College All-Star Game

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The Chicago Charities College All-Star Game was a preseason American football game played annually (except in 1974) from 1934 to 1976 between the National Football League champions and a team of star college seniors from the previous year. After the Super Bowl began, including the two seasons prior to the NFL/AFL merger, the Super Bowl winner was the professional team involved, regardless of which league the team represented. Thus, the New York Jets played in the 1969 event, although still an AFL team.

The game was the idea of Arch Ward, the sports editor of the Chicago Tribune and the driving force behind the Major League Baseball All-Star Game. The game originally was a benefit for Chicago-area charities and was always played at Soldier Field in Chicago or at Northwestern University's Dyche Stadium in Evanston, Illinois.

The first game, played before a crowd of 79,432 on August 31, 1934, was a scoreless tie between the all-stars and the Chicago Bears. The following year, a game that included University of Michigan graduate and future president Gerald Ford, the Bears won, 5-0. The first all-star team to win was the 1937 squad, coached by Gus Dorais, which won on a 47-yard touchdown pass from future Hall of Famer Sammy Baugh to Gaynell Tinsley.

In the 1940s, the games were competitive affairs that attracted large crowds to Soldier Field. But as the talent level of pro football improved, the all-stars had diminishing success. The last all-star win came in 1963, when a team coached by legendary quarterback Otto Graham beat Vince Lombardi's Green Bay Packers, 20-17.

By the 1970s, crowds for the event were dwindling. In addition, NFL coaches were reluctant to part with their new draftees (who would miss part of training camp) for a meaningless exhibition at which the players might be injured.

A player's strike forced the cancellation of the 1974 game. The last game took place during a downpour at Soldier Field on July 23, 1976. Despite featuring stars such as Chuck Muncie, Mike Pruitt, Lee Roy Selmon and Jackie Slater, the rookies were hopelessly outmatched by the Pittsburgh Steelers, winners of Super Bowl X. Pittsburgh was leading 24-0 late in the third quarter when weather conditions made play impossible and the officials called for a delay. The players left the field and were replaced by unruly fans who tore down the goal posts. NFL Commissioner Pete Rozelle decided the game would not be restarted. Chicago Tribune Charities Inc., the sponsor of the game, elected not to bring it back for 1977.

The Steelers' win was the 31st for NFL champions in the 43 College All-Star Games. The all-stars won nine, and two ended in ties.

One aspect of the College All-Star Game was later revived. The concept of the Super Bowl champion playing in the first game of the season was adopted in 2004 for the National Football League Kickoff game; in that game, the first game of the regular season is hosted by the league champion from the previous year.

