All-American Bowl

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For the high school football all-star game, see All-American Bowl (high school football).
All-American Bowl (defunct)
StadiumLegion Field
LocationBirmingham, 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]

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[edit]

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[edit]

Date Bowl Name Winning Team Losing Team Attendance[2] Source
December 22, 1977 Hall of Fame Classic Maryland 17 Minnesota 7 47,000 [3]
December 20, 1978 Hall of Fame Classic Texas A&M 28 #19 Iowa State 12 41,150 [4]
December 29, 1979 Hall of Fame Classic Missouri 24 #16 South Carolina 14 62,785 [5]
December 27, 1980 Hall of Fame Classic Arkansas 34 Tulane 15 30,000 [6]
December 31, 1981 Hall of Fame Classic Mississippi State 10 Kansas 0 41,672 [7]
December 31, 1982 Hall of Fame Classic Air Force 36 Vanderbilt 28 75,000 [8]
December 22, 1983 Hall of Fame Classic #18 West Virginia 20 Kentucky 16 42,000 [9]
December 29, 1984 Hall of Fame Classic Kentucky 20 #20 Wisconsin 19 47,300 [10]
December 31, 1985 Hall of Fame Classic Georgia Tech 17 Michigan State 14 45,000 [11]
December 31, 1986 All-American Bowl Florida State 27 Indiana 13 30,000 [12]
December 22, 1987 All-American Bowl Virginia 22 Brigham Young 16 37,000 [13]
December 29, 1988 All-American Bowl Florida 14 Illinois 10 48,218 [14]
December 28, 1989 All-American Bowl #24 Texas Tech 49 #20 Duke 21 47,750 [15]
December 28, 1990 All-American Bowl North Carolina State 31 #23 Southern Miss 27 44,000 [16]

Most valuable players[edit]

Year played MVP[17] Team Position
1977 Chuck White Maryland SE
1977 Charles Johnson Maryland DT
1978 Curtis Dickey Texas A&M RB
1979 Phil Bradley Missouri QB
1980 Gary Anderson Arkansas RB
1980 Billy Ray Smith Arkansas LB
1981 John Bond Mississippi State QB
1981 Johnie Cooks Mississippi State LB
1982 Whit Taylor Vanderbilt QB
1982 Carl Dieudonne Air Force DE
1983 Jeff Hostetler West Virginia QB
1984 Mark Logan Kentucky RB
1984 Todd Gregoire Wisconsin PK
1985 Mark Ingram Sr. Michigan State WR
1986 Sammie Smith Florida State RB
1987 Scott Secules Virginia QB
1988 Emmitt Smith Florida RB
1989 James Gray Texas Tech RB
1990 Brett Favre Southern Miss QB

Conference records[edit]

Ranked teams[edit]

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

  • Texas A&M finished #19 in the final 1978 AP poll after defeating #19 Iowa State.[18]
  • West Virginia finished #16 in the final 1983 AP poll after defeating Kentucky.[19]
  • Kentucky finished #19 in the final 1984 AP poll and the final UPI poll after defeating #20 Wisconsin.[20]
  • Georgia Tech finished #19 in the final 1985 AP poll after defeating Michigan State.[21]
  • Texas Tech finished #19 in the final 1989 AP poll after defeating #20 Duke.[22]

References[edit]

  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[edit]

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