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The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed only by the Rose Bowl Game.
Robert Grier Sr. is a former college football player for Pitt. In 1956, he was the first African American football player to break the color barrier of the United States collegiate Sugar Bowl game, which was held in New Orleans. Particularly in the deep South, the mid-1950s was a period of strident racial segregation for sports, as well as other areas of life. At the time, Grier's participation in a fullback and linebacker against a segregated all-white team on such a prestigious "stage" was a tremendously significant event.
The Pittsburgh Panthers football program is the intercollegiate football team of the University of Pittsburgh, often referred to as "Pitt", in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Traditionally the most popular sport at the university, Pitt football has played at the highest level of American college football competition, now termed the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, since the beginning of the school's official sponsorship of the sport in 1890. Pitt competes as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
The 1981 Georgia Bulldogs football team represented the University of Georgia as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. Led by 18th-year head coach Vince Dooley, the Bulldogs compiled an overall record of 10–2, with a mark of 6–0 in conference play, and finished as SEC co-champion.
The 1976 NCAA Division I football season ended with a championship for the Panthers of the University of Pittsburgh. Led by head coach Johnny Majors, the Pitt Panthers brought a college football championship to the home of the defending pro football champions, the Steelers. Pitt also had the Heisman Trophy winner, Tony Dorsett; the Panthers had been ranked ninth in the preseason AP poll.
The 1956 Rose Bowl was the 42nd edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Monday, January 2. The Michigan State Spartans of the Big Ten Conference defeated the UCLA Bruins of the Pacific Coast Conference, 17–14. Michigan State halfback Walt Kowalczyk was named the Player of the Game.
The 1956 Sugar Bowl featured the 7th ranked Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets, and the 11th ranked Pittsburgh Panthers. The game was played on January 2, since New Year's Day was a Sunday. Much controversy preceded the 1956 Sugar Bowl. Segregationists and Georgia governor Marvin Griffin used all his political power in an attempt to keep Pitt fullback/linebacker Bobby Grier from playing because he was black. But ultimately, Bobby Grier played making this the first integrated Sugar Bowl and is the first integrated bowl game in the Deep South.
The 1976 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 1976 NCAA Division I football season and is recognized as a consensus national champion. Pitt was also awarded the Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy as the best Division I team in the East. The Panthers played their home games at Pitt Stadium in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The 1981 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 1981 NCAA Division I-A football season. The one-loss Panthers were selected as national champion by NCAA-designated major selector National Championship Foundation and also by Montgomery Full Season Championship. The school does not claim a national championship for this season.
The 1980 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh as an independent during the 1980 NCAA Division I-A football season. Despite losing one game, the Panthers were named national champion by NCAA-designated major selectors DeVold System, Football Research, and The New York Times, while also named co-national champion by Rothman (FACT) and Sagarin. The university does not claim a national championship for this season, nor are the Panthers popularly recognized for winning that year's national championship. Pitt was awarded the Lambert-Meadowlands Trophy as the champion of the East.
The 1936 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 1936 college football season. In its 13th season under head coach Jock Sutherland, the team compiled a 8–1–1 record, shut out five of its ten opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 214 to 34. The team played its home games at Pitt Stadium in Pittsburgh. The Panthers won the Rose Bowl and were selected national champion by the contemporary Boand math system and retroactively years later by the Football Researchers poll and Houlgate math system.
American football in Western Pennsylvania, featuring the city of Pittsburgh and surrounding areas, has had a long and storied history, dating back to the early days of the sport. All levels of football, including high school football and college football, are followed passionately, and the area's National Football League (NFL) team, the Pittsburgh Steelers, is consistently one of the sport's most popular teams. Many of the NFL's top stars have come from the region as well, especially those that play quarterback, earning Western Pennsylvania the nickname "Cradle of Quarterbacks".
