The Earthquake Bowl

The **Earthquake Bowl** is a family holiday football game played in December or January (usually during the holiday season) in the memory of former Washington, DC Deputy Fire Chief of Fire Operations Bob Corso. The game's most valuable player is awarded the V. Robert Corso MVP award. The best performing player of the losing team is awarded the Bruce A. Bodine Most Valuable Loser Award (named after a former player).

The Earthquake Bowl is primarily played between different incarnations of two teams ("Blue & Gold" and "White & Black"), but has occasionally used alternate teams ("Black," "Blue," "White," and "Red").

## Origin

The game was created as a backyard pick-up football game around 1985 for bragging rights among extended family members. It was founded by John A., Robert E., Thomas A., and Russell E. The Earthquake Bowl was named by John A., the inspiration for which was heavy stomping by a family member that was notorious for shaking a suburban family home. The first officially recorded "**Earthquake Bowl I**" was played on December 26, 1988 between "The Maryland Rednecks" (Black team) and "The New York Pinkos" (Blue team). This was also the first game in which the V. Robert Corso MVP was awarded. The power to award the most valuable player for Earthquake Bowl I was granted to Bob Corso's widow Rita Corso.

## Game wins history

### 1988: First official Earthquake Bowl

Earthquake Bowl I was played on December 26, 1988 at Beuler Road Athletic Field in Olney, Maryland between "The Maryland Rednecks" (Black team) and "The New York Pinkos" (Blue team). The result was a 47 to 6 blow out for the Blue team.

### Dominant franchise

The Blue & Gold team became a staple team with its inception occurring during **Earthquake Bowl II** (which was played on December 26, 1989). The Blue & Gold team has made the most Earthquake Bowl appearances and has the most victories.

### 1989-1990's: Annual streak and revival

In the late 1980's and early 1990's, the Earthquake Bowl remained an annual event until it took a six year hiatus from 1993 through 1998 (due to lack of interest and player availability). The Earthquake Bowl was revived in 1999 to become a semi-annual event.

### 2000's: The next generation

The Earthquake Bowl remained a semi-annual event throughout the 2000's, as the event was passed on to another generation.

## Photography

Most Earthquake Bowls had photographers that produced multiple photos (with some exceptions). Several photographs were taken during **Earthquake Bowl III** but never shared. Some have theorized that these photos were never shared as retribution for a series of incidents in Earthquake Bowl III in which a player was accused of utilizing a "high-stepping" technique to mask intentionally kicking other players (or threatening kicks to maintain their distance).

## Venues

Earthquake Bowl I was the only event played at Beuler Road Athletic Field in Olney, Maryland. Most other Earthquake Bowls in the late 1980's and early 1990's were played at St. Peter's Church. Several other Earthquake Bowls, spanning into the 2000's, were played at Hadley Park/Falls Road Park in Potomac, Maryland. Other subsequent Earthquake Bowls were played at various locations.

 Other locations | 5

## Earthquake Bowl awards and trophies

The original Earthquake Bowl (V. Robert Corso) Most Valuable Player (MVP) award was created for Earthquake Bowl I in 1988. A plaque was created with space to engrave names of award winners. The intention was for the MVP of the game to engrave his own name in the next available space on the plaque and keep the award until the next year's game. The MVP was awarded to John W. for **Earthquake Bowl IV**, and the award was purported to be stored in his basement. The plaque was claimed "lost" and did not resurface until the 2010's. Some have theorized that the absence of the original Earthquake Bowl MVP award was intentional as retribution for a series of incidents in Earthquake Bowl III in which a player utilized a "high-stepping" technique to mask intentionally kicking other players (or threatening kicks to maintain their distance).

In 1999, the original Earthquake Bowl MVP plaque was replaced with a new trophy. Another trophy was also created for the inception of the Bruce A. Bodine Good Sport Award. This second award was initially awarded to the best sport of the game (as the title implies), but was sometimes used as a de facto "most valuable player" of the losing team award (as finding a true "good sport" was sometimes challenging and few truly aspired to be labelled the "best sport" of the game). Both trophies had space for engravings and were kept by the organizer of the games to ensure they were available the following year.

By 2007, physical trophies were no longer utilized, and the Bruce A. Bodine Good Sport was rebranded as the Bruce A. Bodine Most Valuable Loser (MVL) award. By **Earthquake Bowl XVIII**, player awards were represented by an award certificate.

## Earthquake Bowl/Roller Bowl rule book

An official **Earthquake Bowl rule book** was created by Robert E., John A., Thomas A., and Mark E. in 1991. This rule book was often ignored.

## Earthquake Bowl logo history

The Earthquake Bowl was originally without a logo. The first Earthquake Bowl logo was not developed until the 1999 revival of the event.

The logo was redesigned in 2008 with a crest designed by player John W.

    The logo was updated with a different crest in 2014 (currently shown in the main image). An alternate white and black version of the 2014 logo also exists as a secondary logo.

## Earthquake Bowl parody logos

Earthquake Bowl logos designed to parody other football league logos (not used in an official capacity).

## Earthquake Bowl intellectual property

Earthquake Bowl and all of its logos, documents, and photographs are claimed and owned by members of the family.

## See also

* **The Roller Bowl**
* **Earthquake Bowl/Roller Bowl rule book**