a national television contract with ABC
, with a 100-mile blackout. A crowd of 15,000 was expected for the inaugural game. Tickets were priced at $6.50 each, though due to unenthusiastic demand they were being sold for $1.50 on the day of the game. (Parking cost 25 cents.)
and #19 in the UPI poll; Florida State was unranked. Florida State was an independent with a 7-3 regular season record; Oklahoma State was also 7-3 as an independent, having left the Missouri Valley Conference
after the 1956 season and not joining the Big Eight Conference
until 1960.
Florida State was playing in their third ever bowl game, under head coach Tom Nugent
who was in his final season as Florida State's coach. Oklahoma State, coached by Cliff Speegle, was appearing in its fourth ever bowl game.
The game was played at Cardinal Stadium
on the grounds of the Kentucky Exposition Center
, just behind Freedom Hall
where that year's NCAA basketball championship had been played. Kickoff was at 1:30 p.m. and at that time the temperature for the game was 20 degrees below freezing, and falling. The playing field was icy and slippery. Field conditions caused the players to wear tennis shoes. Attendance was low due to the cold weather; crowd estimates were in the 5,000 to 10,000 range and many accounts state that just over 7,000 attended the game.
In the first quarter Florida State took two drives into Oklahoma State territory but missed 16 and 23 yard field goal attempts.
Early in the second quarter Oklahoma State halfback Duane Wood had a 17 yard touchdown run putting the Cowboys up 7-0. Late in the second quarter Oklahoma State again drove deep into Florida State territory but on fourth and 5 Florida State defender Ron Hinson stripped the ball from Oklahoma State's Forrest Campbell just a foot from the goalline.
Florida State fumbled twice in the third quarter. Oklahoma State took the second fumble for a 10 play, 39 yard touchdrown drive capped by another Duane Wood touchdown run. Wood then caught a pass for a two-point conversion to give Oklahoma State a 15-0 lead.
Florida State scored a fourth quarter touchdown without a successful conversion, leaving Oklahoma State as the only Bluegrass Bowl champions with a final score of Oklahoma State 15, Florida State 6.
. The Bluegrass Bowl was the last broadcast of Harry Wismer
and the first national telecast to feature Howard Cosell
. The game was the first ever national broadcast of a Florida State football game. Due to the cold weather, the press covering the game deserted the windowless press box and all crowded into a single enclosed, heated room with windows for the game.
Team Statistics (Florida State, Oklahoma State)
Individual Statistics
Rushing:
Florida State: Pickard 14-44, Prinzi 7-30, Renn 2-13, Majors 3-12, Whitehead 1-1, McCormack 1-0
Oklahoma State: Campbell 26-130, D. Wood 17-81, Wiggins 12-59, Banfield 7-34, Rundele 3-7, Sewell 4-3, Wagner 1-1, Cross 1-(-5), Soergel 1-(-12)
Passing:
Florida State: Majors 5-9-1-116, Prinzi 3-8-3-44, McCormack 1-4-0-25, Renn 0-1-0-0
Oklahoma State: Soergel 6-12-1-77
Receiving:
Florida State: Romeo 3-62, Espenship 2-22, Renn 2-48, Meyer 1-39, Pasqual 1-14
Oklahoma State: Wiggins 2-38, D. Wood 2-23, Harkey 1-7, J. Wood 1-9
Rice, Russell, "The Wildcats: Kentucky Football", a book about University of Kentucky
football history
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
. Oklahoma State University defeated Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
15-6.
Background of the Bluegrass Bowl
Game organizers expected the Bluegrass Bowl to be an annual bowl game in Louisville, with the 1958 contest being the first. The bowl organizers' first choices for the game were the University of KentuckyKentucky Wildcats football
The Kentucky Wildcats football team is a college football program that competes in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision and the East Division of the Southeastern Conference.-History:Paul "Bear" Bryant Era...
and the University of Alabama
Alabama Crimson Tide football
|TeamName = Alabama football |Image = Alabama Crimson Tide Logo.svg |ImageSize = 110 |Helmet = Alabama Football.png |ImageSize2 = 150 |CurrentSeason = 2011 Alabama Crimson Tide football team...
