East–West Shrine Bowl
| East-West Shrine Game | |
|---|---|
| File:East-West Shrine Game PR logo.gif | |
| Stadium | Tropicana Field |
| Location | St. Petersburg, Florida |
| Previous stadiums | Kezar Stadium (1925–1941, 1943–1968, 1971–1973) Stanford Stadium (1969, 1974–2000) Tulane Stadium (1942) Oakland Coliseum (1970) AT&T Park (2001–2005) Alamodome (2006) Reliant Stadium (2007, 2009) Robertson Stadium (2008) Orlando Citrus Bowl (2010–2011) |
| Previous locations | San Francisco, California (1925–1941, 1943–1968, 1971–1973, 2001–2005) New Orleans, Louisiana (1942) Stanford, California (1969, 1974–2000) Oakland, California (1971) San Antonio, Texas (2006) Houston, Texas (2007–2009) Orlando, Florida (2010–2011) |
| Operated | 1925–present |
| Sponsors | |
Shriners (1925–present) | |
| 2017 matchup | |
| East vs. West (West 10–3) | |
| 2018 matchup | |
| East vs. West (January 20, 2018) | |
The East–West Shrine Game is an annual postseason college football all-star game played each January since 1925. The game is sponsored by the fraternal group Shriners International, and the net proceeds are earmarked to some of the Shrine's charitable works, most notably the Shriners Hospitals for Children. The game's slogan is "Strong Legs Run That Weak Legs May Walk".
The game matches teams of players who attended college in the Eastern United States against those schooled in the Western United States. The game and the practice sessions leading up to it attract dozens of scouts from professional teams. Since 1985, Canadian players playing in Canadian university football have also been invited (even though the CIS and NCAA play by different football codes). As such, this is the only bowl game in either the Canadian or American college football schedules to include players from both Canadian and American universities.
In recent decades, the game has been played in mid-January so players from teams whose schools were involved in bowl games can participate, which is important, as these teams often have some of the very best players.
History
For most of its history, the game was played in the San Francisco Bay area, usually at San Francisco's Kezar Stadium or Stanford Stadium at Stanford University, with AT&T Park as a host in its final years in Northern California.
In 1942, the game was moved from San Francisco, CA to New Orleans, LA due to the December 7, 1941 Japanese attacks on Pearl Harbor. This one-year relocation was based upon fears that playing the game on the west coast could make the contest and the stadium a potential target for an additional attack.
In 2006, the game was played in the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas, moving out of the San Francisco Bay area for the first time since 1942 (when it was shifted to New Orleans due to wartime travel restrictions to the West Coast). The growth of cable television meant NFL scouts could now view players around the country, making postseason all-star games less important. Even so, the Shrine Game's organizers relaxed efforts towards attracting top players to the game, meaning many of college football's best players went to the Senior Bowl, instead.
The Shrine Game moved once again to Houston, Texas, for its 2007 event. The game was moved to Reliant Stadium, which plays home to the Houston Texans (NFL), to be closer to one of the 22 Shriners Hospitals for Children. Texas is home to two Shriner's hospitals, one in Houston and the other in Galveston. The 2008 Shrine Game was held at Robertson Stadium on the campus of the University of Houston due to the lack of available dates for Reliant Stadium. In 2010, the game moved to Orlando, Florida, and was held at the Citrus Bowl.
After two years there, the 2013 game was scheduled to be held at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida; it was the sixth different venue (in four cities and three states) in the last nine contests.
For 26 years (1948–1973), a similar game was played in Miami, Florida, at the Miami Orange Bowl, also sponsored by the Shriners, involving teams from the North and South (the North-South Shrine Game). The South won 13 games in the series and the North won 12, with one tie.[1] The Shrine executive committee voted to discontinue the series after 1973, due to sparse attendance and the failure to secure a national television contract.[2]
Game results
Through the 2017 playing of the game, the West currently leads all-time with 49 wins to the East's 38 wins, while five games have tied.[3]
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Canadian invitees
Although the Shrine Game is an American football competition, players of Canadian university football, contested under Canadian football rules, have been invited every year since 1985, when Calgary Dinos offensive lineman Tom Spoletini played. Usually, Canadian players on the West team come from Canada West schools, while Canadian players on the East team are from the other three Canadian conferences (Ontario University Athletics, Atlantic University Sport, and Quebec Student Sport Federation). One exception was Sean McEwen of the Calgary Dinos (a Canada West school), who played on the East squad in the 2016 game.
The only Canadian team that competes under American football rules is the Simon Fraser Clan, which was in the NAIA from 1965 to 2001, then spent several seasons in Canadian Interuniversity Sport, and joined NCAA Division II in 2010. To date, the only Simon Fraser player to be invited to the Shrine Game is Ibrahim Khan, who played in 2004. Through the 2017 game, the Calgary Dinos have had the most invitees, with 12.
Hall of fame
A hall of fame was established in 2002, with additional former players being added each year.[5] Through 2017 inductees, there are currently 54 members of the hall of fame.
Inductees range from having played in game 10 (January 1935) to game 77 (January 2002). Seven different games have had three players honored; 27 (December 1951), 35 (January 1960), 36 (December 1960), 39 (December 1963), 40 (January 1965), 44 (December 1968), and 48 (December 1972).
Pat Tillman Award
Bowl organizers initiated a Pat Tillman Award in 2005, the year that Tillman was posthumously inducted to the bowl's hall of fame, to recognize "a player who best exemplifies character, intelligence, sportsmanship and service".[8]
| Year | Player | Pos. | College |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Morgan Scalley | S | Utah |
| 2006 | Charlie Peprah | S | Alabama |
| 2007 | Kyle Shotwell | LB | Cal Poly |
| 2008 | Justin Tryon | DB | Arizona State |
| 2009 | Collin Mooney | FB | Army |
| 2010 | Mike McLaughlin | LB | Boston College |
| 2011 | Josh McNary | LB | Army |
| 2012 | Tauren Poole | RB | Tennessee |
| 2013 | Keith Pough | LB | Howard |
| 2014 | Gabe Ikard | C | Oklahoma |
| 2015 | Jake Ryan | LB | Michigan |
| 2016 | Keenan Reynolds | QB | Navy |
| 2017 | Weston Steelhammer | S | Air Force |
See also
References
- ^ "South Defeats North Despite Ruling By Officials". Lakeland Ledger. Lakeland, Florida. AP. December 26, 1973.
- ^ "North-South Game Canceled". Lakeland Ledger. Lakeland, Florida. AP. August 16, 1974.
- ^ "East-West Shrine Classic Games". College Football Data Warehouse. Retrieved 2008-12-07.
- ^ Mayer, Larry (2013-01-01). "Bears building, not rebuilding, moving forward". Chicago Bears. Retrieved 2013-01-01.
The East-West is coming up (Jan. 19), the Senior Bowl is coming up (Jan. 26).
- ^ "HALL OF FAME". shrinegame.com. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
- ^ "East-West Shrine Game to Induct Rickey Jackson and Chris Chandler into Hall of Fame". prweb.com. January 20, 2016. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
- ^ "2017 INDUCTEES". shrinegame.com. Retrieved May 25, 2017.
- ^ "PAT TILLMAN AWARD". shrinegame.com. 2017. Retrieved May 25, 2017.