Corn Bowl

Last updated
Corn Bowl (defunct)
Previous locations Normal, Illinois, Bloomington, Illinois, Macomb, Illinois
Operated1947–1955
Sponsors
Hybrid Seed Corn Breeders of Illinois
Bloomington American Legion

The Corn Bowl was a college football bowl game played from 1947 until 1955 in central Illinois. The first game was played November 27, 1947, in Normal, Illinois, between Southern Illinois and North Central of Illinois. [1] Its final game was played November 24, 1955, between Western Illinois and Luther. There was no game played in 1952 and 1954. [2]

The game was primarily organized by A. B. Perry, who called for the construction of a stadium that would seat 150,000. The plans never came to fruition and the largest crowd attracted to a game was 8,000 spectators for the 1948 matchup. [1] The 1949 matchup was witnessed by 4,567 fans. [3]

The bowl was sponsored by the Hybrid Seed Corn Breeders of Illinois and the Bloomington American Legion. [4]

Game results

YearWinnerLoserStadiumLocationAttendanceSource
1947 Southern Illinois 21 North Central (IL) 0Fred Carlton Field Normal, Illinois 5,500 [5]
1948 Illinois Wesleyan 6 Eastern Illinois 0Wesleyan Field Bloomington, Illinois 8,500 [6]
1949 Western Illinois 13 Wheaton (IL) 0Wesleyan FieldBloomington, Illinois4,567 [7] [8]
1950 Missouri Mines 7 Illinois State Normal 6Wesleyan FieldBloomington, Illinois2,500 [9]
1951 Lewis 21 William Jewell 12Wesleyan FieldBloomington, Illinois2,000 [10]
1953 Western Illinois 32 Iowa Wesleyan 0Wesleyan FieldBloomington, Illinois2,500 [11]
1955 Luther 24 Western Illinois 20 Hanson Field Macomb, Illinois 5,000 [12]

Related Research Articles

The 1947 Northern Illinois State Huskies football team represented Northern Illinois State Teachers College—now known as Northern Illinois University—as a member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1947 college football season. Led by 19th-year head coach Chick Evans, the Huskies compiled an overall record of 4–3–3 with a mark of 2–1–1 in conference play, placing second in the IIAC. Northern Illinois State was invited to the Hoosier Bowl, where they lost to Evansville.

The 1947 Southern Illinois Maroons football team was an American football team that represented Southern Illinois University in the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1947 college football season. Under eighth-year head coach Glenn Martin, the team compiled a 7–2–1 record.

The 1951 Southern Illinois Salukis football team was an American football team that represented Southern Illinois University in the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1951 college football season. Under second-year head coach Bill Waller, the team compiled a 0–9 record. The team played its home games at McAndrew Stadium in Carbondale, Illinois.

The 1955 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1955 college football season. Led by second-year head coach Wes Stevens, the Leathernecks finished the season with an overall record of 6–3–1 and a mark of 3–2–1 in conference play, placing fourth in the IIAC. Western Illinois later forfeited its win over Illinois State Normal, dropping its season record to 5–4–1 overall and 2–3–1 in the IIAC, putting the team into a fourth-place tie with Illinois State. The forfeit came as a result of Western Illinois using an ineligible player, quarterback Sam Esposito; while Esposito also played in other games for the team, Illinois State Normal was the only school to protest their result.

The 1950 Illinois State Normal Redbirds football team represented Illinois State Normal University—now known as Illinois State University—as a member of the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1950 college football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Edwin Struck, the Redbirds compiled an overall record of 7–1–2 with a mark of 5–0–1 in conference play, winning the IIAC. Illinois State Normal lost to Missouri Mines in the postseason Corn Bowl. The team played home games at McCormick Field in Normal, Illinois.

The 1941 Illinois State Normal Redbirds football team represented Illinois State Normal University—now known as Illinois State University—as a member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1941 college football season. Led by 11th-year head coach Howard Hancock, the Redbirds compiled an overall record of 3–4–2 with a mark of 3–1 in conference play, sharing the IIAC title with Northern Illinois State. Illinois State Normal played home games at McCormick Field in Normal, Illinois.

The 1955 Illinois State Normal Redbirds football team represented Illinois State Normal University—now known as Illinois State University—as a member of the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1955 college football season. Led by 11th-year head coach Edwin Struck, the Redbirds compiled an overall record of 3–4–2 with a mark of 2–3–1 in conference play, tying for fourth place in the IIAC. Illinois State Normal played home games at McCormick Field in Normal, Illinois.

The 1953 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1953 college football season. They were led by fifth-year head coach Vince DiFrancesca and played their home games at Hanson Field. The Leathernecks finished the season with a 8–2 record overall and a 5–1 record in conference play, placing second in the IIAC. They were invited to the postseason Corn Bowl, where they defeated Iowa Wesleyan 32–0.

The 1949 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1949 college football season. They were led by first-year head coach Vince DiFrancesca and played their home games at Morgan Field. The Leathernecks finished the season with a 9–1 record overall and a 4–0 record in conference play, winning the IIAC title. They were invited to the postseason Corn Bowl, where they defeated the Wheaton Crusaders, 13–0.

The 1948 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois State College—now known as Eastern Illinois University—as a member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1948 college football season. Led by third-year head coach Maynard O'Brien, the Panthers finished the season with a 7–3 record overall and a 4–0 mark in conference play, winning the IIAC. They were invited to the postseason Corn Bowl, where they lost to Illinois Wesleyan, 6–0.

