Boot Hill Bowl Collection

The Boot Hill Bowl was a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) post season college football game, played in Dodge City, Kansas from 1970 to 1980. The game was designed to be a charity fundraiser event. It was sponsored by the local Knights of Columbus chapter in Dodge City, Kansas. Additional activities related to the game itself included a banquet the preceding evening and tours of Dodge City attractions for all participants. Game Day in 1970 happened to be Thanksgiving Day, and was held at 443 Stadium. The trophies designed for the game were mounted long horns. The winning team would be awarded a large pair of horns; 2 smaller sets were also produced to be awarded to the game’s outstanding offensive and defensive player respectively. These were not real long horns; they were replicas made of plastic. In addition, each player and coach participating would be presented with a plaque featuring a small replica six-gun. The schools chosen for the inaugural Boot Hill Bowl were Cameron State College of Lawton, Oklahoma and New Mexico Highlands University of Las Vegas, New Mexico. Lawton and Las Vegas were both located within 350 miles of Dodge City, so extreme travel was not required for the teams themselves or for fans who followed them. The cost of a reserve seat ticket was $3.00. The Cameron State Aggies beat the Highlands University Cowboys by a score of 13 to 12. Overall, the inaugural Boot Hill Bowl was rated a success. An editorial in the Dodge City Daily Globe commended the sponsors and volunteers for conceiving and producing the game. The following year a feature article by longtime Globe sports editor Lee Finch also praised the Boot Hill Bowl Committee for their efforts and the resulting benefits to the community. It was hoped that the game would continue to grow and to become a major annual event in Dodge City. The game continued to be held for a total of 11 years. There were a number of well-played, closely contested games and only one true blowout, which was the 1973 edition when Millikin University of Decatur, Illinois defeated Bethany College of Lindsborg, Kansas by a lopsided score of 51 – 7. Over the years Cameron State College (Lawton, Oklahoma), Washburn University (Topeka, Kansas), and Benedictine College (Atchison, Kansas) all competed twice. The local 4-year college, Saint Mary of the Plains participated once. Attendance at the game tended to be rather small considering the capacity of the stadium in which it was held. The 1975 game, in which Saint Mary of the Plains was defeated by Buena Vista College of Storm Lake, Iowa 24 – 21, most likely was the best attended of all games held. Attendance was tallied at 2,500. The appearance of the local school bolstered interest by a significant amount. Most often, spectators numbered between 1,000 and 1,500, with maybe 25 to 30 percent of the crowd being local fans. Unfortunately, the weather on gameday seldom cooperated. For a couple of years, the temperatures at game time could have been considered normal for late November in Western Kansas. Most years, it was significantly colder and windier than normal, which no doubt kept some potential fans away. At the 1973 game between William Penn State University of Oskaloosa, Iowa and Emporia State University of Emporia, Kansas the temperature at kickoff was a pleasant 70 degrees. Quite suddenly the temperature dropped over 30 degrees, into the upper 30s. Players, officials, and fans were caught completely off guard by the sudden change and suffered accordingly. The very next year (1974) the game was played on a day where the high temperature was 10 degrees and gusty winds blew from the north nearing 40 MPH. That day, the Washburn University Ichabods faced the Big Blue from Milliken University. It was reported that some of the Washburn players applied athletic liniment to their bodies to provide a little bit of protection from the elements. It was also reported that this did not work. The last Boot Hill Bowl game was played on November 22, 1980. The Cameron State Aggies defeated the Adams State College Indians from Alamosa, Colorado by a score of 34 – 16. The game was successful financially but was poorly attended by local people.