The 1969 Tangerine Bowl was held on December 26, 1969, at the Tangerine Bowl stadium in

Orlando, Florida Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County, Florida, Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Greater Orlando, Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, acco ...

. The Toledo Rockets of the Mid-American Conference defeated the Davidson Wildcats of the Southern Conference by a score of 56–33. The Tangerine Bowl is a former name of what is now called the

Citrus Bowl The Citrus Bowl is an annual college football bowl game played at Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. The bowl is operated by Florida Citrus Sports, a non-profit group that also organizes the Cheez-It Bowl and Florida Classic. The gam ...

. Heading into the game, the University of Toledo finished their regular season slate with a first-ever perfect 10–0 record. The Rockets also held a #20 Associated Press (AP) national ranking—their first appearance in a national poll. The 1969 Toledo Rockets football team was led by All-American defensive tackle Mel Long and quarterback Chuck Ealey.

Davidson College Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after Revolutionary War general William Lee Davidson, who was killed at the nearby Battle of Cowan� ...

, meanwhile, qualified as Southern Conference champions for the first time ever. They finished their regular season with a 7–4 record. The 1969 Tangerine Bowl is still Davidson's only postseason bowl appearance. In the game, the Rockets accumulated 324 yards of total offense and scored 42 points in the first half alone. Quarterback Chuck Ealey was voted the game's most valuable back, while his teammate Dan Crockett was voted most valuable lineman. Ealey ran nine times for 83 yards and threw for 147 yards and three touchdowns on 10-of-13 passing. Don Fair caught four passed for 78 yards while Charles Cole ran 22 times for 152 yards. Toledo finished the season with a #20 national ranking in the final AP Poll.

References

{{Davidson Wildcats football navbox Citrus Bowl (game) Tangerine Bowl Toledo Rockets football bowl games Davidson Wildcats football bowl games Tangerine Bowl Tangerine Bowl