The Mercy Bowl was the name to two one-off charity

bowl game In North America, a bowl game, or simply bowl, is one of a number of postseason college football games primarily played by NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. For most of its history, the FBS did not use a playoff tourname ...

s played at the

Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum The Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum (also known as the Los Angeles Coliseum or L.A. Coliseum) is a multi-purpose stadium in the Exposition Park, Los Angeles, Exposition Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, United States. Conceived as a hal ...

and

Anaheim Stadium Angel Stadium is a ballpark in Anaheim, California, United States. Since its opening in 1966, it has been the home venue of the Los Angeles Angels of Major League Baseball (MLB), who relocated from Los Angeles to Anaheim following the 1965 seas ...

. The first was played between

Fresno State University California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...

and

Bowling Green State University Bowling Green State University (BGSU) is a Public university, public research university in Bowling Green, Ohio, United States. The main academic and residential campus is south of Toledo, Ohio. The university has nationally recognized progr ...

on November 23, 1961, as a special fundraiser in memory of sixteen Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo football players killed in a plane crash following a game against Bowling Green a year earlier. The game, attended by 33,145 spectators, raised $200,000 for the surviving widows and children and for a memorial in their honor.

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

coach and Cal Poly alumnus

John Madden John Earl Madden (April 10, 1936 – December 28, 2021) was an American professional football coach and sports commentator in the National Football League (NFL). He served as the head coach of the Oakland Raiders from 1969 to 1978, leading them ...

commented in 2008 that "it wouldn't be a bad idea to play a game like that again. Hold a bowl game for a cause. There are a lot of good ones. I'd like to see that." A second Mercy Bowl was staged in 1971 between

Cal State Fullerton California State University, Fullerton (CSUF or Cal State Fullerton) is a public research university in Fullerton, California, United States. With a total enrollment of more than 41,000, it has the largest student body of the California State ...

and Fresno State, intended to benefit the fourteen surviving children of three CSUF assistant coaches and a pilot who died in an airplane crash a month earlier. The NCAA initially rejected the game due to a lack of available postseason dates, but pressure from California Governor

Ronald Reagan Ronald Wilson Reagan (February 6, 1911 – June 5, 2004) was an American politician and actor who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He was a member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party a ...

and President

Richard Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 until Resignation of Richard Nixon, his resignation in 1974. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican ...

's advisor Robert Finch convinced them to approve it. CSUF head coach

Dick Coury Richard P. Coury (September 29, 1929 – August 15, 2020) was an American football coach. In a career that spanned across five decades, Coury coached with distinction on the high school, college, and professional levels. His most prominent post ...

described the game, which his team won, as "the biggest victory I've been a part of." With 16,854 in attendance, the second Mercy Bowl raised over $50,000.

Game results

References

External links

Digitized Film of the Mercy Bowl on California Revealed
Defunct college football bowls Cal Poly Mustangs football College football bowls in California 1961 in American football 1971 in American football 1961 in sports in California 1971 in sports in California {{California-sport-stub

Game results

See also

References

External links