The 1951 Illinois State Normal Redbirds football team represented Illinois State Normal University—now known as Illinois State University—as a member of the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1951 college football season. Led by seventh-year head coach Edwin Struck, the Redbirds compiled an overall record of 3–5–1 with a mark of 1–4–1 in conference play, placing sixth in the IIAC. Illinois State Normal played home games at McCormick Field in Normal, Illinois.

The 1953 Illinois State Normal Redbirds football team represented Illinois State Normal University—now known as Illinois State University—as a member of the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1953 college football season. Led by ninth-year head coach Edwin Struck, the Redbirds compiled an overall record of 5–4 with a mark of 3–3 in conference play, placing fourth in the IIAC. Illinois State Normal played home games at McCormick Field in Normal, Illinois.

The 1950 Western Illinois Leathernecks football team represented Western Illinois University as a member of the Interstate Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1950 college football season. They were led by second-year head coach Vince DiFrancesca and played their home games at Hanson Field, which opened at the beginning of the season. The Leathernecks finished the season with a 7–1 record overall and a 4–1 record in conference play, placing second in the IIAC.

The 1946 Illinois State Normal Redbirds football team represented Illinois State Normal University—now known as Illinois State University—as a member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during 1946 college football season. In their second year under head coach Edwin Struck, the Redbirds compiled an overall record of 6–3 record with a mark of 2–2 in conference play, finished third in the IIAC, and outscored opponents by a total of 106 to 53. Illinois State Normal played home games at McCormick Field in Normal, Illinois.

The 1949 Eastern Illinois Panthers football team represented Eastern Illinois University as a member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1949 college football season. The team was led by fourth-year head coach Maynard O'Brien and played their home games at Lincoln Field in Charleston, Illinois. The Panthers finished the season with a 3–5 record overall and a 2–2 record in conference play.

The 1949 Illinois State Normal Redbirds football team represented Illinois State Normal University—now known as Illinois State University—as a member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1949 college football season. The team was led by fifth-year head coach Edwin Struck and played its home games at McCormick Field. The Redbirds finished the season with a 6–2–1 overall record and a 1–2–1 record in conference play.

The 1948 Illinois State Normal Redbirds football team represented Illinois State Normal University—now known as Illinois State University—as a member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1948 college football season. The team was led by fourth-year head coach Edwin Struck and played its home games at McCormick Field. The Redbirds finished the season with a 7–2 overall record and a 3–1 record in conference play, placing second in the IIAC. Fullback John Dal Santo was named the team's most valuable player.

The 1947 Illinois State Normal Redbirds football team represented Illinois State Normal University—now known as Illinois State University—as a member of the Illinois Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) during the 1947 college football season. The team was led by third-year head coach Edwin Struck and played its home games at McCormick Field. The Redbirds finished the season with a 4–3–2 overall record and a 1–1–2 record in conference play, placing third in the IIAC.

The 1951 Illinois Wesleyan Titans football team represented Illinois Wesleyan University as a member of the College Conference of Illinois (CCI) during the 1951 college football season. Led by first-year head coach Libero Bertagnolli, the Titans compiled a perfect overall record of 8–0 with a mark of 5–0 in conference, winning the CCI title. The team played home games at Illinois Wesleyan Stadium in Bloomington, Illinois.

The 1949 Wheaton Crusaders football team was an American football team that represented Wheaton College as a member of the College Conference of Illinois (CCI) during the 1949 college football season. Led by sixth-year head coach Harvey Chrouser, the Crusaders compiled an overall record of 8–2 with a mark of 5–0 in conference play, sharing the CCI title with Augustana. Wheaton was invited to the Corn Bowl, where the Crusaders lost to Western Illinois. Don Brinks and Wendy Loveless were the team's captains. Wheaton played home games at Lawson Field i Wheaton, Illinois.

References

  1. 1 2 Kemp, Bill (November 18, 2007). "Corn Bowl was short-lived Thanksgiving gridiron tradition". Pantagraph.com. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  2. ↑ DeLassus, David. "Corn Bowl Games". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on December 9, 2010. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  3. ↑ "Wins Corn Bowl Game". Reading Eagle. November 25, 1949. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
  4. ↑ Jauss, Bill (October 16, 1997). "Full Crop Of Corn Bowl Memories". Chicago Tribune . Retrieved January 4, 2012.
  5. ↑ Alsene, Edgar (November 28, 1947). "Southern Clips North Central in Corn Bowl". The Pantagraph . p. 14. Retrieved November 25, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  6. ↑ Young, Fred (November 26, 1948). "IWU Trips Eastern, 6-0, On Last Minute Counter". The Pantagraph . p. 13. Retrieved November 25, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  7. ↑ "Twin Tornadoes Collide In Corn Bowl Here Today". The Pantagraph . Bloomington, Illinois. November 24, 1949. p. 32. Retrieved March 28, 2024– via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .
  8. ↑ Young, Fred (November 25, 1949). "Angie Marini Steals Show as Western Cops Third Annual Corn Bowl Game". The Pantagraph . p. 11. Retrieved November 25, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  9. ↑ Alsene, Ed (November 24, 1950). "Missouri Mines Edges ISNU 7-6". The Pantagraph . p. 14. Retrieved October 10, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  10. ↑ Alsene, Ed (November 23, 1951). "Lewis Triumphs, 21-12". The Pantagraph . p. 13. Retrieved November 25, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ Alsene, Ed (November 27, 1953). "Western Wins 1953 Corn Bowl Game, 32-0". The Pantagraph . p. 30. Retrieved November 20, 2021– via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ "Luther Nips Western in 'Corn' Bowl'". The Rock Island Argus . Rock Island, Illinois. November 25, 1955. p. 20. Retrieved September 16, 2021– via Newspapers.com Open Access logo PLoS transparent.svg .


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