Orange Blossom Classic

For the LPGA Tour golf tournament, see St. Petersburg Women's Open.
Orange Blossom Classic (defunct)
Stadium Orange Bowl
Location Miami, Florida
Previous locations Jacksonville, Tampa, and Tallahassee
Operated 1933–1978

The Orange Blossom Classic was an annual postseason college football game held between 1933 and 1978. Each year, it featured Florida A&M and another historically black school in an unofficial de facto championship game.[1] It was seen as a mythical "Black National Championship" game.[2] For example, the December 5, 1942 "Afro American" newspaper refers to the 1942 game as a national title game, as does at least one source for the 1945 game (see: http://media-newswire.com/release_1143144.html).

Presently, an occasional regular season game between Florida A&M and Florida International is called the Orange Blossom Classic.[1][3] Florida International, however, is not a historically black college. These two teams last played in 2005 and are not scheduled to meet again in the near future.

Contents

Game results

Year Site Winning team Losing team
1933 Jacksonville, Florida Florida A&M 9 Howard 0
1934 Miami, Florida Florida A&M 13 Virginia State 12
1935 Jacksonville, Florida Kentucky State 19 Florida A&M 10
1936 Jacksonville, Florida Prairie View 25 Florida A&M 0
1937 Jacksonville, Florida Florida A&M 25 Hampton 20
1938 Jacksonville, Florida Florida A&M 9 Kentucky State 7
1939 Jacksonville, Florida Florida A&M 42 Wiley 0
1940 Jacksonville, Florida Central State 0 Florida A&M 0
1941 Jacksonville, Florida Florida A&M 15 Tuskegee 7
1942 Jacksonville, Florida Florida A&M 12 Texas College 6
1943 Jacksonville, Florida Hampton 39 Florida A&M 0
1944 Jacksonville, Florida Virginia State 19 Florida A&M 6
1945 Jacksonville, Florida Wiley 32 Florida A&M 6
1946 Tampa, Florida Lincoln 20 Florida A&M 0
1947 Miami, Florida Florida A&M 7 Hampton 0
1948 Miami, Florida Virginia Union 10 Florida A&M 6
1949 Miami, Florida North Carolina A&T 20 Florida A&M 14
1950 Miami, Florida Central State 13 Florida A&M 6
1951 Miami, Florida Florida A&M 67 North Carolina Central 6
1952 Miami, Florida Florida A&M 29 Virginia State 7
1953 Miami, Florida Prairie View 33 Florida A&M 27
1954 Miami, Florida Florida A&M 67 Maryland State[nb 1] 19
1955 Miami, Florida Grambling 28 Florida A&M 21
1956 Miami, Florida Tennessee State 41 Florida A&M 39
1957 Miami, Florida Florida A&M 27 Maryland State[nb 1] 21
1958 Miami, Florida Prairie View 26 Florida A&M 8
1959 Miami, Florida Florida A&M 28 Prairie View 7
1960 Miami, Florida Florida A&M 40 Langston 26
1961 Miami, Florida Florida A&M 14 Jackson State 8
1962 Miami, Florida Jackson State 22 Florida A&M 6
1963 Miami, Florida Morgan State 30 Florida A&M 7
1964 Miami, Florida Florida A&M 42 Grambling 15
1965 Miami, Florida Morgan State 36 Florida A&M 7
1966 Miami, Florida Florida A&M 43 Alabama A&M 26
1967 Miami, Florida Grambling 28 Florida A&M 25
1968 Miami, Florida Alcorn State 36 Florida A&M 9
1969 Tallahassee, Florida Florida A&M 23 Grambling 19
1970 Miami, Florida Jacksonville State 21 Florida A&M 7
1971 Miami, Florida Florida A&M 27 Kentucky State 9
1972 Miami, Florida Florida A&M 41 Maryland-Eastern Shore[nb 1] 21
1973 Miami, Florida Florida A&M 23 South Carolina State 12
1974 Miami, Florida Florida A&M 17 Howard 13
1975 Miami, Florida Florida A&M 40 Kentucky State 13
1976 Miami, Florida Florida A&M 26 Central State 21
1977 Miami, Florida Florida A&M 37 Delaware State 15
1978 Miami, Florida Florida A&M 31 Grambling 7

Appearances by school

No. School Record
46 Florida A&M 26–19–1
5 Grambling 2–1
4 Kentucky State 1–3
4 Prairie View 3–1
3 Central State 1–1–1
3 Hampton 1–2
3 Maryland-Eastern Shore[nb 1] 0–3
3 Virginia State 1–2
2 Howard 0–2
2 Jackson State 1–1
2 Morgan State 2–0
2 Wiley 1–1
1 Alabama A&M 0–1
1 Alcorn State 1–0
1 Langston 0–1
1 North Carolina A&T 1–0
1 North Carolina Central 0–1
1 South Carolina State 0–1
1 Tennessee State 1–0
1 Texas College 0–1
1 Virginia Union 1–0

Source: [4]

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b c d The University of Maryland Eastern Shore was known as Maryland State College until 1970.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b Super Bowl Catches Up to Orange Blossom Classic, The New York Times, February 3, 2007, retrieved February 7, 2009.
  2. ^ Tremene Triplett, Fans, coaches, athletes reminisce about the historic Orange Blossom Classic, South Florida Times, March 14, 2008, retrieved February 7, 2009.
  3. ^ Dave Marks, "Florida A&M band highlights annual Orange Blossom Classic", Miami Times, November 23, 2004.
  4. ^ Official 2007 NCAA Division I Football Records Book, National Collegiate Athletic Association, p. 367–368.