1958–59 NCAA football bowl games

1958–59 NCAA football bowl games
Season1958
Number of bowls8
All-star gamesBlue–Gray Football Classic
East–West Shrine Game
North–South Shrine Game
Senior Bowl
Bowl gamesDecember 13, 1958 –
January 1, 1959[a]
ChampionsIowa Hawkeyes (FWAA)
LSU Tigers (AP, Coaches)
Bowl record by conference
Conference Bowls Record Final AP poll
Independents 4 1–2–1 (0.375) 6
SEC 3 2–1 (0.667) 3
Big Ten 1 1–0 (1.000) 4
Big Seven 1 1–0 (1.000) 1
Lone Star 1 1–0 (1.000) 0
Mountain States 1 1–0 (1.000) 0
SWC 1 0–0–1 (0.500) 2
ACC 1 0–1 (0.000) 2
PCC 1 0–1 (0.000) 1
MCAU 1 0–1 (0.000) 0
Border 1 0–1 (0.000) 0

The 1958–59 NCAA football bowl games were a series of post-season games played in December 1958 and January 1959 to end the 1958 college football season. A total of eight team-competitive games,[1] and four all-star games, were played. The post-season began with the Bluegrass Bowl on December 13, 1958, and concluded on January 3, 1959, with the season-ending Senior Bowl all-star game.

Schedule

The following table lists bowl games involving University Division teams;[b] bowl games at lower levels are listed in the See also section.

The eight team-competitive bowls consisted of the seven played the prior season plus the first (and only) edition of the Bluegrass Bowl.

Notably, Tangerine Bowl organizers initially invited the University at Buffalo, hoping that the Orlando High School Athletic Association (OHSAA), which operated the Tangerine Bowl stadium, would waive its rule that prohibited integrated sporting events. When it refused, the team unanimously voted to skip the bowl because its two black players (halfback Willie Evans and end Mike Wilson) would not have been allowed on the field.[2][3]

Date Game Site Time
(US EST) 		TV Matchup
(pre-game record) 		AP
pre-game
rank 		UPI (Coaches)
pre-game
rank
12/13 Bluegrass Bowl Cardinal Stadium
Louisville, Kentucky 		2:00 p.m.[4] ABC Oklahoma State 15 (7–3) (Independent),
Florida State 6 (7–3) (Independent) 		#19
NR 		NR
NR
12/27 Tangerine Bowl Tangerine Bowl (stadium)
Orlando, Florida 		2:30 p.m.[5] — East Texas State 26 (9–1) (Lone Star),
Missouri Valley 7 (8–0) (MCAU) 		n/a n/a
12/27 Gator Bowl Gator Bowl Stadium
Jacksonville, Florida 		2:00 p.m.[6] CBS Ole Miss 7 (8–2) (SEC),
Florida 3 (6–3–1) (SEC) 		#11
#14 		#12
#15
12/31 Sun Bowl Kidd Field
El Paso, Texas 		4:00 p.m.[7] — Wyoming 14 (7–3) (Mountain States),
Hardin–Simmons 6 (6–4) (Border†) 		NR
NR 		NR
NR
1/1 Orange Bowl Burdine Stadium
Miami, Florida 		1:00 p.m.[7] CBS Oklahoma 21 (9–1) (Big Seven†),
Syracuse 6 (8–1) (Independent) 		#5
#9 		#5
#10
1/1 Sugar Bowl Tulane Stadium
New Orleans, Louisiana 		2:00 p.m.[7] NBC LSU 7 (10–0) (SEC†),
Clemson 0 (8–2) (ACC†) 		#1
#12 		#1
#13
1/1 Cotton Bowl Classic Cotton Bowl
Dallas, Texas 		3:30 p.m.[7] CBS TCU 0 (8–2) (SWC†),
Air Force 0 (9–0–1) (Independent) 		#10
#6 		#9
#8
1/1 Rose Bowl Rose Bowl
Pasadena, California 		5:00 p.m.[7] NBC Iowa 38 (7–1–1) (Big Ten†),
California 12 (7–3) (PCC†) 		#2
#16 		#2
#16

† denotes conference champion
Source:[8]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Excludes all-star games.
  2. ^ Teams in this seasons's Tangerine Bowl were not from the University Division, but the bowl is included due to its history with such teams.

References

  1. ^ "1958 College Football Bowl Games". Sports Reference. Retrieved December 28, 2018.
  2. ^ "Race Bias Makes Lemon Of Tangerine Bowl Bid". New York Age. New York City. December 6, 1958. p. 33. Retrieved March 3, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  3. ^ "East Texas State in Tangerine Bowl". The Gazette and Daily. York, Pennsylvania. AP. December 2, 1958. p. 18. Retrieved March 12, 2017 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Bowl Season Swings Into High Gear". The Roanoke Times. December 13, 1958. p. 9. Retrieved June 8, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  5. ^ "East Texas State Favored In Bowl Clash". Orlando Evening Star. December 26, 1958. p. 14. Retrieved June 8, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  6. ^ "5 Bowl Games Today Figure To Be Thrillers". St. Petersburg Times. AP. December 27, 1958. p. 1-C. Retrieved June 8, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  7. ^ a b c d e "Bowl Game Schedule". Star-Gazette. Elmira, New York. December 31, 1958. p. 17. Retrieved June 8, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  8. ^ MacCambridge, Michael, ed. (2005). ESPN College Football Encyclopedia. New York, N.Y.: ESPN Books. p. 1252. ISBN 1-4013-3703-1.