Orange Blossom Classic | |
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Stadium | Hard Rock Stadium |
Location | Miami Gardens, Florida |
Previous stadiums | Several, including the Miami Orange Bowl and Tinker Field |
Previous locations | Miami, Jacksonville, Orlando, Tallahassee, Tampa |
Operated | 1933–1978; 2021–present |
Sponsors | |
2023 matchup | |
Jackson State vs. Florida A&M (Florida A&M 28–10) | |
2024 matchup | |
North Carolina Central vs. Alabama State |
The Orange Blossom Classic is an American annual college football game first held between 1933 and 1978 and again since 2021.
History
[edit]In its first incarnation, the Classic featured two historically black colleges and universities (HBCU)—Florida A&M and another program. The game sometimes served as a de facto championship game,[2] depending on the record of the participating teams. The game was played late in the season, with Florida A&M inviting another top black team as its opponent.[2] The game could be seen as a mythical "Black National Championship" game.[3] 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.[4] From 1952 to 1962, 10 of the 11 teams that won the Classic were named national champions. However, there were also numerous seasons in which neither Florida A&M nor its Classic opponent were selected as national champions.
The Classic was discontinued after its 1978 playing. The name was sometimes applied to subsequent regular-season meetings between Florida A&M and the FIU Panthers.[2]
In its second incarnation, the Classic returned in 2021. That season, Florida A&M played Jackson State in a season opening game at Hard Rock Stadium in September.[5] The game has continued as an annual early-season contest between those two programs. The 2022 matchup had the most viewed HBCU football game with close to 958,000 viewers, trailing only the Celebration Bowl. In 2024 Florida A&M will no longer play in the game and the will find another team to play Jackson State.[6]
Game results
[edit]1933–1978
[edit]Year | Site | Winner | Loser | Ref. | Attendance | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1933 | Jacksonville, Florida | Florida A&M | 9 | Howard | 6 | [8] | |
1934 | Jacksonville, Florida | Florida A&M | 13 | Virginia State | 12 | [9] | |
1935 | Jacksonville, Florida | Kentucky State‡ | 19 | Florida A&M | 9 | [10][11] | |
1936 | Jacksonville, Florida | Prairie View A&M | 6 | Florida A&M | 0 | [12] | |
1937 | Orlando, Florida | Florida A&M | 25 | Hampton | 20 | [13] | 3,000 |
1938 | Orlando, Florida | Florida A&M‡ | 9 | Kentucky State | 7 | [14] | |
1939 | Orlando, Florida | Florida A&M | 42 | Wiley | 0 | [15] | |
1940 | Orlando, Florida | Wilberforce 0–0 Florida A&M | [16] | ||||
1941 | Orlando, Florida | Florida A&M | 15 | Tuskegee | 7 | [17] | 8,200 |
1942 | Jacksonville, Florida | Florida A&M‡ | 12 | Texas College | 6 | [18] | |
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 | 8,000 | |
1946 | Tampa, Florida | #20 Lincoln (PA) | 20 | #8 Florida A&M | 0 | 9,000 | |
1947 | Miami, Florida | #3 Florida A&M | 7 | #4 Hampton | 0 | 19,000 | |
1948 | Miami, Florida | #10 Virginia Union | 10 | #5 Florida A&M | 6 | 16,000 | |
1949 | Miami, Florida | #6 North Carolina A&T | 20 | #5 Florida A&M | 14 | ||
1950 | Miami, Florida | #12 Wilberforce State | 13 | #1 Florida A&M‡ | 6 | 19,317 | |
1951 | Miami, Florida | #2 Florida A&M | 67 | #7 North Carolina College | 6 | 23,446 | |
1952 | Miami, Florida | #1 Florida A&M‡ | 29 | #2 Virginia State | 7 | 35,064 | |
1953 | Miami, Florida | #1 Prairie View A&M‡ | 33 | #2 Florida A&M‡ | 27 | 41,313 | |
1954 | Miami, Florida | #2 Florida A&M‡ | 67 | #6 Maryland State[a] | 19 | 41,179 | |
1955 | Miami, Florida | #1 Grambling‡ | 28 | #3 Florida A&M | 21 | 40,319 | |
1956 | Miami, Florida | #1 Tennessee A&I‡ | 41 | #2 Florida A&M | 39 | 41,808 | |
1957 | Miami, Florida | #1 Florida A&M‡ | 27 | #4 Maryland State[a] | 21 | 37,000 | |
1958 | Miami, Florida | #1 Prairie View A&M‡ | 26 | #3 Florida A&M | 8 | 39,426 | |
1959 | Miami, Florida | #1 Florida A&M‡ | 28 | #4 Prairie View A&M | 7 | 43,645 | |
1960 | Miami, Florida | #2 Florida A&M | 40 | Langston | 26 | 42,080 | |
1961 | Miami, Florida | #1 Florida A&M‡ | 14 | #2 Jackson State | 8 | 47,791 | |
1962 | Miami, Florida | #2 Jackson State‡ | 22 | #1 Florida A&M‡ | 6 | 43,461 | |
1963 | Miami, Florida | #4 Florida A&M | 30 | #3 Morgan State | 7 | ||
1964 | Miami, Florida | #2 Florida A&M | 42 | #3 Grambling | 15 | ||
1965 | Miami, Florida | #2 Morgan State | 36 | #3 Florida A&M | 7 | ||
1966 | Miami, Florida | Florida A&M | 43 | Alabama A&M | 26 | ||
1967 | Miami, Florida | #2 Grambling‡ | 28 | #4 Florida A&M | 25 | ||
1968 | Miami, Florida | #3 Alcorn A&M‡ | 36 | #7 Florida A&M | 9 | 37,398 | |
1969 | Tallahassee, Florida | #3 Florida A&M | 23 | #5 Grambling | 19 | 36,784 | |
1970 | Miami, Florida | Jacksonville State | 21 | Florida A&M | 7 | 31,184 | |
1971 | Miami, Florida | Florida A&M | 27 | Kentucky State | 9 | 26,161 | |
1972 | Miami, Florida | Florida A&M | 41 | Maryland Eastern Shore[a] | 21 | 21,606 | |
1973 | Miami, Florida | Florida A&M | 23 | #11 South Carolina State | 12 | 18,996 | |
1974 | Miami, Florida | #20 Florida A&M | 17 | #6 Howard | 13 | 20,166 | |
1975 | Miami, Florida | #2 Florida A&M | 40 | #8 Kentucky State | 13 | 27,875 | |
1976 | Miami, Florida | #20 Florida A&M | 26 | #16 Central State | 21 | 18,000 | |
1977 | Miami, Florida | #1 Florida A&M‡ | 37 | #8 Delaware State | 15 | 29,493 | |
1978 | Miami, Florida | #1 Florida A&M‡ | 31 | #2 Grambling State | 7 | 35,499 |
‡ Denotes a team selected as Black college football national champions for the season in question (in some seasons, different teams were named champions by different selectors).
