| 1940 Cotton Bowl Classic | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4th Cotton Bowl Classic | |||||||||||||||||||
 | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Date | January 1, 1940 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1939 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Cotton Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Dallas, Texas | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Banks McFadden (Back, Clemson) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Clemson | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Paul N. Swaffield | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 15,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Payout | US$15,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
The 1940 Cotton Bowl Classic was the fourth edition of the postseason college football bowl game, between the Clemson Tigers and the Boston College Eagles. [1] It was played on Monday, January 1, 1940, at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. [2] [3]
Texas A&M, the 1939 SWC Champion, declined to be in this game, instead playing in the Sugar Bowl. Tennessee of the SEC and Oklahoma of the Big Six also declined this game. Fearing for the longevity of the game, J. Curtis Sanford strove to keep the bowl game alive, extending invites to Clemson and BC, who accepted; this was the first bowl game for both schools.
With both teams from outside the region, attendance was low; [2] the first three editions (and next six) included a team from the state of Texas.
The star player on the Boston College team was running back Lou Montgomery, who was the first Black student-athlete in B.C.'s history. [4] Sportswriters used adjectives like "flashy" and "brilliant" to describe his running ability and his skill at evading anyone trying to tackle him. He was an important part of B.C.'s successful season, and very popular with the fans. [5] But America was segregated at that time, and despite being a key part of the Eagles' offense, whenever B.C. played against southern teams, even if the game was played up north, [6] Montgomery had been benched. [7] And when Boston College received its invitation to the Cotton Bowl, the President of the Cotton Bowl's Athletic Association, Curtis Sanford, announced that Montgomery would not be allowed to participate, and that he had discussed this with "officials at Boston College," who agreed. Sanford asserted that keeping him out of the game was "advisable...in view of the general Texas attitude regarding Negroes." [8] The story was reported as if Montgomery too agreed with the decision, although some fans believed he felt there was no other option but to accept it. [9] Montgomery was praised in the major Boston newspapers for being such a good sport about not playing in the Cotton Bowl. [10] Years later, some Boston sportswriters had second thoughts, and wondered why they hadn't protested the injustice of a star player being excluded from a bowl game because of his race, but at the time, few of the white sportswriters spoke up. [11] Sportswriters at Black newspapers were outraged over it, however. One Boston-based reporter for the Chicago Defender accused coach Frank Leahy of giving in to Jim Crow customs and "catering to southern prejudice," charges that Leahy denied. [12] Other Black sportswriters accused Boston College, a Catholic institution, of not living up to its own ideals, by allowing Montgomery to endure discrimination and doing nothing to defend him. [13] In mid-January 1940, the Boston Veterans of Foreign Wars gave Montgomery an award for "sportsmanship, citizenship, and athletic ability," and praised him for his "self-effacement." [14]
Boston College took the lead on a 30-yard field goal by Alex Lukachik early in the second quarter, after four failed plays following a punt return to the Clemson 13. After both teams exchanged punts throughout most of the quarter, Clemson got it back at their 43. They drove 57 yards and it culminated with a touchdown by sophomore Charlie Timmons, but the extra point was missed. [15] The remainder of the game was scoreless as Clemson won their first bowl game, and All-American back Banks McFadden was named the game's most valuable player. [2] [3] [16]
Boston College returned to the Cotton Bowl Classic 45 years later in 1985 and won, led by Heisman Trophy winner Doug Flutie; Clemson returned in 2018 with a 30-3 College Football Playoff semifinal victory over Notre Dame.
The teams have been conference foes since 2005, when BC joined the Atlantic Coast Conference. Since 2008, the O'Rourke–McFadden Trophy is awarded to the winner of the annual Boston College–Clemson game, honoring Charlie O'Rourke of BC and McFadden of Clemson, leaders of their teams in the 1940 Cotton Bowl. [17]
Jesse Claiborne Neely was an American football player, a baseball and football coach. He was head football coach at Southwestern University from 1924 to 1927, at Clemson University from 1931 to 1939 and at Rice University from 1940 to 1966, compiling a career college football record of 207–176–19. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a coach in 1971.
The Boston College Eagles football team represents Boston College in the sport of American football. The Eagles compete in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The Eagles home games are played at Alumni Stadium on the university's campus in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
Charles Christopher "Chuckin' Charlie" O'Rourke was an American football player and coach. He played college football as a quarterback at Boston College and professionally with Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) and the Los Angeles Dons and Baltimore Colts of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC). O'Rourke quarterbacked the Boston College Eagles football team to one of its most famous wins. His 24-yard run late in the fourth quarter gave the 1940 Eagles a 19–13 victory over Tennessee in the 1941 Sugar Bowl, staking BC's claim to a national championship. O'Rourke served as the head football coach at University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass) from 1952 to 1959, compiling a record of 21–39–4. In 1972, he came the first Boston College player to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
James Banks McFadden was an American football and basketball player and coach. McFadden is best known for his association with Clemson University, where he spent 43 years as a player, coach, and administrator. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959 as a player.
