1981 Hall of Fame Bowl
The 1981 Hall of Fame Bowl was the 5th of 9 games played in the annual college football post-season bowl game at Birmingham's Legion Field, produced in partnership with the National Football Foundation's College Football Hall of Fame in South Bend, Indiana. The Thursday, December 31, 1981 game pitted the 7-4 Mississippi State Bulldogs of the Southeastern Conference against the 8-3 Kansas Jayhawks of the Big Eight. Soggy conditions prevailed, with official attendance counted at 41,672.
The Hall of Fame Bowl festivities began with a welcome barbecue dinner at the Hyatt Birmingham on December 27. The next night the teams enjoyed a Mexican fiesta at Casa Tampico while the coaches attended a reception at the First National-Southern Natural Building and dinner at The Club. Tuesday saw the Queen's pageant at Brookwood Village and a coaches' reception at Vulcan Park followed by dinner at On The Town. The media attended a separate dinner at Michael's. On the eve of the game, players made visits to Children's Hospital and invited guests attended ladies' luncheons at private homes. The pre-game press conference took place at the Hyatt followed by an awards luncheon at the BJCC. The President's dinner that night was served at The Club. Game day started off with a media breakfast at the Hyatt, and a VIP brunch at the National Guard's Graymont Armory. The Jacksonville State University Marching Southerners performed and the Alabama Lions Great Balloon Race signaled the start of the game. Kansas won the coin toss, and kick-off was at 1:00 PM.
Mississippi State made an early impact when senior All-SEC safety Rob Fesmire recovered a fumble during the Jayhawks' return of the opening kickoff. The Bulldogs scored on the next play as quarterback John Bond ran 17-yards on an option play, only twelve seconds into the first quarter. The Bulldog Defense, led by Fesmire, held the Jawhawks to 7 yards rushing. Punter/kicker Dana Moore capped off the scoring in the second quarter with a 22-yard field goal. He missed a 39-yard attempt late in the 2nd half.
The Kansas and Mississippi State marching bands performed at half time.
Neither team produced much offense in the second half, with Mississippi State falling short on 4th and 1 at the Kansas 14 yard line in the third quarter. Moore missed his second 39-yard attempt early in the 4th quarter.
The game resulted in several Hall of Fame Bowl records broken, including Moore's 74-yard punt for Mississippi State. Linebacker Johnnie Cooks was given the Zipp Newman Memorial Trophy for outstanding defensive player of the game, while the Cecil Stubbs Memorial Trophy for most valuable player the and Bob Phillips Memorial Trophy and outstanding offensive player went to John Bond, who finished with 51 yards passing and 79 yards rushing in 17 carries. Kansas tailback Garfield Taylor led the Jayhawks with 61 yards in 20 carries. Kansas back-up quarterback Mike Frederick completed 7 of 9 passes for 110 yards in limited action.
With the victory, Mississippi State was ranked #17 in the final UPI Coaches' poll and was left unranked in the final AP Top 20.
References
- "Fifth Annual Hall of Fame Bowl" souvenir program. (December 31, 1981). Birmingham Football Foundation/Gray Printing Company
External links
- Hall of Fame Bowl 1981 at Mark Bolding's "My Favorite Bowls"