The 1918 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 1918 college football season. In a season cut short by the Spanish flu pandemic, coach Pop Warner led the Panthers in a schedule played all in one month, including a convincing victory in a highly publicized game over defending national champion and unscored-upon Georgia Tech. A highly controversial loss ended the season and snapped a 32-game Pitt winning streak, but the Panthers outscored opponents 140–16 in that short season and were retroactively selected as the national champion by the Helms Athletic Foundation and Houlgate System and as a co-national champion with Michigan by the National Championship Foundation.
The 1956 Pittsburgh Panthers football team represented the University of Pittsburgh in the 1956 NCAA University Division football season.
The 1956 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team was an American football team that represented Georgia Tech as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1956 NCAA University Division football season. In their 12th year under head coach Bobby Dodd, the team compiled an overall record of 10–1, with a mark of 7–1 in conference play, and finished second in the SEC.
The 1920 Pittsburgh Panthers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Pittsburgh as an independent during the 1920 college football season. In its sixth season under head coach Pop Warner, the team compiled a 6–0–2 record and outscored all opponents by a total of 146 to 44. The team played its home games at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh. “Perhaps due to the resurrection of sports after the war period, Pitt enjoyed an athletic year that was quite indicative of its pre-war strength, which so practically dominated college sport activities in this section for many years. The season of 1920-21 boasted of representative Pitt teams in every branch of sport - football, basketball, baseball, track, swimming and tennis. Aviation, which made its initial bow at the University last year, progressed in fine manner – the team having been entered in the big intercollegiate meet.″
The 1919 Pittsburgh Panthers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Pittsburgh as an independent during the 1919 college football season. In its fifth season under head coach Pop Warner, the team compiled a 6–2–1 record and outscored all opponents by a total of 119 to 66. The team played its home games at Forbes Field in Pittsburgh.
The 1932 Pittsburgh Panthers football team was an American football team that represented the University of Pittsburgh as an independent during the 1932 college football season. In its ninth season under head coach Jock Sutherland, the team compiled an 8–1–2 record, shut out eight of its eleven opponents, suffered its sole loss to USC in the 1933 Rose Bowl, and outscored all opponents by a total of 182 to 60. The team played its home games at Pitt Stadium in Pittsburgh.
The 1955 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team was an American football team that represented Georgia Tech as a member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) during the 1955 college football season. In their 11th year under head coach Bobby Dodd, the team compiled an overall record of 9–1–1, with a mark of 4–1–1 in conference play, and finished third in the SEC.
The Pittsburgh Panthers team represents the University of Pittsburgh in American football.
References
- ↑ Jake Grantl (November 14, 2019). "Rearview Revisited: Segregation and the Sugar Bowl". Georgia Tech. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
- ↑ Thamel, Pete (January 1, 2006). "Grier Integrated a Game and Earned the World's Respect". New York Times.
- ↑ "Pittsburgh vs California Summary of Football Game Statistics" (PDF). NCAA Football Statistics. NCAA. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 2, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
- ↑ "1955 OU Football Season Schedule - SoonerStats - Historical scores, records, and stats for Oklahoma Sooners football, basketball, baseball, and softball".
- ↑ Jerry Magee (October 2, 1955). "58,000 See OU Smack Ponderous Pitt 26-14: McDonald Earns Spot With Greats". The Norman Transcript. pp. 1, 7 – via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Panthers win, 26 to 7, for Devils' first loss". Richmond Times-Dispatch. October 23, 1955. Retrieved January 5, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Pitt passes trip Cavaliers, 18–7". The Progress-Index. November 6, 1955. Retrieved January 5, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Pitt storms to 26–7 triumph". The Arizona Daily Star. November 13, 1955. Retrieved January 5, 2024– via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Georgia Tech beats Pitt in Sugar Bowl tilt, 7–0". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 3, 1956. Retrieved October 7, 2023– via Newspapers.com.
- ↑ "Reference at www.pro-football-reference.com". Archived from the original on November 26, 2010. Retrieved March 30, 2018.