Not So Bowl-lyhooed

So, you think there’s a proliferation of postseason pigskin? Do the 25 Division I-A bowl games--more than double the amount from 25 years ago--that span 15 days have you considering Florida recount coverage as alternative viewing? Toss in five of the six all-star games that extend the glorious postseason another 17 days and even “Hoops Malone” reruns would be a welcomed break. Well, think about this while you’re rubbing your bowl-weary eyes--there are 26 “major” bowl games that--like the drop kick--made their way into extinction. The storied pasts of some of those games:

* ALL-AMERICAN at Birmingham, Ala.

Was called the Hall of Fame Bowl from 1977 to 1986, which seemed strange in that the College Football Hall of Fame wasn’t located in Birmingham, rather on Kings Island Amusement Park property in Cincinnati. The bowl then became the All-American, which in the end didn’t make much sense either. Neither of the teams that played in the final game in 1990--North Carolina State or Southern Mississippi--had a consensus All-American player.

* ASTRO-BLUEBONNET at Houston

In the land of NASA, it was only fitting that the countdown to the New Year would seem to coincide with that of the final seconds of this bowl in its night stand at the Astrodome. Auld Lang Syne came in 1987 for the bowl, ending a 29-year run.

* CALIFORNIA at Fresno

From 1981-1991, this was the homeless shelter for the bowl-starved teams of the Mid-American and PCAA/Big West conferences.

* CHERRY at Pontiac, Mich.

Bowl was a bomb from its start in 1984 as the Cherry-picked home team for the inaugural game, Michigan State, lost to Army, 10-6. After one more game, it was bye, bye Mich. American Pie.

* FREEDOM at Anaheim

Iowa’s Chuck Long had the freedom to ring up six touchdown passes against Texas in the first game in 1984. One of the Long-horned Texas’ defensive backs, Jerry Gray, would come back to distinguish himself on the Anaheim Stadium turf as a Ram. The most-memorable game, however, was in 1992, when Fresno State knocked USC off its high Trojan horse, 24-7--a loss that led to USC Coach Larry Smith getting run out of town on a rail. This bowl ran out of steam after two more games when officials came to the conclusion that Freedom was just another word for no more money left to lose.

* GOTHAM at New York

“Holy Fumbleruski, Batman!” Even a Nebraska-Miami matchup in 1962 (won by the Cornhuskers, 36-34) couldn’t save Gotham City and its bowl game. POW . . . ZONK . . . and it was KOd after two years--one year less than the Batman television series.

* LOS ANGELES CHRISTMAS FESTIVAL

A bowl only Larry Smith could love: USC and Missouri played in only game in 1924.

* PASADENA

Started in 1967 as the Junior Rose Bowl--”The Grandson of Them All.” Repackaged as the Pasadena Bowl in 1969, it lasted only three more years. Hey, there’s room for only one bowl in this town.

* RAISIN at Fresno

We’ve heard through the grapevine that the singing California Raisins who filled the commercial airwaves in the late 1980s got their first break in the halftime show of this bowl, which was played from 1946-49.

HONORABLE MENTION: THE OTHER FORMER MAJOR BOWLS

* AVIATION at Dayton, Ohio (1961)

* BACARDI at Havana (1937)

* BLUEGRASS at Louisville, Ky. (1958)

* CAMELLIA at Lafayette, La. (1948)

* DELTA at Memphis, Tenn. (1948-49)

* DIXIE at Birmingham, Ala. (1948-49)

* DIXIE CLASSIC at Dallas (1922, 1924, 1934)

* FORT WORTH (TEXAS) CLASSIC (1921)

* GARDEN STATE at East Rutherford, N.J.

(1978-81)

* GREAT LAKES at Cleveland (1947)

* HARBOR at San Diego (1947-49)

* MERCY at Los Angeles (1961)

* OIL at Houston (1946-47)

* PRESIDENTIAL CUP at College Park, Md.

(1950)

* SALAD at Phoenix, Ariz. (1948-52)

* SAN DIEGO EAST-WEST CLASSIC (1921-22)

* SHRINE at Little Rock, Ark. (1948)

SPECIAL MENTION: ONE THAT CAME BACK

* ALAMO at San Antonio, Texas

The first edition of this bowl didn’t make much of stand--lasting only one game in 1947. Almost a half a century later and after cries of “Remember the Alamo,” a bowl was reborn.

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--Research and comments by JIM RHODE