All-American Bowl

Last updated
All-American Bowl (defunct)
Stadium Legion Field
Location Birmingham, Alabama
Operated1977–1990
Former names
Hall of Fame Classic (1977–1985)

The All-American Bowl was an annual postseason college football bowl game played at Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama, from 1977 to 1990. The game was known as the Hall of Fame Classic from 1977 to 1985. [1]

Contents

In 1986, the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame decided to relocate the Hall of Fame bowl game to Tampa, Florida, where it eventually became known as the Outback Bowl (now the ReliaQuest Bowl). The game in Birmingham continued as the All-American Bowl, which was played for five years under a different organizing body.

When the Southeastern Conference expanded to twelve schools and began contesting a SEC Championship Game in 1992, Birmingham officials chose to host the conference title game and abandon the All-American Bowl. The SEC championship was moved to Atlanta's Georgia Dome two years later, leaving Legion Field without any Division I-A postseason college football until 2006, when ESPN and the city agreed to establish a new post-season game, the Birmingham Bowl.

The game

The All-American Bowl played host to a number of successful teams from the premier college football conferences of the time (the Atlantic Coast Conference, Big Eight (now Big 12 Conference), Big Ten Conference, Southeastern Conference and Southwest Conference). All of them placed teams in the All-American Bowl in various years. At least one of the power conferences fielded teams in the All-American Bowl in every year of its existence; often, two of those premier conferences met in the game. The Southeastern Conference and Atlantic Coast Conference each placed five teams into the All-American Bowl. The Big Ten Conference proved to be the least successful conference, having never won a game despite placing teams in four different years.

Game results

DateBowl NameWinning TeamLosing TeamAttendance [2] Source
December 22, 1977 Hall of Fame Classic Maryland 17 Minnesota 747,000 [3]
December 20, 1978 Hall of Fame Classic Texas A&M 28#19 Iowa State 1241,150 [4]
December 29, 1979 Hall of Fame Classic Missouri 24#16 South Carolina 1462,785 [5]
December 27, 1980 Hall of Fame Classic Arkansas 34 Tulane 1530,000 [6]
December 31, 1981 Hall of Fame Classic Mississippi State 10 Kansas 041,672 [7]
December 31, 1982 Hall of Fame Classic Air Force 36 Vanderbilt 2875,000 [8]
December 22, 1983 Hall of Fame Classic #18 West Virginia 20 Kentucky 1642,000 [9]
December 29, 1984 Hall of Fame Classic Kentucky 20#20 Wisconsin 1947,300 [10]
December 31, 1985 Hall of Fame Classic Georgia Tech 17 Michigan State 1445,000 [11]
December 31, 1986 All-American Bowl Florida State 27 Indiana 1330,000 [12]
December 22, 1987 All-American Bowl Virginia 22 Brigham Young 1637,000 [13]
December 29, 1988 All-American Bowl Florida 14 Illinois 1048,218 [14]
December 28, 1989 All-American Bowl #24 Texas Tech 49#20 Duke 2147,750 [15]
December 28, 1990 All-American Bowl North Carolina State 31#23 Southern Miss 2744,000 [16]

Most valuable players

Year playedMVP [17] TeamPosition
1977Chuck WhiteMarylandSE
1977 Charles Johnson MarylandDT
1978 Curtis Dickey Texas A&MRB
1979 Phil Bradley MissouriQB
1980 Gary Anderson ArkansasRB
1980 Billy Ray Smith ArkansasLB
1981 John Bond Mississippi StateQB
1981 Johnie Cooks Mississippi StateLB
1982 Whit Taylor VanderbiltQB
1982Carl DieudonneAir ForceDE
1983 Jeff Hostetler West VirginiaQB
1984Mark LoganKentuckyRB
1984Todd GregoireWisconsinPK
1985 Mark Ingram Sr. Michigan StateWR
1986 Sammie Smith Florida StateRB
1987 Scott Secules VirginiaQB
1988 Emmitt Smith FloridaRB
1989James GrayTexas TechRB
1990 Brett Favre Southern MissQB

Conference records

Ranked teams

On several occasions, the All-American Bowl winners finished the season ranked in the AP Top Twenty poll:

References

  1. Foldesy, Jody. "Bowls burgeon as big business", The Washington Times. December 21, 1997. Page A1.
  2. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). "Bowl/All-Star Game Records" (PDF). 2011 NCAA Division I Football Records. NCAA.org. p. 37. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  3. "Maryland clips Gophers 17–7". Star Tribune. December 23, 1977. Retrieved January 17, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  4. "ISU bowl jinx continues, 28–12". The Des Moines Register. December 21, 1978. Retrieved January 17, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  5. "Missouri pounces on Gamecocks 24–14". The Charlotte Observer. December 30, 1979. Retrieved January 17, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  6. "Arkansas tops Tulane in Hall of Fame Game". The Commercial Appeal. December 28, 1980. Retrieved January 17, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  7. "KU's nightmare comes true". The Wichita Eagle. January 1, 1982. Retrieved January 17, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  8. "Vandy falls to Air Force". The Montgomery Advertiser. January 1, 1983. Retrieved January 17, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  9. "Woodside, Hostetler chill UK in bowl". The Courier-Journal. December 23, 1983. Retrieved January 17, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  10. "Badgers drop FG battle". The Reporter. December 30, 1984. Retrieved January 17, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  11. "Curfew? Tech slips in, 17–14". The Atlanta Constitution. January 1, 1986. Retrieved January 17, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  12. "Freshman running back leads Florida State to victory over IU". The Star Press. January 1, 1987. Retrieved January 17, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  13. "Cavaliers pass big test". Birmingham Post-Herald. December 23, 1987. Retrieved January 17, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  14. "Florida edges Illini on late TD". Chicago Tribune. December 30, 1988. Retrieved January 17, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  15. "Texas Tech ruins Spurrier's finale". The Charlotte Observer. December 29, 1989. Retrieved January 17, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  16. "USM's final drive falls short". The Clarion-Ledger. December 29, 1990. Retrieved January 17, 2023 via Newspapers.com.
  17. National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). "Bowl/All-Star Game Records: Most Valuable Players in Former Major Bowls" (PDF). 2011 NCAA Division I Football Records. NCAA.org. p. 100. Retrieved October 1, 2011.
  18. "Final 1978 AP poll at AP Poll Archive.com". Archived from the original on 2009-04-17. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  19. "Final 1983 AP poll at AP Poll Archive.com". Archived from the original on 2009-04-17. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  20. "Final 1984 AP poll at AP Poll Archive.com". Archived from the original on 2009-04-17. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  21. "Final 1985 AP poll at AP Poll Archive.com". Archived from the original on 2009-04-17. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
  22. "Final 1989 AP poll at AP Poll Archive.com". Archived from the original on 2009-04-17. Retrieved 2009-06-01.

See also