The Orange Bowl

The Orange Bowl has been played 88 times since 1935. Originating as the small Festival of Palms Bowl, meant to attract tourists to Miami, it has grown into a national football event watched by 16 million people.
Beginning with Bucknell’s first victory over Miami, this book covers each Bowl in detail, including the first game in Miami Orange Bowl stadium in 1938; Charles Bryant’s breaking of the color barrier in 1955; the four national championship games of the 1980s; the move to what is now Hard Rock Stadium in the 1990s; and the new era of the Bowl as a semifinal game in the College Football Playoff.

Tommy A. Phillips is a Penn State alumnus living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Tommy A. Phillips
Foreword by Jamelle Holieway
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 556
Bibliographic Info: 29 photos, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2023
pISBN: 978-1-4766-8750-6
eISBN: 978-1-4766-4886-6
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments viii
Foreword by Jamelle Holieway 1
Preface 2
Introduction 3
Origins 7
Stadiums 9
Television 12
Pageantry 14
1935—The Beginning of a Tradition 17
1936—First Radio Broadcast 20
1937—The Big Bertha 23
1938—Lowest Scoring Game 26
1939—On to Miami 30
1940—Tricky Tech 34
1941—Victims of Southern Officiating 38
1942—Slightly Terrific 41
1943—Crossing the ‘T’ 44
1944—All Van Buren 48
1945—Sugar Rematch 51
1946—Hudson the Hurricane 54
1947—­Ultra-Conservative Football 57
1948—The Goal Line Fumble 60
1949—Texas Against the World 63
1950—The Bear’s Mistake 66
1951—The Safety 70
1952—Yellow Jacket Comeback 74
1953—Biggest Blowout Ever 78
1954—The Big Seven 82
1955—Duke Dynasty 86
1956—Battle of the Unbeatens 89
1957—Bussey’s Blunder 93
1958—Fourth Quarter Explosion 97
1959—Silver Anniversary 102
1960—Tarkenton’s Time 106
1961—Brilliant Bellino vs. Mizzou Magic 110
1962—Platoon Power 114
1963—JFK and Joe Willie 118
1964—Huskers Sidle the Sidler 122
1965—First Night Game 126
1966—The First National Championship 130
1967—Spurrier and Smith 134
1968—Stephenson Saves the Sooners 138
1969—12 Men for Two Points 143
1970—Seven Picks 148
1971—Opportunity Knocks 153
1972—The MacArthur Bowl 157
1973—Ridiculous Rodgers 162
1974—Capping a Heisman Season 166
1975—Win One for the Gipper 172
1976—Bicentennial Celebration 177
1977—The ­99-Yard Drive 182
1978—Hog Heaven 187
1979—Big Eight Rematch 192
1980—Wonderful Watts 197
1981—An Encore for Watts 201
1982—The Renaissance Bowl 206
1983—Cornhusker Comeback 211
1984—Golden Anniversary 216
1985—The Sooner Schooner Game 222
1986—Showdown for No. 1 228
1987—OU Overcomes Boz’s Ban 234
1988—Switzer vs. Johnson 239
1989—Jimmy’s Final Game 244
1990—Here Come the Irish 249
1991—Bad Luck of the Irish 255
1992—The Miami Machine 260
1993—Rainout 265
1994—Seminole Glory 270
1995—The Osborne Legacy 277
1996 (January)—Rubber Match of the Century 283
1996 (December)—First Game at Pro Player 288
1998—Battle by the Beach 293
1999—One Final Game at the Old OB 299
2000—Brady’s Bunch 304
2001—Super Stoops 310
2002—Spurrier’s Florida Finale 316
2003—Fight On 321
2004—Florida Cup 326
2005—Conquest 331
2006—Triple Overtime 336
2007—Becoming a Contender 342
2008—Rock Chalk 347
2009—Diamond Anniversary 352
2010—Is This Heaven? 358
2011—The Luck of the Cardinal 363
2012—Super 70 368
2013—­Four-for-Four 373
2014 (January)—Sensational Sammy 377
2014 (December)—The Start of the New Year’s Six 383
2015—The Playoffs Begin 388
2016—Good Cooking 394
2017—Breaking the Chain 399
2018—Alabama Avalanche 404
2019—Winning the State 410
2021 (January)—Beating COVID 416
2021 (December)—Bennett’s Bulldogs 421
Top 25 426
The Future 427
Epilogue 429
Appendices
A: Game Results and MVPs 431
B: Individual Game Records 438
C: Individual Career Records 442
D: Team Records 444
E: Presidents 450
F: Queens 451
G: Broadcasters 452
H: African American Pioneers 455
I: Halftime Shows and National Anthem Singers 457
J: Hall of Fame 460
Notes 474
Bibliography 525
Index 527