The 1947 Harbor Bowl was an American
college football bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivi ...
played on January 1, 1947 at
Balboa Stadium
Balboa Stadium is an American football and soccer stadium on the west coast of the United States, located in San Diego, California. Just east of San Diego High School, the original stadium was built in 1914 as part of the 1915 Panama–Californ ...
in
San Diego, California
San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...
. The game pitted the
New Mexico Lobos
The New Mexico Lobos are the athletic teams that represent the University of New Mexico, located in Albuquerque. The university participates in the NCAA Division I in the Mountain West Conference (MW) since 1999, after leaving the Western Athlet ...
and the
Montana State Bobcats
The Montana State Bobcats are the varsity athletic teams representing Montana State University in Bozeman in intercollegiate athletics. The university sponsors thirteen teams including men and women's basketball, cross country, skiing, tennis, ...
. This was the inaugural
Harbor Bowl game played.
Background
The Lobos were 4-2-1 in the
Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association
The Border Conference, officially known as the Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association, was an NCAA-affiliated college athletic conference founded in 1931 that disbanded following the 1961–62 season. Centered in the southwestern United State ...
, with wins over Northern Arizona, West Texas A&M, New Mexico State, and Texas Western. They lost to Hardin-Simmons (the BIAA champion), Utah, Colorado, Texas Tech and Hawaii All-Stars, while tying Arizona. This was their fourth bowl game appearance in eight years. Montana State (who were of independent affiliation) won games over BYU, Northern Colorado, Portland, North Dakota State, and Colorado Mines, while losing games to Utah State, Montana and Nevada, while tying Colorado College. This was their first ever bowl game.
Game summary
*New Mexico - Lou Cullen 26 pass from Hubert Hackett (kick failed)
*Montana State - Neil Brooks 48 run (Bourdet run)
*Montana State - Ken Card 7 pass from Gene Bourdet (kick blocked)
*New Mexico - Bryan Brock 2 run (Hackett kick)
The Lobos rebounded from a 13-6 deficit to tie the game. The Lobos had the chance to win the game in the final minutes as they drove down the field to the 12 yard line of the Bobcats. A quarterback sack dropped them back to the 24, which set up a try for Hubert Hackett from 35 yards out. The kick was no good, however, and the game ended in a tie.
Statistics
Aftermath
New Mexico did not go to a bowl game again until
1961
Events January
* January 3
** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015).
** Aero Flight 311 (K ...
. Montana State returned to a bowl game in
1956
Events
January
* January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan.
* January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, ar ...
, which served as the
National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics
The National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) established in 1940, is a college athletics association for colleges and universities in North America. Most colleges and universities in the NAIA offer athletic scholarships to its st ...
(NAIA) championship game
References
{{New Mexico Lobos bowl game navbox
Harbor Bowl
Montana State Bobcats football bowl games
New Mexico Lobos football bowl games
January 1947 sports events in the United States
1947 in sports in California