oddsnark | Dearly Departed Bowls

2005-06 College Bowls

Dearly Departed Bowls

By oddSeth ⋅ December 6, 2005 ⋅ Post a comment

As we ramp up the college bowl coverage here on the snark, it’s important that we all take a collective moment of silence and honor some of the dead brethren bowls who have fallen by the wayside and are no longer with us.

Without their years of duty and noble sacrifices we might all have had to, gasp, spent more time in the past actually speaking to family members during the holiday season, instead of happily (and silently) watching electrons bombard phosphor-coated screens.

So tip a glass to some of the departed bowls this holiday season, for all they’ve given you over the years, asking so little in return.

The Fallen Bowls

The Bluebonnet Bowl: Ahh, the good ol’ BlueBonnet Bowl entertained us for 29 years, held at Rice Stadium in its early years and then at the spacious confines of the Astrodome in its final days. Poor ticket sales spelled its doom, despite/because of its history and foo-foo name.

The Aloha Classic: The Aloha Classic (which assumed the pseudonym of the Aloha Bowl for much of its life) bid hello in 1982 and goodbye in 2000, with games played in Honolulu, Hawaii at Aloha Stadium. Sponsored by Jeep, this bowl met its demise following the Jeep and DaimlerChrysler merger, when the newly formed corporation declined to continue sponsoring the bowl.

The California Bowl: Tired of being widely considered the dinkiest of bowls (what else do you expect when you pit the winners of the Big West Conference and the Mid American conference?), the California Bowl closed up shop in 1991 after ten serviceable years of duty.

The Galleryfurniture.com Bowl: Yeah, gee, I wonder what the hell happened to this bowl, which lasted only two years from 2000-2001.

The Oil Bowl: Yes, indeed, the stunningly creative city of Houston put on the Oil Bowl in 1946 and 1947.

The Raisin Bowl: No, I’m not kidding. The Raisin Bowl was played for five years, from1946-1949. Then it shriveled up and died.

The Salad Bowl: Fuck you, I’m not making it up. Held in Phoenix, Arizona, the Salad Bowl was considered a major bowl from 1947-1951. Look it up. Seriously.

The Mercy Bowl: The Mercy Bowl lasted all of one year, held in 1961. Fresno St. beat Bowling Green 36-6.

The Fort Worth Classic: Again, those creative Texans struck again, with the one hit wonder of the Fort Worth Classic Bowl. I’m not exactly sure how a bowl that exists for one year attains “classic” status, but the one game played here in 1921 featured tiny Centre College of Kentucky manhandling Texas Christian to the tune of 63-7.