The Pythian Bowl was a postseason
college football
College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Unlike most ...
bowl game played from 1949 through 1951.
In 1952, the game was played under the name of Lions Bowl. The game was played each year in December in
Salisbury, North Carolina
Salisbury is a city in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, United States; it has been the county seat of Rowan County since 1753 when its territory extended to the Mississippi River. Located northeast of Charlotte and within its metropolita ...
, at
Shuford Stadium Shuford Stadium is a 4,500-capacity stadium located in Salisbury, North Carolina. It is home to Catawba College, who play in the South Atlantic Conference.
The stadium was built in 1925 but has been upgraded several times since. The field is named ...
on the grounds of
Catawba College. The bowl's original name came from the
Knights of Pythias
The Knights of Pythias is a fraternal organization and secret society founded in Washington, D.C., on . The Knights of Pythias is the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an act of the United States Congress. It was founded ...
, a
fraternal organization
A fraternity (from Latin ''frater'': "brother"; whence, "brotherhood") or fraternal organization is an organization, society, club or fraternal order traditionally of men associated together for various religious or secular aims. Fraternity in ...
, with proceeds from the game going to a local
orphanage.
The 1952 game was named after
Lions Clubs International, with game proceeds again being used for charitable works. Like some other postseason match-ups of the era, such as the
Grape Bowl,
Glass Bowl, and
Optimist Bowl The Optimist Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game played in 1946. It was held at Public School Stadium (later known as Robertson Stadium), in Houston.
The game was sponsored by the Houston Optimist Club, through agreement reached wit ...
, results are listed in
NCAA records, but the games were not considered NCAA-sanctioned bowls.
Game results
Notes
* NCAA records list the date of the first Pythian Bowl as "11-26-1949",
which is inconsistent with contemporary newspaper reports.
* The 1949 game was listed as the "Olympian Bowl" in some newspapers.
* For the 1952 game,
West Chester had been invited and accepted, however the school later withdrew its acceptance due to the bowl not being sanctioned by the NCAA; Clarion was then invited and replaced West Chester.
See also
*
List of college bowl games
References
{{Reflist
Defunct college football bowls
Knights of Pythias