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[edit] Game results

Date played Winning team Losing team Attendance
August 31, 1934 Chicago Bears 0 College All-Stars 0 79,432
August 29, 1935 Chicago Bears 5 College All-Stars 0 77,450
September 2, 1936 Detroit Lions 7 College All-Stars 7 76,000
August 31, 1937 College All-Stars 6 Green Bay Packers 0 84,560
August 31, 1938 College All-Stars 28 Washington Redskins 16 74,250
August 30, 1939 New York Giants 9 College All-Stars 0 81,456
August 29, 1940 Green Bay Packers 45 College All-Stars 28 84,567
August 28, 1941 Chicago Bears 37 College All-Stars 13 98,203
August 28, 1942 Chicago Bears 21 College All-Stars 0 101,103
August 28, 1943 College All-Stars 27 Washington Redskins 7 48,437
August 30, 1944 Chicago Bears 24 College All-Stars 21 49,246
August 30, 1945 Green Bay Packers 19 College All-Stars 7 92,753
August 23, 1946 College All-Stars 16 Los Angeles Rams 0 97,380
August 23, 1947 College All-Stars 16 Chicago Bears 0 105,840
August 22, 1948 Chicago Cardinals 28 College All-Stars 0 101,220
August 22, 1949 Philadelphia Eagles 38 College All-Stars 0 93,780
August 11, 1950 College All-Stars 17 Philadelphia Eagles 7 88,885
August 17, 1951 Cleveland Browns 17 College All-Stars 0 92,180
August 15, 1952 Los Angeles Rams 10 College All-Stars 7 88,316
August 14, 1953 Detroit Lions 24 College All-Stars 10 93,818
August 13, 1954 Detroit Lions 31 College All-Stars 6 93,470
August 12, 1955 College All-Stars 30 Cleveland Browns 27 75,000
August 10, 1956 Cleveland Browns 26 College All-Stars 0 75,000
August 9, 1957 New York Giants 22 College All-Stars 12 75,000
August 15, 1958 College All-Stars 35 Detroit Lions 19 70,000
August 14, 1959 Baltimore Colts 29 College All-Stars 0 70,000
August 12, 1960 Baltimore Colts 32 College All-Stars 7 70,000
August 4, 1961 Philadelphia Eagles 28 College All-Stars 14 66,000
August 3, 1962 Green Bay Packers 42 College All-Stars 20 65,000
August 2, 1963 College All-Stars 20 Green Bay Packers 17 65,000
August 7, 1964 Chicago Bears 28 College All-Stars 17 65,000
August 6, 1965 Cleveland Browns 24 College All-Stars 16 68,000
August 5, 1966 Green Bay Packers 38 College All-Stars 0 72,000
August 4, 1967 Green Bay Packers 27 College All-Stars 0 70,934
August 2, 1968 Green Bay Packers 34 College All-Stars 17 69,917
August 1, 1969 New York Jets 26 College All-Stars 24 74,208
July 31, 1970 Kansas City Chiefs 24 College All-Stars 3 69,940
July 30, 1971 Baltimore Colts 24 College All-Stars 17 52,289
July 28, 1972 Dallas Cowboys 20 College All-Stars 7 54,162
July 27, 1973 Miami Dolphins 14 College All-Stars 3 54,103
July 26, 19741 No game was played due to a strike by the National Football League Players Association.
August 1, 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers 21 College All-Stars 14 54,562
July 23, 1976² Pittsburgh Steelers 24 College All-Stars 0 52,095

1 Scheduled date.
² Game was called late in the third quarter due to heavy rain.

[edit] MVP's

The Most Valuable Player award was given from 1938 through 1973 and was always awarded to a player on the College All-Stars

Year Player Position College
1938 Cecil Isbell Running back Purdue
1939 Bill Osmanski Running back Holy Cross
1940 Ambrose Schindler Running back USC
1941 George Franck Running back Minnesota
1942 Bruce Smith Running back Minnesota
1943 Pat Harder Running back Wisconsin
1944 Glenn Dobbs Running back Tulsa
1945 Charley Trippi Multiple Georgia
1946 Elroy Hirsch Running back Michigan
1947 Claude Young Running back Illinois
1948 Jay Rodemeyer Running back Kentucky
1949 Bill Fischer Offensive lineman Notre Dame
1950 Charles Justice Running back North Carolina
1951 Lewis McFadin Multiple Texas
1952 Vito Parilli Quarterback Kentucky
1953 Gib Dawson Multiple Texas
1954 Carlton Massey Defensive end Texas
1955 Ralph Guglielmi Quarterback Notre Dame
1956 Bob Pellegrini Linebacker Maryland
1957 John Brodie Quarterback Stanford
1958 Bobby Mitchell Halfback/Wide receiver Illinois
Jim Ninowski Quarterback Michigan State
1959 Bob Ptacek Running back Michigan
1960 Jim Leo End Cincinnati
1961 Bill Kilmer Quarterback UCLA
1962 John Hadl Quarterback Kansas
1963 Ron VanderKelen Quarterback Wisconsin
1964 Chuck Taylor Guard Stanford
1965 John Huarte Quarterback Notre Dame
1966 Gary Lane Quarterback Missouri
1967 Charles Smith Defensive end Michigan State
1968 Larry Csonka Running back Syracuse
1969 Greg Cook Quarterback Cincinnati
1970 Bruce Taylor Defensive back Boston University
1971 Richard Harris Defensive end Grambling State
1972 Pat Sullivan Quarterback Auburn
1973 Ray Guy Punter Southern Mississippi

[edit] See also

[edit] External links