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Oyster Bowl

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Oyster Bowl
StadiumS.B. Ballard Stadium (1946–1995, 2011–present)
LocationNorfolk, Virginia
Previous stadiumsJoseph S. Darling Memorial Stadium (1999–2004)
The Apprentice School (2005–2010)
Previous locationsHampton, Virginia
Newport News, Virginia
Operated1946, 1948–1995
1999–present
Conference tie-insSun Belt Conference
Previous conference tie-insSouthern Conference
Atlantic Coast Conference
Colonial Athletic Association
Conference USA
Sponsors
Khedive Temple of the Shriners
2024 matchup
Marshall vs. Old Dominion
(November 23, 2024)

The Oyster Bowl is a regular season college football game played annually in the Hampton Roads-area of Virginia. The game has featured match-ups between high school, NCAA Division III, and at present, NCAA Division I teams, at various points in its existence. It is sponsored by the Norfolk, Virginia-based Khedive Temple of the Shriners, with a portion of the revenue going to children's charity. The 2023 Oyster Bowl was the 73rd edition of the game.

In its heyday as a major college or Division I neutral-site contest (1948–1995), the Oyster Bowl served as Norfolk's counterpart to the Tobacco Bowl in Richmond, Virginia (1949–1982), and the short-lived Harvest Bowl in Roanoke, Virginia (1958–1969), which were also regular season neutral-site games.

History

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During the first incarnation of the Oyster Bowl, the game was held at Foreman Field in Norfolk, Virginia. The inaugural contest, held in 1946, featured two high school teams, the local Granby Comets and the Clifton Mustangs of Clifton, New Jersey.[1][2] After a one-year break, the game was resumed in 1948 as a major college football contest, and was played continuously until 1995, when it was discontinued for financial reasons.[1][2][3] The series of games from 1946 to 1995 generated more than $3 million for the Shriners Hospitals for Children.[3]

Many well known players participated in the Oyster Bowl during the time it featured Division I teams. These include Ernie Davis of Syracuse, Bruce Smith of Virginia Tech, Roger Staubach of Navy, Fran Tarkenton of Georgia, and Randy White of Maryland.[4] The 1977 game between East Carolina and William & Mary featured an incident well-publicized at the time, in which former East Carolina head coach Jim Johnson, attending the game as a sideline spectator, tackled a William & Mary player about to score the game-winning touchdown.[5]

In 1999, after a hiatus of three years, the Oyster Bowl was revived and relocated to Joseph S. Darling Memorial Stadium in nearby Hampton, Virginia, as a match-up between Division III college teams.[6] Three of the six games in Hampton featured the Apprentice School from nearby Newport News, Virginia. In 2005 the Oyster Bowl moved to Newport News as an annual home game for the Apprentice School.

In 2011, the Oyster Bowl returned to a renovated Foreman Field (now known as S.B. Ballard Stadium) as an annual home game for Division I Old Dominion University (ODU). Recent visiting teams have been conference rivals of ODU from Conference USA (through 2021) and the Sun Belt Conference (2022 to the present).