The 1959 NCAA University Division football season saw Syracuse University crowned as the national champion by both final polls, the AP writers poll and the UPI coaches polls.
The 2008 Boston College Eagles football team represented Boston College during the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. It was Boston College's fourth season as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). The Eagles were led by Jeff Jagodzinski in his second and final season as Boston College head coach. Boston College has been a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference's (ACC) Atlantic Division since joining the league in 2005, after leaving the Big East Conference. The Eagles played their home games in 2008 at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, which has been their home stadium since 1957.
The 2008 Clemson Tigers football team represented Clemson University in the 2008 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The Tigers were led by head coach Tommy Bowden, who resigned six games into his tenth season. The interim head coach was assistant coach Dabo Swinney. The Tigers play their home games in Memorial Stadium.
Charles Truman Timmons was an American football fullback in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) for the Brooklyn Dodgers. He played college football at the University of Georgia and Clemson College; as a sophomore at the 1940 Cotton Bowl, he rushed for 127 yards and scored the only touchdown in the 6–3Clemson win.
The O'Rourke–McFadden Trophy was created in 2008 by the Boston College Gridiron Club to commemorate the tradition at Clemson and Boston College while honoring the legacy of Charlie O'Rourke and Banks McFadden. O'Rourke and McFadden are members of the College Football Hall of Fame who played during the leather helmet era. Since the trophy's inception in 2008, the club has presented it to every winner of a Boston College-Clemson football game.
The 1985 Cotton Bowl Classic was the 49th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas, on Tuesday, January 1. Part of the 1984–85 bowl game season, it matched the No. 8 Boston College Eagles (independent) and the unranked Houston Cougars of the Southwest Conference (SWC). Boston College never trailed and won 45–28.
The 1939 Cotton Bowl Classic was the third edition of the postseason college football bowl game, between the St. Mary's Gaels and the Texas Tech Red Raiders.
The 1939 Clemson Tigers football team was an American football team that represented Clemson College in the Southern Conference during the 1939 college football season. In their ninth and final season under head coach Jess Neely, the Tigers compiled a 9–1 record, outscored opponents by a total of 165 to 40, and defeated Boston College in the 1940 Cotton Bowl Classic. The 1940 Cotton Bowl was Clemson's first bowl game.
The 1940 Boston College Eagles football team represented Boston College as an independent during the 1940 college football season. The team was led by head coach Frank Leahy in his second year, and played their home games at Fenway Park in Boston and Alumni Field in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts. They won all ten games in the regular season, were the highest-scoring team in the country, and won the Lambert Trophy, awarded to 'Eastern champion'. With its victory on New Year's Day in the Sugar Bowl over the undefeated Tennessee, champion of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), the BC Eagles were widely acclaimed as national champions. Minnesota and Stanford also have viable claims to the national championship.
The 1939 Boston College Eagles football team represented Boston College during the 1939 college football season. The Eagles were led by first-year head coach Frank Leahy and played their home games at Alumni Field in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts and Fenway Park in Boston. The team finished the regular season with a 9–1 record, and the Eagles were ranked in the final AP Poll for the first time in school history, at 11th. They were invited to the school's first bowl game, the 1940 Cotton Bowl, where they were defeated by Clemson.
The 1983 Boston College Eagles football team represented Boston College as an independent during the 1983 NCAA Division I-A football season. The Eagles were led by third-year head coach Jack Bicknell, and played their home games at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts and Sullivan Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Junior quarterback Doug Flutie threw for over 2,700 yards and finished third in the Heisman Trophy voting, leading Boston College to their first ranked finish in 41 years. They met their rivals, Notre Dame, in the 1983 Liberty Bowl.
The 1976 Boston College Eagles football team represented Boston College as an independent during the 1976 NCAA Division I football season. Led by ninth-year head coach Joe Yukica, the Eagles compiled a record of 8–3. Boston College opened the year with an upset win over No. 7 Texas, but accumulated three losses to unranked teams and failed to be invited to a bowl game. The team played home games at Alumni Stadium in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts.
The 2018 First Responder Bowl was a college football bowl game scheduled for December 26, 2018, at the Cotton Bowl Stadium in Dallas. It was one of the 2018–19 bowl games concluding the 2018 FBS football season. Sponsored by Servpro, a franchisor of fire and water cleanup and restoration, the game was officially known as the Servpro First Responder Bowl. The ninth overall staging of the bowl, this was the first edition since being rebranded; its prior six editions were the Heart of Dallas Bowl, preceded by the TicketCity Bowl in its first two stagings.
Philip Stephen Jurkovec is an American football quarterback for the Pittsburgh Panthers. He previously played for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Boston College Eagles.
Thomas J. McCabe was an American sportswriter and college athletics administrator who served as graduate manager of athletics at the College of the Holy Cross from 1933 until his death in 1943.
