1964 Liberty Bowl
Encyclopedia
The 1964 Liberty Bowl
was the first major college football
bowl game
ever played indoors, the first broadcast nationwide in the United States
and the only one ever played in Atlantic City, New Jersey
, United States
. It was played indoors at a temperature of 60°F on December 19, 1964 in front of a crowd of 6,059 at the Atlantic City Convention Hall (now known as Boardwalk Hall) which had already hosted events including the Boardwalk Bowl
, Miss America
Pageant, the 1964 Democratic National Convention
that nominated Lyndon B. Johnson
for President and one of The Beatles
' largest concerts in their first American tour.
The venue had been shifted to Atlantic City after the bowl was played for its initial five years outdoors in Philadelphia Stadium, often in temperatures below freezing. The inaugural Liberty Bowl in 1959 saw Penn State
beat Alabama
by a score of 7-0 in front of 38,000 fans. But it was downhill from there, and fewer than 10,000 were in attendance to watch the 1963 game between Mississippi State University
and North Carolina State
, with the organizers taking a loss of $40,000. The frigid temperatures at year's end in the Northeast led to the game being called the "Deep Freeze Bowl". Bud Dudley, organizer of the Liberty Bowl, was ready for a change and he was receptive to an offer from a group of Atlantic City businessmen who were trying to help revive the fading Jersey Shore
resort that included a $25,000 guarantee.
The 1964 playing of the Liberty Bowl was the first major bowl game ever played indoors. Artificial turf
was not in use yet, and the playing surface was a 4 inches (101.6 mm) grass
surface with two inches of burlap
underneath it on top of cement
. Artificial lights were installed and kept running all day long to keep the grass growing. The organizers spent $16,000 on all of the field preparations for the game. To squeeze the game onto the floor of the convention hall, the end zone
s at each side of the field were shortened to eight yards in depth from the regulation 10.
In the 1964 postseason, the Liberty Bowl was one of just eight major bowl games. The American Broadcasting Company
agreed to broadcast the game nationally, and brought Paul Christman
, Curt Gowdy
and Jim McKay
to announce the game, paying $95,000 for the rights to broadcast the first nationwide telecast of an indoor football game.
The Utah Utes (8–2) faced the . WVU's (7–3) regular season record included a 28–27 upset over the Sugar Bowl
-bound Syracuse Orangemen in their final regular game of the season. West Virginia featured running back Dick Leftridge
and Utah's offense featured All-American Roy Jefferson
. Utah used their speed, and dominated West Virginia from start to finish and won 32–6. Utah Halfback Ron Coleman gained 154 yards on 15 carries, scoring a touchdown on a 53-yard run.
The 1964 Liberty Bowl would be the last played in the Northeastern United States; the game was moved to Memphis, Tennessee
in 1965 and has continued to play in Memphis since then.
Liberty Bowl
The Liberty Bowl is an annual U.S. American college football bowl game played in December of each year from 1959 to 2007 and in January in 2009 and 2010. The Liberty Bowl was sponsored by AXA Financial and was known as the AXA Liberty Bowl from 1997 to 2003...
was the first major college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
bowl game
Bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...
ever played indoors, the first broadcast nationwide in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the only one ever played in Atlantic City, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. It was played indoors at a temperature of 60°F on December 19, 1964 in front of a crowd of 6,059 at the Atlantic City Convention Hall (now known as Boardwalk Hall) which had already hosted events including the Boardwalk Bowl
Boardwalk Bowl
The Boardwalk Bowl is a post-season college football game held at the former Atlantic City Convention Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The game featured an annual matchup between Pennsylvania Military College and the United States Merchant Marine Academy, known as the "Little Army–Navy Game"...
, Miss America
Miss America
The Miss America pageant is a long-standing competition which awards scholarships to young women from the 50 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands...
Pageant, the 1964 Democratic National Convention
1964 Democratic National Convention
The 1964 Democratic National Convention was the 1964 presidential nominating convention of the Democratic Party. It took place at the Atlantic City Convention Center in Atlantic City, New Jersey from August 24 to 27, 1964. Incumbent President Lyndon B. Johnson -- who had been Vice President under...
that nominated Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon Baines Johnson , often referred to as LBJ, was the 36th President of the United States after his service as the 37th Vice President of the United States...
for President and one of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' largest concerts in their first American tour.
