Corn Bowl

Corn Bowl (defunct)
Previous locationsNormal, Illinois, Bloomington, Illinois, Macomb, Illinois
Operated1947–1955
Sponsors
Hybrid Seed Corn Breeders of Illinois
Bloomington American Legion

The Corn Bowl was a college football bowl game played from 1947 until 1955 in central Illinois. The first game was played November 27, 1947, in Normal, Illinois, between Southern Illinois and North Central of Illinois.[1] Its final game was played November 24, 1955, between Western Illinois and Luther. There was no game played in 1952 and 1954.[2]

The game was primarily organized by A. B. Perry, who called for the construction of a stadium that would seat 150,000. The plans never came to fruition and the largest crowd attracted to a game was 8,000 spectators for the 1948 matchup.[1] The 1949 matchup was witnessed by 4,567 fans.[3]

The bowl was sponsored by the Hybrid Seed Corn Breeders of Illinois and the Bloomington American Legion.[4]

  1. ^ a b Kemp, Bill (November 18, 2007). "Corn Bowl was short-lived Thanksgiving gridiron tradition". Pantagraph.com. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  2. ^ DeLassus, David. "Corn Bowl Games". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on December 9, 2010. Retrieved January 3, 2012.
  3. ^ "Wins Corn Bowl Game". Reading Eagle. November 25, 1949. Retrieved January 4, 2012.
  4. ^ Jauss, Bill (October 16, 1997). "Full Crop Of Corn Bowl Memories". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved January 4, 2012.