Evening star., 1941-12-21

for Tulane with $4,000 attendance
are commonplace, thanks to the
more than 10000 seats the Sugar
Bowl built onto the Tulane Stadium.
The Sugar Bowl idea was kicked
around easy-going New Orleans for
a decade before enough men would
risk their money to back it on jan
uarv l, 1885 The beginning was
modest. with the crowd of $4,000
not even filling the stadium to see
Tulane beat Temple, 20-l4.
But the Sugar Bowl has grown
like the proverbial beanstalk and
now brings around $4,000 visitors
discuss it. but it is regarded as
a foregone conclusion here that
after the war ends and steel be-
comes available. the stadium will
be finished by double e-decking the
horseshoe ends, giving it an ultl-
mate capacity of about $4,000.
Picks Teams From Anywhere.
Then the dream of the 80 men
Mid-Winter Sports Association-for
which the Sugar Bowl is short
of presenting game and crowd
equaling the more venerable Rose
4 Bowl will approach reality. On the
/ three way split now in vogue. con-
| testing teams take away annually
around $4,000 each. With a fin-
/ ished stadium that would approach
100000
The Sugar Bowl setup differs from
the Rose Bowl in two major fe-
Spects: Instead of being tied to the
. Southeastern Conference as the
Rose Bowl is tied 10 the Pacific
/ Coast Conference. the Sugar Bowl
| Committee can pick two teams from
any place: and besides a football
game the Sugar Bowl presents high
class matches of boxing, tennis,
yachting and rowing, outdoor track
and basket ball-a week of winter
sports into which the East-West
game will dovetail.
From the middle l920's until early
in 1884 there was recurrent talk
here of a bowl game. but it re-
manned talk. No money was forth
coming as year after year slipped
by until the 80 men, representing
themselves. business organlza tons
and civic groups, decided to take
the plunge.
Started With Modest Amount.
They rounded up 300 persons who
put up 500 each as guarantee
of SIS 900 to the Northern team
$4,000 for the Southern team and
$4,000 for expenses. The gate of
$1,000 that saw Tulane beat Temple
paid out the guarantee. The spon-
sors went back to the guarantors
twice more and by then the game
was over the hill. In 1886 crowd
of $4,000 saw Texas Christian beat
Louisiana State, 3 to 2.
The ambitious Bowl Committee
wanted more seats after $4,000 saw
Santa Clara defeat Louisiana State,
2l-l4, in 1887, and borrowed sl75,000
from Tulane University to build the
stadium up to $4,000 seats. 1t was
a first-class risk for Tulane for the
money went back into its stadium,
which the Sugar Bowl uses only one
day year.
The game was a sellout in 1893
when Santa Clara repeated over
Louisiana State. 60 and in 1899
: when Texas Christian defeated
5 Carnegie Tech, Is TO I. So the
Sugar Bowl Committee f7oated a
bond issue of s550O00 to run the
capacity up to $4,000. The issue
: was oversubscribed quickly and
= easily. TIE seats were ready and
filled on January /. 1910. when the
great Texas Aggies defeated Tu-
=. lane. IA to 13
Fans Wild to Get Tickets.
: Thousands of applications were
turned down again in l941 when
the game was sellout for Boston
, Colleges 19-to-13 victory over Ten
! neSSee.
The sponsors and bondholders get
only one special privilege-that OF
buying their tickets in limited num-
! bers before the public sale. They
pay for these, too. This year the
crowd tore down door when the
!, public ticket sale started November
, l and lasted just six days with a
sellout.
, The game already has over
! shadowed mardi gras in attracting
a free spending money crowd tc
New Orleans.