The 1958 Tangerine Bowl (December) was an American

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played on December 27, 1958 at the

Tangerine Bowl Tangerine Bowl may refer to: * Tangerine Bowl (1947–1982), a college football bowl game now known as the Citrus Bowl * Tangerine Bowl (2001–2003), three editions of the college football bowl game originally known as the Blockbuster Bowl and now ...

stadium in

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. The game pitted the

Missouri Valley Vikings Missouri Valley College is a private college that is affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Marshall, Missouri, United States. The college was founded in 1889 and supports 40 academic majors and an enrollment close to 1,500 ...

and the East Texas State Lions (now East Texas A&M University). This was the first time the bowl was played before

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, as organizers wanted to "attract television coverage in the future". The December game date made this the second of two Tangerine Bowls played in calendar year 1958.

Background

The

University at Buffalo The State University of New York at Buffalo (commonly referred to as UB, University at Buffalo, and sometimes SUNY Buffalo) is a public university, public research university in Buffalo, New York, Buffalo and Amherst, New York, United States. ...

's first bowl bid was to this game. The Tangerine Bowl Commission hoped that the Orlando High School Athletic Association (OHSAA), which operated the stadium, would waive its rule that prohibited integrated sporting events. When it refused, the team unanimously voted to skip the bowl because its two black players (halfback Willie Evans and end Mike Wilson) would not have been allowed on the field. Missouri Valley entered the game with an 8–0 record, and had previously played to a tie in the 1956 Tangerine Bowl. East Texas State entered the game with a 9–1 record, and had recorded two wins and a tie in three prior Tangerine Bowl appearances.

Game summary

In wet conditions, the teams played a scoreless first quarter. In the second quarter, East Texas scored first but missed the

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, allowing Missouri Valley to take a 7–6 lead when they scored a touchdown and converted their extra point. East Texas scored another touchdown, but again missed the extra point, and had a 12–7 lead at halftime. After a scoreless third quarter, East Texas scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter, successfully making one two-point conversion, to win by a final score of 26–7.

Scoring summary

Aftermath

East Texas would not play again in the postseason until 1972, when they won the NAIA Football National Championship. They then joined

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, and have subsequently made several playoff appearances there. Missouri Valley's next postseason appearance would be the

Mineral Water Bowl The Mineral Water Bowl was an annual American NCAA Division II college football bowl game held in Excelsior Springs, Missouri at Tiger Stadium. Throughout its long history (1948 to 2019), the game was sponsored by the Quarterback Club, a civic ...

in 1971. They have subsequently appeared several times in the NAIA's postseason playoffs. The University at Buffalo would not appear in a bowl game until the

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Background

Game summary

Scoring summary

Aftermath

References

Further reading