NCAA Football FanHouse

Half Century Later, Buffalo's Courage Finally Rewarded

David Whitley — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 00:37:00 EST

Filed under: Buffalo, MAC

ORLANDO -- The longest bowl trip in college football history closed Saturday night when Buffalo took the field.

The players ambled out to midfield. One of them needed a cane. The rest just needed hair dye to look like they did when the bowl bid arrived.

It was 1958, and the Bulls promptly rejected it. They could have come to Orlando, but their African-American players would not have been allowed on the field.

Fifty-one years later, they were given a standing ovation.

"It was a chance to right a wrong," Gerry Gergley said.

He was one of 34 players who finally got their trip to Florida. By now you've probably heard the story of that team. It never gets old because you can learn something valuable every time the old Bulls get together.

"It wasn't anything we planned," said Willie Evans, one of the two African-Americans on that team. "For it to reverberate 50 years later, that's a long time."

What reverberated with me was how society has progressed in the last half century, but how our sports culture has gone in reverse.

Nobody at the UCF game was involved with the 1958 Tangerine Bowl. Yet everybody felt they owed Buffalo an apology.

When they heard the present-day Bulls were playing at Bright House Stadium, local government and civic leaders arranged free airfare, hotel rooms and a reception for the ex-players. In a way, the old guys were lucky their trip took so long.

In 1958, there was no Disney World to visit. The bowl activities probably consisted of a cookout and a trip to a cross burning.

Evans (pictured right) grew up in Buffalo and had heard about things like Whites-Only drinking fountains. He never knew his skin color would cost his team a holiday vacation.

"I didn't know the ugly finger stretched into athletics to the extent it did," he said.

Orlando's school district operated the stadium where the Tangerine Bowl was played, and it banned integrated games. Nobody in Buffalo realized that when they got the bid. They were just pumped to have gone 8-1 and won the Lambert Cup.

That went to the top small college program in the East. It may not sound like a big deal now, but it warranted an appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show back then. Team captains Nicholas Bottini and Louis Reale accepted the trophy on national TV.

Everybody looked forward to getting out of frigid Buffalo and playing Florida State in far-off Orlando. Then the team was informed of the Tangerine Bowl's policy. It held a vote whether to accept the bid.

"There wasn't really a vote," Gergley said. "We had no choice. We had to do what was right. Besides, Willie was our leading rusher and scorer."

You wouldn't know it by talking to him. Evans is 71 now, though he's the one guy who looks as if he could still play. He was drafted by the Buffalo Bills after college and is in five athletic halls of fame.

"That's not the kind of thing you brag about," he said, "and I hope you don't spend much time on it."

Imagine that, an athlete asking a writer to go easy on the praise.

"It's not modesty," Evans said. "It's how I feel about it."

It's a feeling we could use more of in this chest-beating era. Maybe it's a generational thing, but the old Bulls love to talk about each other, not themselves. They were a team that did everything together.

If Evans and Mike Wilson weren't going to Orlando, nobody was going. What's more, if anybody has a right to scream about being victims of racism, it would be the 34 men in navy blue shirts Saturday night.

There wasn't hint of bitterness in the section where they sat. Sure, they were mad young men 50 years ago. But after they told the Tangerine Bowl what it could do with its bid, they moved on.

"You can't hold on to anything like that," Evans said.

These days, people can't let go of the race card. The ugly finger Evans spoke of is still there. But the point gets lost when players like Milton Bradley interpret fan animosity as racial persecution.

Or Sammy Sosa's bat explodes with cork and he blames the ensuing scrutiny on the fact he's Hispanic. Or Torii Hunter says Barry Bonds was reviled because he's African-American. Or Michael Vick is considered the victim instead of his dogs.

If only these modern-day martyrs could have spent a December holiday in Buffalo instead of Orlando 50 years ago, they would appreciate what real racism is. The Bulls took a stand against it, even if they didn't realize what a grand one it was.

"It's just something that happened," Robert Muscarella said. "We made a decision and never really thought about it."

Nobody really did until the Buffalo got the first bowl bid in school history last year to the International Bowl in Toronto. Then people started realizing it was actually the second.

"Now the story's been told hundreds of times," Stanley Kowalski said.

Only now it's been told in a place where it all began. And it finally has a happy ending.

