Winter football -- the Gotham Bowl, 1962

This year there has been a great deal of talk about the 2014 (XLVIII) Super Bowl, which is scheduled to be played in New York City at 6:30 p.m. EST Sunday between the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks.

A great deal of this talk revolves around the weather, speculation about field conditions, the cold, snow, and attitude of the fans, in this, one of the worst winters in the East in years. There are even contingency plans for holding the game a day early or a day later, should weather conditions make the game impossible on Sunday.

All this hearkens back to another football game, the Gotham Bowl, played in Yankee Stadium in December 1962 between the University of Miami and the NU Cornhuskers. Seems that it is difficult for people to learn enough from history to keep from repeating past mistakes.

1962 was Bob Devaney's first year as Nebraska's coach. It is difficult to overstate the impact that Coach Devaney had on Nebraska football, or on the attitude of the state, for that matter. He had come from Michigan, via Wyoming. He had ignited the state, with an 8-2 record his first season (after two decades of dismal seasons at Nebraska, following the Rose Bowl team of 1941). The turning point that year was a signature win against a highly favored Michigan team on September 29th. The outcome of that game made fans believe that just maybe some of the magic of former years might be returning to the Cornhusker football program.

Even though the Huskers had lost a hard-fought battle with Missouri, there began to be talk about the possibility of a trip to a Bowl game at the end of the season. Hope was dashed when the Huskers were thoroughly thrashed by No. 10 Oklahoma in the final game of the season.

Bids for the various bowls (there not nearly so many Bowl Games in 1962) had all been sent out by Dec. 1, and NU had not been approached. It was not until Dec. 4, just 11 days before the December 15th game, that Nebraska received an invitation to play in the Gotham Bowl in NYC. Devaney and the NU Administration were not in favor of accepting the invitation, but pressure from the fans (even Gov. Morrison) caused Devaney to relent.

The NU chartered plane was on the runway. The team waited, baggage in hand, at the airport, ready to take off, yet they still had not received the guaranteed money for the trip. Devaney announced that they would not board the plane until a certified check, covering their expenses, cleared the bank. Two hours later they finally took off.

The Gotham Bowl was plagued with poor planning and bad luck from the very first. The first Gotham Bowl had been scheduled to be played in 1960, but teams could not be lined up.

In 1961, Utah State and Baylor played in Shea Stadium in the first Gotham Bowl. The game was to be a fund raiser for The March of Dimes, but ticket sales were dismal. The March of Dimes made not one dime, and several sponsors ponied up to cover the game' losses.

The 1962 Gotham Bowl was even worse. In addition to the weather issues, there had been a 6-week's strike of newspaper employees leading up to the game, and there had been virtually no pre-game hype. It was as if the game were to be played in a vacuum.

By game day sponsors said that over 6,000 tickets had been sold. But most ticket holders (even the freebies) did not bother to go to the game. A high school friend of mine was living in Baltimore. A huge Cornhusker fan, he and his wife jumped at the opportunity to go to the game. They had driven to New York that morning over less than ideal roads---icy with some blowing snow. They found themselves absolutely alone in the section where they had been assigned, bravely waving their Cornhusker pennants. They could have sat any place in the stadium. Warren's estimate was that there might have been 500 people in the stadium.

The saving grace for the game was that ABC's Wide World of Sports had contracted to broadcast the game, which they did, and did a good job. At no time did the ABC cameras pan the "crowds" in the stadium. It must have been difficult for those cameramen to keep their lenses focused on the action on the field and giving up crowd shots for a bit of relief.

Weather conditions and sparse crowds aside, the few hearty souls who attended the game, and a large TV audience were rewarded with a memorable game. ABC, perhaps to put the best face on a sorry situation, called the game their most entertaining of the season.

George Mira, the quarterback on the Miami team had probably the best game of his storied career -- high school, college and pro. For his efforts (even though playing for the losing team) Mira was named the Most Valuable Player of the game.

Miami had been established as the overwhelming favorite for the game, and looking at the statistics, it appeared that they won the game decisively -- they did win everything except for the final score. Mira and a gifted set of receivers set a record by completing 24 of 34 passes for 321 yards. (146 for the Huskers). They coupled this with 181 yards on the ground (NU 150), for 34 first downs (compared with 12 for NU). Total yards: Miami-502- NU-296.

But Nebraska was not without weapons of its own. True, they did not have the luxury of Mira's great passing skills. Dennis Claridge, Bob Devaney's first quarterback made just enough plays, both on offense and defense. (Playing both ways, Claridge intercepted a Mira pass in the 2nd half, which would have been enough for a Miami victory.)

The game went back and forth, two good teams trading knock out punches. Neither could put the other away. NU started the scoring, with a Bill "Thunder Thornton touchdown, in the first quarter, but Miami answered with a score of their own. End of 1st quarter NU 6, MU 6.

Miami went ahead in the second quarter, but the Huskers quickly responded with a 92 yard kickoff return by Willie Ross. Later in the 2nd quarter the teams again traded touchdowns and the half ended NU 20 Miami 20.

In the third quarter Miami pretty much ran up and down the field, piling up a big yardage advantage, but NU was able to blunt the scoring drives. Again they traded touchdowns. NU 28 MU 27 at the end of the 3rd quarter, thanks to Thunder Thornton's two point conversion.

The fourth quarter was more of the same. Midway through the quarter NU capitalized on Dennis Claridge's interception of a Mira pass and Willie Ross put NU ahead with a 1-yard touchdown run, plus another Thornton run for a two-point conversion.

Miami came within two with a touchdown run of their own with 5 minutes remaining. It appeared that NU would put the game away with a long drive, but it stalled on the Miami 8-yard line, giving George Mira time for one last chance. Again Mira was successful and with less than 1 minute remaining he fired a pass into the end zone. This time, however, the pass was intercepted by big Bob Brown (future Hall of Famer). Brown had been chasing Mira all day, and was relieved that he was able to thwart Mira's magic when it counted most. Nebraska ran out the clock. NU 36 Miami 34.

Most of the accolades went to Mira, including comments by Devaney, who called Mira "The greatest quarterback I ever saw." But the game (the last Gotham Bowl) was an overwhelming success for Devaney's growing football program. The upset victory and national TV audience brought the team to a new level of competition.

The game, however, was a complete failure for the Gotham Bowl officials. The weather, the newspaper strike, and the $50,000 they lost that year on the game were enough to put the final nail into the Gotham Bowl coffin. That Bowl has never been revived.

-- Source: The Gotham Bowl 1963 mmbolding.com; NU Athletics history