1966 Tangerine Bowl

American college football game December 2025 August 2023 Tangerine Bowl December 10 1966 1966 NCAA College Division Tangerine Bowl Orlando, Florida 7138 Willie Lanier West Chester State College West Chester Golden Rams Pennsylvania State CollegesFootball Conference Bob Mitten 8–2 0 0 0 6 Morgan State College Morgan State Bears Central IntercollegiateAthletic Association Earl Banks 8–0 0 7 0 7 Citrus Bowl The 1966 Tangerine Bowl was an NCAA College Division game following the 1966 season, between the West Chester Golden Rams and the Morgan State Bears. Morgan State linebacker Willie Lanier was named the game's most valuable player.https://www.newspapers.com/image/219233566/?terms=lanier BEARS BEAT RAMS, 14-6 IN FLORIDA Robert L. Naylor subscription The Baltimore Sun newspapers.com December 11, 1966 March 1, 2017 Background The game was one of four regional finals in the College Division, the predecessor of Division II; the other three postseason games were the Pecan, Grantland Rice, and Camellia bowls, also played on December 10. In 1965, Morgan State defeated Florida A&M in the Orange Blossom Classic, which was the unofficial championship game for historically black colleges and universities. In 1966, Morgan State, led by Lanier, was invited to play in the Tangerine Bowl. The Bears were on a 17-game winning streak going into the Tangerine Bowl, and based on that and their 1965 victory, they merited inclusion on their quality of play.Schmuck Peter December 25, 2015 1966 Morgan State bowl team that broke barriers to be honored https://www.baltimoresun.com/2015/12/25/1966-morgan-state-bowl-team-that-broke-barriers-to-be-honored/ Baltimore Sun Inviting the Bears, however, represented a significant social change. It would be the first time that a team from an historically black college was invited to play in the game in central Florida. Orlando, the city where the game would be played, had never hosted an integrated high school or college football game. Orlando's mayor Bob Carr decided to end the practice that limited participation in the game to all white teams. The game's hosts made sure the two teams were treated equally, and mingled with each other at events before the game. ABC covered the game on network television. Notable participants Morgan State players who subsequently had NFL careers include Lanier, defensive back Bob Wade (who would come to greater fame as the basketball coach at Baltimore's Dunbar High, and as head basketball coach at the University of Maryland, the first black coach of a major sport at that school), quarterback and kicker (later, defensive back) Daryl Johnson, wide receiver Alvin Mitchell, and linebacker (later, running back) Jeff Queen. Wade also went on to be head basketball coach for the Maryland Terrapins. James Phillips played in the NFL and went on to become head football and wrestling coach at Morgan State. Lanier and head coach Earl Banks are inductees of the College Football Hall of Fame. Lanier is an inductee of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. West Chester quarterback Jim Haynie, offensive end Don Wilkinson, and head coach Bob Mitten are inductees of their university's hall of fame.http://www.wcupagoldenrams.com/hof.aspx Hall of Fame wcupagoldenrams.com March 2, 2017 Scoring summary WC MS 2 4:31 MS 17 80 RushTD Roland Savage 1 good Daryl Johnson 0 7 4 3:33 MS IntTD Jeff Queen 11 good Daryl Johnson 0 14 4 0:31 WC 13 72 RecTD Don Wilkinson Jim Haynie 11 pass failed 6 14 6 14 https://www.newspapers.com/image/212619364/?terms=tangerine Morgan State Wins Tangerine Bowl Game 14-6 Associated Press subscription The News-Press Fort Myers, Florida newspapers.com December 11, 1966 March 1, 2017 References Further reading http://www.morganstatebears.com/news/2015/12/16/FB_1216155403.aspx 50 Years Later Morgan State Returns To Orlando David Freeman morganstatebears.com December 16, 2015 March 1, 2017 https://www.baltimoresun.com/2015/12/25/1966-morgan-state-bowl-team-that-broke-barriers-to-be-honored/ 1966 Morgan State bowl team that broke barriers to be honored Peter Schmuck The Baltimore Sun December 25, 2015 March 1, 2017 Tangerine Bowl Category:Citrus Bowl (game) Category:Morgan State Bears football bowl games Category:West Chester Golden Rams football bowl games Tangerine Bowl Tangerine Bowl