‹ The template below (Infobox NCAA football yearly game) is being considered for merging. See templates for discussion to help reach a consensus. › Annual NCAA football game 1964 Liberty Bowl 6th Liberty Bowl | Utah Utes | West Virginia Mountaineers | (8–2) | (7–3) WAC | SoCon 32 | 6 Head coach: Ray Nagel | Head coach: Gene Corum | | 1| 2| 3| 4 | Total | | | | | Utah | 3| 16| 6| 7 | 32 West Virginia | 0| 0| 6| 0 | 6 Date| December 19, 1964 Season| 1964 Stadium| Atlantic City Convention Hall Location| Atlantic City, New Jersey MVP| Ernest "Pokey" Allen (QB, Utah) Attendance| 6,059 | Liberty Bowl < 1963 | 1965 > The 1964 Liberty Bowl was a college football bowl game played on December 19, 1964, at the Atlantic City Convention Hall (now known as Boardwalk Hall) in Atlantic City, New Jersey. It was the sixth edition of the Liberty Bowl, and featured the Utah Utes and the West Virginia Mountaineers. This was the first major bowl game ever played indoors and the first indoor American football game broadcast nationwide in the United States.[1][2][3] It was played indoors at a temperature of 60 °F (16 °C), in a venue that in the previous year had already hosted the Boardwalk Bowl (a small college bowl game), the Miss America pageant, the 1964 Democratic National Convention that nominated Lyndon B. Johnson for President, and one of The Beatles' largest concerts during their first American tour. ## Contents * 1 Background * 2 Game summary * 3 Scoring summary * 4 References * 5 Further reading ## Background[edit] The venue had been shifted to Atlantic City after the bowl was played for its initial five years outdoors in Philadelphia Municipal Stadium, (later John F. Kennedy Stadium), often in temperatures below freezing. The inaugural Liberty Bowl in 1959 saw Penn State beat Alabama by a score of 7–0 in front of 38,000 fans. But it was downhill from there, and fewer than 10,000 were in attendance to watch the 1963 edition between Mississippi State and NC State, with the organizers taking a loss of $40,000. The frigid temperatures at year's end in the Northeast led to the game being called the "Deep Freeze Bowl". Bud Dudley, organizer of the Liberty Bowl, was ready for a change and he was receptive to an offer from a group of Atlantic City businessmen who were trying to help revive the then-fading Jersey Shore resort that included a $25,000 guarantee.[4] The 1964 playing of the Liberty Bowl was the first major bowl game ever played indoors.[5] Artificial turf was not in use yet, and the playing surface was a 4-inch-thick (10 cm) grass surface with two inches of burlap underneath it on top of concrete. Artificial lights were installed and kept running all day long to keep the grass growing. The organizers spent $16,000 on all of the field preparations for the game.[4] To squeeze the game onto the floor of the convention hall, the end zones at each side of the field were shortened to eight yards in depth from the regulation ten.[6] In the 1964 postseason, the Liberty Bowl was one of just eight major bowl games.[7] The American Broadcasting Company (ABC) agreed to broadcast the game nationally, and brought Paul Christman, Curt Gowdy and Jim McKay to announce the game, paying $95,000 for the rights to broadcast the first nationwide telecast of an indoor football game.[8] ## Game summary[edit] Liberty Bowl at the Atlantic City Convention Center in 1964 The Utah Utes (8–2) faced the West Virginia Mountaineers (7–3). West Virginia's regular season record included a 28–27 upset over the Sugar Bowl-bound Syracuse Orangemen in their final regular game of the season. West Virginia featured running back Dick Leftridge and Utah's offense featured All-American Roy Jefferson.