North–South Shrine Game
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

The North–South Shrine Game was an annual postseason
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
all-star game played each December from 1948 to 1973 in
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
, and a final time in 1976 in
Pontiac, Michigan Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County, Michigan, Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Located roughly northwest of downtown Detroit, Pontiac is part of the Metro Detroit, Detroit metropolitan area, and is vari ...
. The game was sponsored by the fraternal group Shriners International, with proceeds used to support the Shriners Hospitals for Crippled Children. The full name of the game when played in Miami, as listed on programs, was the Mahi Shrine's North–South College All-Star Football Game.


History

In the early 1930s, there were several college all-star charity games organized between North and South teams. These were held in various locations, and benefitted different charitable causes. While listed in
NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...
records, these games were unrelated to the series started in Florida after World War II. The first two playings of the Miami-based Shrine game, in 1946 and 1947, were contested between
high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...
teams. Lynn Classical High School from
Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
, led by future
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
player Harry Agganis, won the first game, while Miami High School won the second game. In October 1948, game organizers announced their intent to invite college football players, noting "there will be enough players for both of us", in reference to the Blue–Gray Football Classic being played in
Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama. Named for Continental Army major general Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River on the Gulf Coastal Plain. The population was 2 ...
. Andy Gustafson of
Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
and Herman Hickman of
Yale Yale University is a private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, and one of the nine colonial colleges ch ...
, who would both be inducted to the
College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...
, were signed to five-year contracts to coach the South and North teams, respectively. After switching to a college all-star format, the game drew many top players and coaches during its history, such as
George Blanda George Frederick Blanda (September 17, 1927 – September 27, 2010) was an American professional American football, football quarterback and placekicker who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). Blanda ...
as South quarterback in 1948, and
Ara Parseghian Ara Raoul Parseghian (; ; May 21, 1923 – August 2, 2017) was an American football coach and player who coached the University of Notre Dame to national championships in 1966 and 1973. He is noted for bringing Notre Dame's Fighting Irish footb ...
as North head coach in 1958. The 1964 game featured two
Heisman Trophy The Heisman Memorial Trophy ( ; also known simply as the Heisman) is awarded annually since 1935 to the top player in college football. It is considered the most prestigious award in the sport and is presented by the Heisman Trophy Trust followin ...
winners; John Huarte, that year's recipient, and Roger Staubach, who had won the award in 1963 as a junior. Organizers sought to make the games competitive, including a special rule that allowed a team to ''receive'' a kickoff after scoring, if they were still trailing. The 1956 game created some controversy, when singer
Harry Belafonte Harry Belafonte ( ; born Harold George Bellanfanti Jr.; March 1, 1927 – April 25, 2023) was an American singer, actor, and civil rights activist who popularized calypso music with international audiences in the 1950s and 1960s. Belafonte ...
was invited, and then apparently uninvited, to perform the
national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...
before the game. Belafonte felt the incident was racially motivated, which game organizers denied; Belafonte was ultimately allowed to sing, although without accompaniment. At the time, the game was still segregated, as African-American players were not included on the South team until Willie Richardson and Bob Paremore in 1962. In the 1962 game, Richardson was selected as South team MVP, and Paremore received the game's sportsmanship award. The Shrine executive committee voted to discontinue the Miami-based games after 1973, due to sparse attendance and the failure to secure a national television contract. Organizers in Michigan cited scheduling difficulties and a desire "to solicit a TV package", in not continuing the game beyond 1976. A similar game, the
East–West Shrine Game East West (or East and West) may refer to: *East–West dichotomy, the contrast between Eastern and Western society or culture Arts and entertainment Books, journals and magazines *'' East, West'', an anthology of short stories written by Salm ...
, has been played since 1925.


Game results


Early years: college all-star teams

Notes: :The January 1930 game was a
Southern Conference The Southern Conference (SoCon) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I. Southern Conference College football, football teams c ...
all-star game. :The January 1934 game was a
Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central United States, South Central and Southeastern United States. Its 16 members in ...
all-star game.


Shrine games: high school teams


Shrine games: college all-star teams

Notes: :Overall record for Shrine games: South (14–12–1) in college games; South (15–13–1) including high school games. :All Shrine games played at the
Miami Orange Bowl The Miami Orange Bowl was an outdoor athletic stadium in Miami, Florida, from 1937 until 2008. The stadium was located in the Little Havana neighborhood west of Greater Downtown Miami, downtown Miami. The venue was considered a landmark and ser ...
, except for the 1976 game, which was played at the
Pontiac Silverdome The Pontiac Silverdome (also known as the Silverdome) was a stadium in Pontiac, Michigan. It opened in 1975 and sat on 199 acres (51 ha) of land. When the stadium opened, it featured a fiberglass fabric roof held up by air pressure, the fi ...
. :The date of the 1949 game is incorrectly listed as December 25 in NCAA records; the game was played on Monday, December 26.


MVPs

Most MVP selections (college): 4, accomplished by Army, Notre Dame, and Miami (FL).


Sportsmanship award

''(awarded intermittently)'' : Herb Hannah was the father of John Hannah.


See also

* List of college bowl games


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:North-South Shrine Game Recurring sporting events established in 1948 Recurring sporting events disestablished in 1976 College football all-star games Shriners Sports competitions in Miami Orange Bowl