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1953 Gator Bowl
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American college football game
December 2025
August 2023
Gator Bowl 1953 1952 January 1 Gator Bowl Jacksonville, Florida Tulsa Golden Hurricane 8–1–1 12 NR Buddy Brothers MVC 0 0 7 6 Florida Gators 7–3 Bob Woodruff SEC 15 NR 7 7 0 0 Ronald Gibbs (MVC;split crew: MVC, SEC) 30,015 (26,500 paid)John H. Turner, "Gators Weather Hurricane Touchdowns in Second Half, Salvage 14–13 Bowl Victory," Tulsa World, Jan. 2, 1953, pp. 1, 44. RB John Hall (Florida) T Marv Matuszak (Tulsa) 1952 1954
The 1953 Gator Bowl was a post-season college football bowl game between the Tulsa Golden Hurricane of the Missouri Valley Conference and the Florida Gators representing the Southeastern Conference (SEC). Florida defeated Tulsa, 14–13.https://www.angelfire.com/ga/GoGators/bowl1953.html MGGC Online Angelfire 2015-10-01 This was the Gators' first appearance in an NCAA-sanctioned bowl game.
Game summary
An extra point by Rick Casares proved to be the difference. Florida outrushed the Golden Hurricane 233 to 182, while Tulsa outpassed the Gators 132 to 101. The Golden Hurricane turned the ball over twice, while Florida committed five turnovers. This was the first Gator Bowl in which more than one player was awarded MVP honors, a practice that continued until 2011.http://www.taxslayerbowl.com/wp-content/uploads/boxscores/8thBoxScores.pdf Archived copy 2016-12-16 https://web.archive.org/web/20150905201220/http://www.taxslayerbowl.com/wp-content/uploads/boxscores/8thBoxScores.pdf 2015-09-05 dead
The attendance for the game was 30,015.https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-ponca-city-news-missed-conversion-ni/132908389/ The Ponca City News Missed conversion nips Tulsa, 14–13 January 2, 1953 October 4, 2023 Newspapers.com
Scoring summary
Florida - Rick Casares, 2-yard touchdown run (Casares kick)
Florida - J. Hall, 37-yard touchdown pass from Fred Robinson (Casares kick)
Tulsa - J. C. Roberts. 3-yard touchdown run (Tom Miner kick)
Tulsa - Howard Waugh, 2-yard touchdown run (kick failed)
Game statistics
First Downs — Florida 20, Tulsa 17
Yards Rushing — Florida 233, Tulsa 182
Yards Passing — Florida 101, Tulsa 132
Passing Completions-Attempts — Florida 7–11; Tulsa 10–16
Penalty Yards — Florida 34, Tulsa 84
Turnovers — Florida 5, Tulsa 2
Punts — Florida 1, Tulsa 4
References
Gator Bowl
Category:Gator Bowl
Category:Tulsa Golden Hurricane football bowl games
Category:Florida Gators football bowl games
Category:20th century in Jacksonville, Florida
Category:January 1953 sports events in the United States
Gator Bowl