[4] Utah used their speed, and dominated West Virginia from start to finish and won 32–6.[9] Utah Halfback Ron Coleman gained 154 yards on 15 carries, scoring a touchdown on a 53-yard run.[5] Utah quarterback (and safety) Pokey Allen was named the game's outstanding player.[10][11] This was the last edition of the Liberty Bowl played in the Northeastern United States; it moved to Memphis, Tennessee, for the 1965 edition, where it has remained. ## Scoring summary[edit] Scoring summary | Quarter | Time | Drive | Team | Scoring information | Score | | | | | Plays | Yards | TOP | Utah | WVU 1 | | | 50 | | Utah | 29-yard field goal by Roy Jefferson | 3 | 0 2 | | | 45 | | Utah | Pokey Allen 11-yard touchdown run, Roy Jefferson kick good | 10 | 0 2 | | | | | Utah | 32-yard field goal by Roy Jefferson | 13 | 0 2 | | | 68 | | Utah | Ron Coleman 53-yard touchdown run, 2-point pass failed | 19 | 0 3 | | | 80 | | Utah | Andy Ireland 47-yard touchdown run, 2-point run failed | 25 | 0 3 | 0:10 | | 67 | | WVU | Milt Clegg 15-yard touchdown reception from Allen McCune, 2-point pass failed | 25 | 6 4 | | | | | Utah | Bill Morley 33-yard touchdown reception from Dick Groth, Jerry Pullman kick good | 32 | 6 "TOP" = time of possession. For other American football terms, see Glossary of American football. | 32 | 6 [12][13][14] ## References[edit] 1. ^ Miller, Hack (December 19, 1964). "Indoor bowl game: novel". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. p. A5. 2. ^ Nissenson, Herschel (December 20, 1964). "Utah rolls, 32-6". Ocala Star-Banner. Florida. Associated Press. p. 26. 3. ^ Green, Russ (December 20, 1964). "Utah bombs West Virginia in Liberty Bowl". Reading Eagle. Pennsylvania. UPI. p. 61. 4. ^ a b c Antonik, John. "Unique Game" Archived 2011-05-26 at the Wayback Machine, MSN Sports, June 22, 2005. Accessed September 4, 2008. 5. ^ a b Staff. "Who Won", Time (magazine), December 25, 1964. Accessed September 4, 2008. "At the Atlantic City Convention Hall, site of last August's Democratic National Convention, Utah trounced West Virginia 32–6 in the Liberty Bowl—first indoor bowl game ever. The temperature was a pleasantly cool 60°, and Utah Halfback Ron Coleman was red-hot: he gained 154 yds on 15 carries, including a 53-yd. touchdown burst." 6. ^ Morris, Ron. "A year indoors enriches Liberty's tradition.", The State (newspaper), December 27, 2006. Accessed September 4, 2008. 7. ^ Kragthorpe, Kurt. "Liberty has come a long way since '64", The Salt Lake Tribune, December 21, 2003. Accessed September 4, 2008. "This was 1964, when only four college football bowl games were staged — outside of the four traditional New Year's Day games." 8. ^ Adams, Val. "A TV 'FIRST' DUE: INDOOR FOOTBALL; Liberty Bowl Game Moved to Hall in Atlantic City", The New York Times, March 21, 1964. Accessed September 4, 2008. 9. ^ White Jr., Gordon S. "UTAH TEAM BEATS W. VIRGINIA, 32-6", The New York Times, December 20, 1964. Accessed September 4, 2008. 10. ^ "Captain Pokey Allen named most valuable". Lewiston Morning Tribune. (Idaho). Associated Press. December 20, 1964. p. 11. 