, which went 5-4-1 in its first season under Bear Bryant
Bear Bryant
Paul William "Bear" Bryant was an American college football player and coach. He was best known as the longtime head coach of the University of Alabama football team. During his 25-year tenure as Alabama's head coach, he amassed six national championships and thirteen conference championships...
, who previously coached at UK for eight seasons. Kentucky was given an invitation to play in the game but the team's lettermen voted 18-12 to refuse the bid. (Kentucky's players also voted to turn down bowl bids, including one to the Gator Bowl
Gator Bowl
The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, Florida. Held continuously since 1946, it is the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised nationally...
, in 1953 despite a 7-2-1 record in Bryant's final season in Lexington, and in 1954 after going 7-3.) One reason that Kentucky declined was that the Wildcats had received poor treatment from the Louisville crowd during a 51-0 win over the University of Hawaii
University of Hawaii
The University of Hawaii System, formally the University of Hawaii and popularly known as UH, is a public, co-educational college and university system that confers associate, bachelor, master, and doctoral degrees through three university campuses, seven community college campuses, an employment...
at Cardinal Stadium in their season opener. Oklahoma State University and Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
eventually accepted invitations.
Bowl organizers successfully negotiated a national television contract with ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
, with a 100-mile blackout. A crowd of 15,000 was expected for the inaugural game. Tickets were priced at $6.50 each, though due to unenthusiastic demand they were being sold for $1.50 on the day of the game. (Parking cost 25 cents.)
1958 Bluegrass Bowl
Oklahoma State entered the game ranked #19 in the AP pollAP Poll
The Associated Press College Poll refers to weekly rankings of the top 25 NCAA teams in one of three Division I college sports: football, men's basketball and women's basketball. The rankings are compiled by polling sportswriters across the nation...
and #19 in the UPI poll; Florida State was unranked. Florida State was an independent with a 7-3 regular season record; Oklahoma State was also 7-3 as an independent, having left the Missouri Valley Conference
Missouri Valley Conference
The Missouri Valley Conference is a college athletic conference whose members are located in the midwestern United States...
after the 1956 season and not joining the Big Eight Conference
Big Eight Conference
The Big Eight Conference, a former NCAA-affiliated Division I-A college athletic association that sponsored football, was formed in January 1907 as the Missouri Valley Intercollegiate Athletic Association by its charter member schools: the University of Kansas, University of Missouri, University...
until 1960.
Florida State was playing in their third ever bowl game, under head coach Tom Nugent
Tom Nugent
Thomas N. "Tom" Nugent was an American college football coach and innovator, sportscaster, public relations man. He served as the head football coach at the Virginia Military Institute, Florida State University, and the University of Maryland. His career record was 89–80–3...
who was in his final season as Florida State's coach. Oklahoma State, coached by Cliff Speegle, was appearing in its fourth ever bowl game.
The game was played at Cardinal Stadium
Cardinal Stadium
Cardinal Stadium is the name of a former college and minor league baseball and college football stadium in Louisville, Kentucky. It is on the grounds of the Kentucky Exposition Center, and was called Fairgrounds Stadium when it first opened its doors to baseball in 1957.The lone Bluegrass Bowl was...
on the grounds of the Kentucky Exposition Center
Kentucky Exposition Center
The Kentucky Exposition Center , formerly Kentucky Fair and Exposition Center , is a large multi-use facility in Louisville, Kentucky, United States...
, just behind Freedom Hall
Freedom Hall
Freedom Hall is a multipurpose arena in Louisville, Kentucky, on the grounds of the Kentucky Exposition Center, which is owned by the Commonwealth of Kentucky...
where that year's NCAA basketball championship had been played. Kickoff was at 1:30 p.m. and at that time the temperature for the game was 20 degrees below freezing, and falling. The playing field was icy and slippery. Field conditions caused the players to wear tennis shoes. Attendance was low due to the cold weather; crowd estimates were in the 5,000 to 10,000 range and many accounts state that just over 7,000 attended the game.
In the first quarter Florida State took two drives into Oklahoma State territory but missed 16 and 23 yard field goal attempts.
