East–West Shrine Game

East–West Shrine Game
Stadium	Tropicana Field
Location	St. Petersburg, Florida
Previous stadiums	Kezar Stadium (1925–1941, 1943–1968, 1971–1973) Stanford Stadium (1969, 1974–2000) Tulane Stadium (1942) Oakland Coliseum (1970) AT&T Park (2001–2005) Alamodome (2006) Reliant Stadium (2007, 2009) Robertson Stadium (2008) Orlando Citrus Bowl (2010–2011)
Previous locations	San Francisco, California (1925–1941, 1943–1968, 1971–1973, 2001–2005) New Orleans, Louisiana (1942) Stanford, California (1969, 1974–2000) Oakland, California (1971) San Antonio, Texas (2006) Houston, Texas (2007–2009) Orlando, Florida (2010–2011)
Operated	1925–present
Sponsors
Shriners (1925–present)
2017 matchup
East vs. West (West 10–3)
2018 matchup
East vs. West (January 20, 2018)

The East–West Shrine Game is an annual postseason college football all-star game played each January since 1925. The game is sponsored by the fraternal group Shriners International, and the net proceeds are earmarked to some of the Shrine's charitable works, most notably the Shriners Hospitals for Children. The game's slogan is "Strong Legs Run That Weak Legs May Walk".

The game matches teams of players who attended college in the Eastern United States against those schooled in the Western United States. The game and the practice sessions leading up to it attract dozens of scouts from professional teams. Since 1985, Canadian players playing in Canadian university football have also been invited (even though the CIS and NCAA play by different football codes). As such, this is the only bowl or all-star game in either the Canadian or American college football schedules to include players from both Canadian and American universities.

In recent decades, the game has been played in mid-January so players from teams whose schools were involved in bowl games can participate, which is important, as these teams often have some of the very best players.

History

For most of its history, the game was played in the San Francisco Bay area, usually at San Francisco's Kezar Stadium or Stanford Stadium at Stanford University, with AT&T Park as a host in its final years in Northern California.

In January 1942, the game was played in New Orleans, due to the December 7, 1941, Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. This one-year relocation was based upon fears that playing the game on the west coast could make the contest and the stadium a potential target for an additional attack.

In 2006, the game moved to Texas, leaving the San Francisco Bay area for the first time since 1942, and was played at the Alamodome in San Antonio. The growth of cable television meant NFL scouts could now view players around the country, making postseason all-star games less important. Even so, the Shrine Game's organizers relaxed efforts towards attracting top players to the game, meaning many of college football's best players went to the Senior Bowl, instead. In 2007, the game relocated to Houston and was played at Reliant Stadium, home of the NFL's Houston Texans, to be closer to one of the 22 Shriners Hospitals for Children; Texas has two Shriner's hospitals, one in Houston and the other in Galveston. The 2008 game was held at Robertson Stadium on the campus of the University of Houston, due to the lack of available dates at Reliant Stadium.

In 2010, the game moved to Florida, and was held at the Citrus Bowl in Orlando. After two years there, the 2012 game was held at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg; it was the sixth different venue (in five cities and three states) in a span of eight contests.

A similar game, the North–South Shrine Game, was played in Miami from 1948 to 1973, and a final time in Pontiac, Michigan, in 1976.

Game results

Through the 2017 playing of the game, the West currently leads all-time with 49 wins to the East's 38 wins, while five games have tied.^[1]

Canadian invitees

Although the Shrine Game is an American football competition, players of Canadian university football, contested under Canadian football rules, have been invited every year since 1985, when Calgary Dinos offensive lineman Tom Spoletini played. Usually, Canadian players on the West team come from Canada West schools, while Canadian players on the East team are from the other three Canadian conferences (Ontario University Athletics, Atlantic University Sport, and Quebec Student Sport Federation). One exception was Sean McEwen of the Calgary Dinos (a Canada West school), who played on the East squad in the 2016 game.

The only Canadian team that competes under American football rules is the Simon Fraser Clan, which was in the NAIA from 1965 to 2001, then spent several seasons in Canadian Interuniversity Sport, and joined NCAA Division II in 2010. To date, the only Simon Fraser player to be invited to the Shrine Game is Ibrahim Khan, who played in 2004. Through the 2017 game, the Calgary Dinos have had the most invitees, with 12.

Hall of fame

A hall of fame was established in 2002, with additional former players being added each year.^[2] Through 2017 inductees, there are currently 54 members of the hall of fame.

Inductees range from having played in game 10 (January 1935) to game 77 (January 2002). Seven different games have had three players honored; game 27 (December 1951), game 35 (January 1960), game 36 (December 1960), game 39 (December 1963), game 40 (January 1965), game 44 (December 1968), and game 48 (December 1972).

Pat Tillman Award

Game organizers initiated a Pat Tillman Award in 2005, the year that Tillman was posthumously inducted to the game's hall of fame, to recognize "a player who best exemplifies character, intelligence, sportsmanship and service".^[5]

References

External links

• Official website
• Twitter feed