11. ^ Miller, Hack (December 19, 1964). "Utes scalp W.Va., 32-6 in Liberty Bowl". Deseret News. Salt Lake City. p. 1A. 12. ^ UPI (December 20, 1964). "Utes Crush West Virginia, 32-6". The Lincoln Star. Lincoln, Nebraska. Retrieved February 24, 2017 - via newspapers.com. 13. ^ Nissenson, Hershel (December 20, 1964). "Utah Romps To 32-6 Win Over W. Va". Arizona Daily Star. Tucson, Arizona. AP. Retrieved February 24, 2017 - via newspapers.com. 14. ^ UPI (December 13, 1964). "TV Rosters". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. Retrieved February 24, 2017 - via newspapers.com. ## Further reading[edit] * "U of U - Jerry Robinson - punter for the Liberty bowl 1964. First indoor football game". Dee Gardner. May 3, 2016. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved February 24, 2017 - via YouTube. (video) * "Utah's 1964 Liberty Bowl team, Crimson Club Hall of Fame". The Salt Lake Tribune. September 5, 2014. Archived from the original on 2021-12-21. Retrieved February 24, 2017 - via YouTube. (video) * v * t * e 1964–65 NCAA football bowl game season * Grantland Rice (Dec. 12) * Tangerine (Dec. 12) * Bluebonnet (Dec. 19) * Liberty (Dec. 19) * Sun (Dec. 26) * Cotton (Jan. 1) * Orange (Jan. 1) * Rose (Jan. 1) * Sugar (Jan. 1) * Gator (Jan. 2) * v * t * e Liberty Bowl History & conference tie-ins| * History * Philadelphia Municipal Stadium * Convention Hall * Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium * Broadcasters * Big 12 Conference * Southeastern Conference * American Athletic Conference Games| * 1959 * 1960 * 1961 * 1962 * 1963 * 1964 * 1965 * 1966 * 1967 * 1968 * 1969 * 1970 * 1971 * 1972 * 1973 * 1974 * 1975 * 1976 * 1977 * 1978 * 1979 * 1980 * 1981 * 1982 * 1983 * 1984 * 1985 * 1986 * 1987 * 1988 * 1989 * 1990 * 1991 * 1992 * 1993 * 1994 * 1995 * 1996 * 1997 * 1998 * 1999 * 2000 * 2001 * 2002 * 2003 * 2004 * 2005 * 2006 * 2007 * 2009 * 2010 (January) * 2010 (December) * 2011 * 2012 * 2013 * 2014 * 2016 (January) * 2016 (December) * 2017 * 2018 * 2019 * 2020 * 2021 Notes| * There was no Liberty Bowl in 2008 or 2015. * There was a Liberty Bowl in January and December of 2010 and 2016. * v * t * e Utah Utes bowl games * 1939 Sun Bowl * 1964 Liberty Bowl * 1992 Copper Bowl * 1993 Freedom Bowl * 1994 Freedom Bowl * 1996 Copper Bowl * 1999 Las Vegas Bowl * 2001 Las Vegas Bowl * 2003 Liberty Bowl * 2005 Fiesta Bowl * 2005 Emerald Bowl * 2006 Armed Forces Bowl * 2007 Poinsettia Bowl * 2009 Sugar Bowl * 2009 Poinsettia Bowl * 2010 Maaco Bowl Las Vegas * 2011 Sun Bowl * 2014 Las Vegas Bowl * 2015 Las Vegas Bowl * 2016 Foster Farms Bowl * 2017 Heart of Dallas Bowl * 2018 Holiday Bowl * 2019 Alamo Bowl * 2022 Rose Bowl * v * t * e West Virginia Mountaineers bowl games * 1922 San Diego East-West Christmas Classic * 1938 Sun Bowl * 1949 Sun Bowl * 1954 Sugar Bowl * 1964 Liberty Bowl * 1969 Peach Bowl * 1972 Peach Bowl * 1975 Peach Bowl * 1981 Peach Bowl (December) * 1982 Gator Bowl * 1983 Hall of Fame Classic * 1984 Astro-Bluebonnet Bowl * 1987 Sun Bowl * 1989 Fiesta Bowl # * 1989 Gator Bowl (December) * 1994 Sugar Bowl * 1995 Carquest Bowl (January) * 1997 Gator Bowl * 1997 Carquest Bowl * 1998 Insight.com Bowl * 2000 Music City Bowl * 2002 Continental Tire Bowl * 2004 Gator Bowl * 2005 Gator Bowl * 2006 Sugar Bowl * 2007 Gator Bowl * 2008 Fiesta Bowl * 2008 Meineke Car Care Bowl * 2010 Gator Bowl * 2010 Champs Sports Bowl * 2012 Orange Bowl * 2012 Pinstripe Bowl * 2014 Liberty Bowl * 2016 Cactus Bowl (January) * 2016 Russell Athletic Bowl * 2017 Heart of Dallas Bowl * 2018 Camping World Bowl * 2020 Liberty Bowl * 2021 Guaranteed Rate Bowl # - denotes National Championship Game. *[v]: View this template *[t]: Discuss this template *[e]: Edit this template