Early in the second quarter Oklahoma State halfback Duane Wood had a 17 yard touchdown run putting the Cowboys up 7-0. Late in the second quarter Oklahoma State again drove deep into Florida State territory but on fourth and 5 Florida State defender Ron Hinson stripped the ball from Oklahoma State's Forrest Campbell just a foot from the goalline.
Florida State fumbled twice in the third quarter. Oklahoma State took the second fumble for a 10 play, 39 yard touchdrown drive capped by another Duane Wood touchdown run. Wood then caught a pass for a two-point conversion to give Oklahoma State a 15-0 lead.
Florida State scored a fourth quarter touchdown without a successful conversion, leaving Oklahoma State as the only Bluegrass Bowl champions with a final score of Oklahoma State 15, Florida State 6.
Media coverage
The Bluegrass Bowl was nationally broadcast on ABCAmerican Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
. The Bluegrass Bowl was the last broadcast of Harry Wismer
Harry Wismer
Harry Wismer was a sports broadcaster and charter owner of the New York Titans franchise in the American Football League.-Early years:...
and the first national telecast to feature Howard Cosell
Howard Cosell
Howard William Cosell was an American sports journalist who was widely known for his blustery, cocksure personality. Cosell said of himself, "Arrogant, pompous, obnoxious, vain, cruel, verbose, a showoff. I have been called all of these...
. The game was the first ever national broadcast of a Florida State football game. Due to the cold weather, the press covering the game deserted the windowless press box and all crowded into a single enclosed, heated room with windows for the game.
Aftermath
In January 1959 officials stated that paid attendance for the game was 3,152 and actual income was $18,132. The Bluegrass Bowl organizers proclaimed the game a success despite the low attendance and stated that the game would be played again in 1959, but it was not.Statistics
Scoring Summary- OSU - D. Wood 17 yd. run (J. Wood kick), 14:31
- OSU - D. Wood 1 yd. run (D. Wood pass from Soergel), :07
- FSU - Meyer 39 yd. pass from Majors (Prinzi run failed), 13:52
Team Statistics (Florida State, Oklahoma State)
- First Downs 12, 23
- Rushes - Yards 28-100, 76-298
- Passing Yards 185, 77
- Comp.-Att.-Int. 9-22-4, 6-12-1
- Plays-Total Offense 58-285, 97-375
- Punt Return Yards 2, 0
- Punts - Average 2-30, 5-30
- Fumbles - Lost 2-2, 1-1
- Interceptions - Yards 1-4, 4-38
- Penalties - Yards 3-25, 6-65
- Third Down Conversions. 10-15, 11-20
Individual Statistics
Rushing:
Florida State: Pickard 14-44, Prinzi 7-30, Renn 2-13, Majors 3-12, Whitehead 1-1, McCormack 1-0
Oklahoma State: Campbell 26-130, D. Wood 17-81, Wiggins 12-59, Banfield 7-34, Rundele 3-7, Sewell 4-3, Wagner 1-1, Cross 1-(-5), Soergel 1-(-12)
Passing:
Florida State: Majors 5-9-1-116, Prinzi 3-8-3-44, McCormack 1-4-0-25, Renn 0-1-0-0
Oklahoma State: Soergel 6-12-1-77
Receiving:
Florida State: Romeo 3-62, Espenship 2-22, Renn 2-48, Meyer 1-39, Pasqual 1-14
Oklahoma State: Wiggins 2-38, D. Wood 2-23, Harkey 1-7, J. Wood 1-9
Further reading
Hill, Bob, "1958 saw birth and death of 2 bowl ideas", 'Louisville Courier-Journal', December 31, 2005, page B1, online at http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051231/COLUMNISTS05/512310375/1008/NEWS01Rice, Russell, "The Wildcats: Kentucky Football", a book about University of Kentucky
University of Kentucky
The University of Kentucky, also known as UK, is a public co-educational university and is one of the state's two land-grant universities, located in Lexington, Kentucky...
football history
See also
- History of Louisville, KentuckyHistory of Louisville, KentuckyThe history of Louisville, Kentucky spans hundreds of years, with thousands of years of human habitation. The area's geography and location on the Ohio River attracted people from the earliest times. The city is located at the Falls of the Ohio River...
- List of college bowl games