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Half Century Later, Buffalo's Courage Finally Rewarded originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sun, 20 Sep 2009 00:37:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Turkey Legs to Go: International Bowl Travel Guide, Buffalo vs. Connecticut

Will Brinson — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:15:00 EST

Filed under: Buffalo, Connecticut, Big East, MAC, Campus, Coaching, Fans, Bowl Games

Turkey Legs to Go is FanHouse's complete travel guide for all of the 2008-2009 college bowl games. Here, we cover the International Bowl (Toronto, Canada), which pits Buffalo against Connecticut

Overview/Matchup: Buffalo registered a completely inexplicable win over Ball State in the MAC Championship to find itself in the school's first bowl game. Ever. Given that Connecticut is actually a decent squad -- with a strong rushing attack -- things could get awkward if the Buffs don't play like they did against Ball State on national television this time around.

Hotels: One of Toronto's newer hotels, the InterContinental Toronto Centre offers stylish design, luxurious guest rooms and great starting rates for the quality. The Metropolitan Hotel Toronto offers excellent service and surprisingly posh accommodation for the rates. If you're looking for a midrange room and you can't get booked at the InterContinental, The Metropolitan is a more than worthy alternative. Budget travelers should stay at the Alexandra Hotel. Although accommodations are meager, it has good proximity to the stadium and rooms for less than US$100.

Restaurants: When it comes to dining, downtown Toronto is packed. There are more than 150 restaurants, clubs and bars within three blocks of the InterContinental, so you'll have plenty of options if you stay anywhere downtown. For a delicious steak try the Harbour Sixty Steakhouse. This family-owned restaurant is putting Canada on the international beefeater's map. Mandarin is a great mid-priced Chinese buffet with honey-garlic ribs that are out of this world. If you need a late night snack look no further than Fran's. Depending on what time you go you may see blue-haired seniors or green-haired punks, but this Toronto institution serves a good bacon-and-eggs breakfast around the clock.

Nightlife: There's plenty of nightlife in the downtown and university areas to satisfy any crowd, but if you only visit one bar in Toronto, make it Dora Keogh Traditional Irish Pub. Traditional Irish music on Thursday and Sunday, home-cooked meals and delicious pints all combine to make Dora a must-visit.

All travel related information provided by Professional Travel Guide.

Turkey Legs to Go: International Bowl Travel Guide, Buffalo vs. Connecticut originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ball State Turns the Ball and the MAC Championship Over to Buffalo

Chas Rich — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 00:15:00 EST

Filed under: Ball State, Buffalo, MAC, Coaching

That crashing sound from Detroit tonight, actually had nothing to do with the American car industry. That was Ball State's perfect season, the MAC Championship and manufactured outrage at being excluded from the BCS bowls all getting the index card from David Letterman through a window sound effect. The Bulls of Buffalo took out Ball State 42-24.

From the beginning, Buffalo came right at Ball State on defense. They kept Ball State's offense off-balance and on the sidelines. Despite the low scoring game, the Cardinals held a 10-7 halftime lead.

Ball State, and there is no other way to put it, gave this game away in the third quarter. The two teams exchanged scores to start the second half and Ball State seemed to be getting the game under control. They had forced a Buffalo turnover and were poised to take a two score lead. Instead, QB Nate Davis got stood up at the 1-yard line and stripped of the ball. Buffalo DB Mike Newton picked it up at the 8 and took it all the way back for a touchdown.

On Ball State's very next possession, they turned it over again. This time when the snap bounced off of an unsuspecting Nate Davis. Another Buffalo DB picked it up and took it back 74 yards for another touchdown. Suddenly Ball State was desperate, but ineffective. It was 28-17 heading into the 4th quarter.

Buffalo was controlling the game and forced Ball State to take chances that backfired. Rather than take a 3-and-out, they went for it on 4th down. Davis was again stripped of the ball. Buffalo scored a few minutes later to bury Ball State. Ball State finally scored, but it was too late and their defense was too demoralized to make a stop.

In three short years, Buffalo coach Turner Gill took the Bulls from the worst of the 1-A teams to winning the MAC and a trip to the International Bowl Detroit in three weeks for the Motor City Bowl. The next question, though, will be whether Turner Gill will be the head coach by then.

If Gill wasn't in demand after the fantastic job he's done with Buffalo, this should remind a few ADs looking for a new head coach. The Buffalo AD knew this was coming, and seems resigned to reality.

"I'd love to be in a position to pay million-dollar-plus salaries, but it's not that time here right now," Manuel said. "It might come a day in the future where that will be possible, but not now. But we're not going to go outside of ourselves financially. We're going to be stewards of the resources that we have and at the same time make sure from a salary standpoint that Turner knows his value to the institution."

The only question is what school will move quickly to get him. If they are smart, Syracuse should just swoop in now and write him a check. Gill has shown he can recruit in the East and develop the talent at hand. Things a program like Syracuse desperately needs.

Ball State Turns the Ball and the MAC Championship Over to Buffalo originally appeared on NCAA Football FanHouse on Sat, 06 Dec 2008 00:15:00 EST . Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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