The venue had been shifted to Atlantic City after the bowl was played for its initial five years outdoors in Philadelphia Stadium, often in temperatures below freezing. The inaugural Liberty Bowl in 1959 saw Penn State
Penn State Nittany Lions football
The Penn State Nittany Lions football team represents the Pennsylvania State University in the National Collegiate Athletic Association Division I Football Bowl Subdivision as a member of the Big Ten Conference. It is one of the most tradition-rich and storied college football programs in the...
beat Alabama
Alabama Crimson Tide football
|TeamName = Alabama football |Image = Alabama Crimson Tide Logo.svg |ImageSize = 110 |Helmet = Alabama Football.png |ImageSize2 = 150 |CurrentSeason = 2011 Alabama Crimson Tide football team...
by a score of 7-0 in front of 38,000 fans. But it was downhill from there, and fewer than 10,000 were in attendance to watch the 1963 game between Mississippi State University
Mississippi State Bulldogs
The Mississippi State Bulldogs are the athletic teams of Mississippi State University. They participate in NCAA's Division I in the competitive 12-member Southeastern Conference under the mascot Bulldogs and the school colors of maroon and white...
and North Carolina State
NC State Wolfpack
The athletic teams of the North Carolina State University, known as the Wolfpack, compete in 24 intercollegiate varsity sports. NC State is a founding member of the Atlantic Coast Conference and has won eight national championships: two NCAA championships, two AIAW championships, and four titles...
, with the organizers taking a loss of $40,000. The frigid temperatures at year's end in the Northeast led to the game being called the "Deep Freeze Bowl". Bud Dudley, organizer of the Liberty Bowl, was ready for a change and he was receptive to an offer from a group of Atlantic City businessmen who were trying to help revive the fading Jersey Shore
Jersey Shore
The Jersey Shore is a term used to refer to both the Atlantic coast of the U.S. state of New Jersey and the adjacent resort and residential communities. . The New Jersey State Department of Tourism considers the Shore Region, Greater Atlantic City, and the Southern Shore to be distinct, each having...
resort that included a $25,000 guarantee.
The 1964 playing of the Liberty Bowl was the first major bowl game ever played indoors. Artificial turf
Artificial turf
Artificial turf is a surface manufactured from synthetic fibers made to look like natural grass. It is most often used in arenas for sports that were originally or are normally played on grass. However, it is now being used on residential lawns and commercial applications as well...
was not in use yet, and the playing surface was a 4 inches (101.6 mm) grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
surface with two inches of burlap
Burlap
Hessian , or burlap in the US, is a woven fabric usually made from skin of the jute plant or sisal fibres, or may be combined with other vegetable fibres to make rope, nets, and similar products...
underneath it on top of cement
Cement
In the most general sense of the word, a cement is a binder, a substance that sets and hardens independently, and can bind other materials together. The word "cement" traces to the Romans, who used the term opus caementicium to describe masonry resembling modern concrete that was made from crushed...
. Artificial lights were installed and kept running all day long to keep the grass growing. The organizers spent $16,000 on all of the field preparations for the game. To squeeze the game onto the floor of the convention hall, the end zone
End zone
In gridiron-based codes of football, the end zone refers to the scoring area on the field. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field...
s at each side of the field were shortened to eight yards in depth from the regulation 10.
In the 1964 postseason, the Liberty Bowl was one of just eight major bowl games. The American Broadcasting Company
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
agreed to broadcast the game nationally, and brought Paul Christman
Paul Christman
Paul Joseph Christman was an American football player and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame. He played college football for the University of Missouri and professionally for the Chicago Cardinals and Green Bay Packers.-Collegiate career:A St...
, Curt Gowdy
Curt Gowdy
Curtis Edward "Curt" Gowdy was an American sportscaster, well known as the longtime "voice" of the Boston Red Sox and for his coverage of many nationally-televised sporting events, primarily for NBC Sports in the 1960s and 1970s.-Early years:The son of a manager for the Union Pacific railroad,...
and Jim McKay
Jim McKay
James Kenneth McManus , better known by his professional name of Jim McKay, was an American television sports journalist....
to announce the game, paying $95,000 for the rights to broadcast the first nationwide telecast of an indoor football game.
The Utah Utes (8–2) faced the . WVU's (7–3) regular season record included a 28–27 upset over the Sugar Bowl
Sugar Bowl
The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Sugar Bowl has been played annually since January 1, 1935, and celebrated its 75th anniversary on January 2, 2009...
-bound Syracuse Orangemen in their final regular game of the season. West Virginia featured running back Dick Leftridge
Dick Leftridge
Jack Richard "Dick" Leftridge was an American football player. He played fullback for a single season in the National Football League with the Pittsburgh Steelers....
and Utah's offense featured All-American Roy Jefferson
Roy Jefferson
Roy Lee Jefferson is a former American football wide receiver who played twelve seasons in the National Football League...
. Utah used their speed, and dominated West Virginia from start to finish and won 32–6. Utah Halfback Ron Coleman gained 154 yards on 15 carries, scoring a touchdown on a 53-yard run.
The 1964 Liberty Bowl would be the last played in the Northeastern United States; the game was moved to Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis is a city in the southwestern corner of the U.S. state of Tennessee, and the county seat of Shelby County. The city is located on the 4th Chickasaw Bluff, south of the confluence of the Wolf and Mississippi rivers....
in 1965 and has continued to play in Memphis since then.