| Blue-gray Football Classic |
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| defunct college football bowls | |
| sports in alabama | |
| troy trojans football | |
| all-star games | |
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The game had an interesting and somewhat checkered history. It was traditionally the first major college all-star game of the year. For this reason, it had a hard time getting most of the truly big-name collegiate stars, for they are preparing at the same time for Bowl Game s with their regular teams. In recent years, therefore, most of the players had been players from teams with losing records and from smaller schools which do not play NCAA Division I football. The game gave these players an opportunity to be noticed by NFL Scouts and others who may not have had the opportunity to observe them previously. Given its setting, it wasn't surprising that this game was slow to Desegregate , and in fact was once removed from the schedule of NBC for this reason. Since then, the game had not only been desegregated, but in the process showcased many African-American stars from smaller, lesser-known schools (including many Historically Black Colleges And Universities ), it also made many concessions to make it more Television -friendly, such as shortening the first quarter to 12 minutes on at least one occasion to make it fit more easily into a doubleheader package, and changing the rules so that after any score a team down by a double-digit margin will receive the kickoff, even if they in fact were the one which had just scored, presumably to keep the game close and prevent the loss of viewership which often occurs in grossly uneven contests. In recent years, the game had always been played on Christmas Day , which may have tended to limit the live gate, but which insures that it was on television at a time when many viewers are available for it. Even in its new setting in Troy on the campus of after the Kelley-Springfield Tire Co. (a subsidiary of the Goodyear ) decided to discontinue its sponsorship, and the declining condition of the Crampton Bowl. It was generally assumed that the Lions and others would have liked to return the game to Montgomery, but did not do so because of deteriorating condition of the Crampton Bowl stadium. An interesting facet of the game was that players generally were encouraged to bring decals of their respective schools' helmet Logo s. While this is apparently very amusing for the players, it makes it almost impossible for the casual fan to determine where a player attended school in many instances, as many players tend to decorate their helmets, which they bring from their own schools, with many other decals prior to the playing of the game. The format, unsurprisingly given the game's name, pitted players who attended college in the states of the former Confederacy , the "Grays", who wore white jerseys, against players who attended school in the rest of the country, the "Blues", while both teams wore gray pants. A somewhat macabre fact often associated with the game was that it was the site of the last public appearance of the late former Alabama Governor Lurleen Wallace prior to her death in office from Cancer . SEE ALSO List Of College Bowl Games |
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