Rankings from The Pittsburgh Courier (1946-1958, 1961-1969), Associated Negro Press (1959-1960), and Jet (1973-1978)
2021–present
[edit]Year | Site | Winner | Loser | Ref. | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2021 | Miami Gardens, Florida | Jackson State | 7 | Florida A&M | 6 | [19] |
2022 | Jackson State | 59 | Florida A&M | 3 | [20] | |
2023 | Florida A&M | 28 | Jackson State | 10 | [21] |
Appearances by school
[edit]No. | School | Record |
---|---|---|
48 | Florida A&M | 27–21–1 |
6 | Grambling State | 3–3 |
5 | Jackson State | 3–2 |
4 | Kentucky State | 1–3 |
4 | Prairie View A&M | 3–1 |
3 | Central State | 1–1–1 |
3 | Hampton | 1–2 |
3 | Maryland Eastern Shore[a] | 0–3 |
3 | Virginia State | 1–2 |
2 | Howard | 0–2 |
2 | Morgan State | 1-1 |
2 | Wiley | 1–1 |
1 | Alabama A&M | 0–1 |
1 | Alcorn State | 1–0 |
1 | Delaware State | 0–1 |
1 | Jacksonville 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 | Tuskegee | 0–1 |
1 | Virginia Union | 1–0 |
Source:[22]
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Sponsors". orangeblossomclassic.com. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
- ^ a b c Super Bowl Catches Up to Orange Blossom Classic, The New York Times, February 3, 2007, retrieved February 7, 2009.
- ^ Tremene Triplett, Fans, coaches, athletes reminisce about the historic Orange Blossom Classic, South Florida Times, March 14, 2008, retrieved February 7, 2009.
- ^ "UW Athletics Black History: football assistant coach Les Ritcherson". media-newswire.com. February 17, 2011.
- ^ "HBCU Football: The Orange Blossom Classic returns after 43 years". Saturday Blitz. 18 May 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
- ^ "Florida A&M leave Orange Blossom Classic". yahoo.
- ^ http://fs.ncaa.org/Docs/stats/football_records/2022/Bowls.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "Florida A. & M. Upsets Howard, 9-6, In Thriller". Pittsburgh Courier. December 9, 1933. pp. 2–5. Retrieved August 20, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Rattlers Nose Out Trojans, 13 To 12". Pittsburgh Courier. December 15, 1934. pp. 2–5. Retrieved August 20, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Negro Football". Miami Herald. December 8, 1935. p. 1-C. Retrieved August 20, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Rattlers Hold KY. In Hectic 2nd Half". Pittsburgh Courier. December 14, 1935. pp. 2–4. Retrieved August 20, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "5,000 See Prairie View Beat Florida, 6-0, In Orange Blossom Game". St. Louis Argus. December 11, 1936. p. 6. Retrieved August 20, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Hampton Loses To A.&M. 25-20". The Sunday Sentinel-Star. December 5, 1937. p. 7 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Florida Rattlers Beat Kentucky, 9-7, For National Title". The Tallahassee Daily Democrat. December 4, 1938. p. 8 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Moorne, Halody (December 16, 1939). "Florida's Orange Blossom Classic Is Joke Of Season". The Black Dispatch. Oklahoma City. p. 8. Retrieved August 20, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Jones, "Melancholy" (December 14, 1940). "Terrific Defenses Feature 0-0 Tie At Orlando; 7,000 See 8th Classic". The Phoenix Index. p. 6. Retrieved August 20, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Tuskegee Loses To Florida A. And M., Orange Blossom Tilt". The Birmingham News. Birmingham, Alabama. AP. December 7, 1941. p. Sports 8. Retrieved August 20, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ "Florida Takes Over Negro College Title". Star-News. Wilmington, North Carolina. AP. December 13, 1942. p. 8. Retrieved August 20, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
- ^ Jackson, Wilton (September 6, 2021). "Deion Sanders's Defense Seals Victory for Jackson State in Orange Blossom Classic vs. Florida A&M". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
- ^ Becton, Stan (September 4, 2022). "How Jackson State dominated Florida A&M 59-3 to win 2022 Orange Blossom Classic". NCAA.com. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
- ^ Kelley, Kevin (January 6, 2023). "Jackson State, Florida A&M to play in 2023 Orange Blossom Classic". fbschedules.com. Retrieved August 20, 2023.
- ^ Official 2007 NCAA Division I Football Records Book, National Collegiate Athletic Association, p. 367–368.