Game results

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Year Site Winning team Losing team
1946 Norfolk, Virginia Granby High School 6 Clifton High School 0
1947 No game held
1948 Norfolk, Virginia William & Mary 31 VMI 0
1949[7] Norfolk, Virginia NC State 14 VPI 13
1950 Norfolk, Virginia William & Mary 34 NC State 0
1951 Norfolk, Virginia Duke 55 VPI 6
1952 Norfolk, Virginia South Carolina 21 Virginia 14
1953 Norfolk, Virginia Duke 48 Virginia 6
1954 Norfolk, Virginia Navy 40 Duke 7
1955 Norfolk, Virginia North Carolina 32 South Carolina 14
1956 Norfolk, Virginia Pittsburgh 27 Duke 14
1957 Norfolk, Virginia Navy 27 Georgia 14
1958 Norfolk, Virginia Tulane 14 Navy 6
1959 Norfolk, Virginia Syracuse 32 Navy 6
1960 Norfolk, Virginia Navy 26 SMU 7
1961 Norfolk, Virginia Duke 30 Navy 9
1962 Norfolk, Virginia Navy 32 Pittsburgh 9
1963 Norfolk, Virginia Navy 21 VMI 12
*1964 Norfolk, Virginia Maryland 10 North Carolina 9
1965 Norfolk, Virginia William & Mary 3 Southern Miss 0
*1966 Norfolk, Virginia Southern Miss 7 NC State 6
1967 Norfolk, Virginia Duke 35 Navy 16
1968 Norfolk, Virginia Duke 30 Maryland 28
1969 Norfolk, Virginia VPI 48 Duke 12
1970 Norfolk, Virginia NC State 7 Maryland 0
1971 Norfolk, Virginia Clemson 3 Duke 0
*1972 Norfolk, Virginia Duke 17 Navy 16
*1973 Norfolk, Virginia Maryland 30 Duke 10
1974 Norfolk, Virginia Maryland 56 Duke 13
1975 Norfolk, Virginia Virginia Tech 24 William & Mary 7
1976 Norfolk, Virginia VMI 13 Virginia 7
1977 Norfolk, Virginia William & Mary 21 East Carolina 17
*1978 Norfolk, Virginia East Carolina 21 Richmond 14
1979 Norfolk, Virginia Navy 24 William & Mary 7
1980 Norfolk, Virginia Virginia Tech 21 VMI 6
1981 Norfolk, Virginia VMI 14 The Citadel 0
1982 Norfolk, Virginia Virginia Tech 14 VMI 3
1983[8] Norfolk, Virginia William & Mary 26 Yale 14
1984 Norfolk, Virginia Virginia Tech 54 VMI 7
1985 Norfolk, Virginia Richmond 38 James Madison 15
1986[9] Norfolk, Virginia Temple 29 Virginia Tech 16
1987 Norfolk, Virginia William & Mary 17 VMI 6
1988 Norfolk, Virginia The Citadel 30 VMI 20
*1989 Norfolk, Virginia William & Mary 13 Boston University 10
1990 Norfolk, Virginia William & Mary 59 VMI 47
1991 Norfolk, Virginia The Citadel 17 VMI 14
1992 Norfolk, Virginia Richmond 41 VMI 18
1993 Norfolk, Virginia William & Mary 49 VMI 6
1994 Norfolk, Virginia The Citadel 58 VMI 14
1995 Norfolk, Virginia Georgia Southern 31 VMI 13
1996 No game held
1997 No game held
1998 No game held
1999 Hampton, Virginia Wesley (DE) 48 Apprentice 33
2000 Hampton, Virginia Methodist 30 Apprentice 8
2001 Hampton, Virginia Christopher Newport 14 Ferrum 11
2002 Hampton, Virginia Salisbury 48 Apprentice 17
2003 Hampton, Virginia Bridgewater 58 Catholic University 20
2004 Hampton, Virginia Christopher Newport 21 Bridgewater 16
2005 Newport News, Virginia Wesley (DE) 45 Apprentice 0
2006 Newport News, Virginia Apprentice 37 Chowan 0
2007 Newport News, Virginia Chowan 61 Apprentice 55
2008 Newport News, Virginia Apprentice 37 Southern Virginia 14
2009 Newport News, Virginia Southern Virginia 14 Apprentice 10
2010 Newport News, Virginia Webber International 40 Apprentice 7
2011 Norfolk, Virginia Old Dominion 23 James Madison 20
2012 Norfolk, Virginia Old Dominion 31 Delaware 26
2013 Norfolk, Virginia Old Dominion 66 Albany 10
2014 Norfolk, Virginia Old Dominion 30 Louisiana Tech 27
2015 Norfolk, Virginia Florida Atlantic 33 Old Dominion 31
2016 Norfolk, Virginia Old Dominion 42 FIU 28
2017 Norfolk, Virginia Old Dominion 24 Rice 21
2018 Norfolk, Virginia Old Dominion 77 VMI 14
2019 Norfolk, Virginia Charlotte 38 Old Dominion 22
2020 No game held
2021 Norfolk, Virginia Old Dominion 56 Charlotte 34
2022 Norfolk, Virginia James Madison 37 Old Dominion 3
2023 Norfolk, Virginia Old Dominion 28 Appalachian State 21

References

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  1. ^ a b Peggy Haile, Pages from Norfolk's Past, Norfolk Public Library, retrieved January 31, 2009.
  2. ^ a b 20th Century History Archived 2009-02-09 at the Wayback Machine, The City of Norfolk, VA, retrieved January 31, 2009.
  3. ^ a b Oyster Bowl runs out of downs, Shriners pull plug on 49-year tradition, The Virginian Pilot, February 22, 1996, retrieved January 31, 2009.
  4. ^ Oyster Bowl Information, Newport News Apprentice School, November 13, 2008, retrieved February 1, 2009.
  5. ^ Kirsch, Fred (December 1, 2004). "Coach Jim tackled a lot, but one was most memorable". The Virginian-Pilot. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012.
  6. ^ Keith McMillan, Around the Nation, D3 Football, November 9, 2001, retrieved January 31, 2009.
  7. ^ "Short Shot on State's 1949 Football Opponents". Media guide, Football, North Carolina State, 1949 season.
  8. ^ Rogers, Thomas (1983-10-04). "Scouting". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-02-13.
  9. ^ "Oyster Bowl Will Be Televised by Home Team Sports". scholar.lib.vt.edu. Retrieved 2020-02-13.