1959 Bluebonnet Bowl

The 1959 Bluebonnet Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game between the TCU Horned Frogs and the Clemson Tigers. This was the first Bluebonnet Bowl, a bowl game that usually featured a team from Texas against an out-of-state opponent, with 19 out of the 29 games in this series involving a team from Texas, or from the Southwest Conference.

1959 Bluebonnet Bowl
1st Bluebonnet Bowl
Ron Scrudato runs the ball for Clemson
Clemson Tigers TCU Horned Frogs
(8–2) (8–2)
ACC SWC
23 7
Head coach: 
Frank Howard		 Head coach: 
Abe Martin
APCoaches
1111
APCoaches
78
1234 Total
Clemson 03020 23
TCU 0700 7
DateDecember 19, 1959
Season1959
StadiumRice Stadium
LocationHouston, Texas
Attendance55,000
United States TV coverage
NetworkCBS[1]

Background

This was TCU's third Southwest Conference (SWC) title in five seasons. Clemson was the first school to play in two bowls in the same calendar year (after playing in the 1959 Sugar Bowl on January 1st), with their third Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) title in four years. They were looking to win a bowl game for the first time since 1950.

Game summary

Clemson started the scoring with a 22-yard field goal by Lon Armstrong, but TCU’s struck back with a 19-yard pass from Jack Redding to Harry Moreland with 5:45 left in the first half, to give the Frogs a 7-3 halftime lead. The game went scoreless in the third period, but in the fourth quarter, Harvey White threw a pass to Gary Barnes, who galloped in for a touchdown to give the Tigers the lead. Two plays later, Donald George's pass was intercepted by Armstrong. Clemson scored 13 more points with the help of Lowndes Shingler, as the Tigers won 23-7. Shingler ran for 65 yards on 3 carries, and threw for 24 yards on 2 for 4 passing. White went 4 for 9 with 69 yards passing and 1 interception.[2]

Aftermath

The Horned Frogs would return to the Bluebonnet Bowl just once more, 25 years later in the 1984 edition. The Tigers did not win another bowl game until 1978.

Statistics
StatisticsTCUClemson
First Downs1216
Yards Rushing89203
Yards Passing70103
Yards Returned1061
Total Yards169367
Punts-Average5-32.03-37.0
Fumbles-Lost1-03-1
Interceptions41
Penalties-Yards5-353-23

References
  1. Sakowitz, Sheldon (December 19, 1959). "Three Grid Bowl Games On Tap Today". The Paducah Sun. Paducah, Kentucky. AP. p. 18. Retrieved June 10, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
  2. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on July 25, 2015. Retrieved July 24, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)


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