Here is a
special treasure to those who identify with the
Shrine Bowl of the Carolinas: the actual Sunday
morning report of the first game as published by the
Charlotte Observer, word for word.
This story
bring back out of the past the facts and excitement
of each contest. As Richard Oppel, Editor of the
Observer suggests, they also reflect the changing
nature of sports journalism over the past 50 years.
The articles
are Copyright. The Charlotte Observer, and are
reprinted with permission, also with the permission
of Mr. Walter J. Klein who authored our Book “A Bowl
Full Of Miracles.”
As the governor of North Carolina
might have astutely observed to the
equally-honorable gentleman from South Carolina, it
was a long way between touchdowns at Memorial
stadium yesterday.
Still, the Sandlappers scored
sensationally, the Tar Heels rolled back for a
fruitful 48-yard drive, and the 11th
annual Shrine Bowl game ended in a 7-7 tie before a
colorful audience of some 20,000.
The principle of the tackle
overshadowed the principle of the block as the two
high school all-star clubs collided, and as a
consequence the third deadlock of the rivalry opened
the charity classic’s second decade. The wiseacres
who figured the game to be an even money bet picked
up the marbles, while the opposing backs had a
somewhat tougher time picking up any blockers.
For all the defensive superiority,
caused no doubt by the lack of time the coaches had
to synchronize their attacks, the game still
produced the second most spine-tingling touchdown
play in Shrine Bowl history. Bringing that
thrilling slash to pass was O.O. Crowe, a slender
substitute fullback from Greenville, S.C. who
performed in the best tradition of hometown
neighbors Ansel Bridwell, Booty Payne, Footsie Woods
and Eddis Freeman who previously have graced this
series.
Crowe
Goes 81
The play came midway in the second
period with an immediate prospect of breaking a
scoreless tie which prevailed at the time. With the
ball on the South Carolina 26, the Tar Heels Ernie
Kluttz of Concord faded back and tossed a pass into
his left flat. South Carolina’s End Russell Murray
of Summerville tipped the ball into the air, and
friend Crowe cradled it in his arms on the 19 and
hit the invitingly open right sidelines.
Tightroping past a swarm of Tar Heel
defenders, Crowe was almost boxed in on the
Sandlapper 40, but Guard Fred Carter of Olympia
erased the great North Carolina center, Jimmy Zrakas
of Wilson, and Double-0 was still going. On the
N.C. 35, he appeared to be halted again, but this
time Gaffney’s A.L. Curtis broke him away for the
completion of an 81-yard sprint for a touchdown.
Burlington’s Earl Wrightenberry
blocked the first try for point, yet an offside
penalty gave kicker Roy Davis, Olympia center,
another chance, and this time he made it to give the
Palmettos a 7-0 lead. Three plays later Davis, who
had performed well, was carried off the field with
what was later diagnosed as a broken leg.
Crowe’s canter ranks only behind the
90-yard opening kickoff return authored by
Asheville’s Billy Britt in 1944 for Shrine game
sensations. His run was enough to give the
Sandlappers a 7-0 halftime lead, broken finally by
the Tar Heels’ resolute surge in the third quarter.
Runyan Ties It
Kirby Rader, the Marion boy who led
the ineffectual attempts to break through the South
Carolina defenses consistently, started it by
returning Billy Hair’s punt to the Palmetto 48.
Rader picked up two at the line, then after passing
incompletely, was replaced by chunky Johnny Coble of
Mount Airy.
In his lone offensive bid of the
day, the injured Coble whipped a 16-yard
down-the-middle pass to High Point’s hefty end,
Richard Crossder, for a first down on the 30. Then
Quarterback Joe Self of Greensboro called on
“Himself” and whipped through for 11 more yards to
the 19. Once again he carried, driving his 160
pounds down to the 15. At that junction Gastonia’s
Charley Runyan took over the passing role, and
looped a high one to Wingback Bobby Clemmons,
Greensboro wingback, as Bob was going out on the
six.
The Tar Heels were penalized back to
the 11 for taking too much time, but that didn’t
faze the squad or powerful Runyan. On first down,
he took the ball from center, was aided by
uncommonly-good faking by his backfield mates, and
roamed through a hole at right tackle over for the
tying touchdown. It was up to Zrakas to decide
defeat or deadlock, and aggressive little Jimmy
didn’t miss. The ball split the uprights for a 7-7
tie, and except for a few futile last period
rumblings, that was the clincher.
Statistics Prove
First down honors for the day went
to North Carolina, 8-4 although two of the Tar Heels
first-and-tens came on some of the 80 yards in
penalties assessed South Carolina, three of them for
holding and two for unnecessary roughness. The
rushing figures bore out the even complexion of the
game. Both clubs grossed 84 yards running with the
Sandlappers losing two more than their rivals.
Although he didn’t figure in the
scoring the “Back of the Day” undoubtedly was South
Carolinas’s Billy Hair of Walterboro. Hair carried
no less than 17 times, picked up better than half of
his club’s rushing total, and displayed with a bit
surer blocking he would have gone places. Wingback
Gene Barmer of Camden and sub Tailback Floyd Spence
of Lexington were the other noteworthy Palmetto
backs.
Rader was the most often used of the
Tar Heel performers, wasn’t sensational, but showed
he was still a college star in the rough. Self,
Runyan, and Albemarle’s stubby plunger, Bob Gantt,
were other leaders of the blue-clad team’s attack.
Fine stars were many, with Jimmy
Zrakas of Wilson, Bill Barringer of Salisbury, Paul
Jones of Winston-Salem and John Hopkins of Charlotte
Tech among N.C.’s best. Tackles Marion Campbell of
Chester and Jack Moneyham of Brookland-Cayce, along
with Guard Davis of Olympia, were the Palmetto
bulwarks.
S.C.
Threatens
Co-Captains Zrakas and Jesse Berry
of Charlotte Central for North Carolina and Captain
Carter for South Carolina figured in the opening
coin flip, South Carolina made the first bid by
capitalizing on the Tar Heel safety men’s wild
handling of punts, with Marion Campbell falling on a
fumble by Canton’s Clyde Miller on the N.C. 34 to
start the day’s first threat.
Hair faked a punt and pitched out to
Fullback Dick Brewer of North Charleston for a first
down on the Tar Heel 25. Four more plays could
advance it but two yards further, however, and the
push fizzled. The boys in gold were back again as
the first period was closing, featuring a 13-yard
screen pass. Hair to Quarterback Jack Chandler of
Sumter, for a first down on the 36. There a holding
penalty nipped the drive in the bud.
North Carolina’s best showing of the
first half came on two Rader first down passes to
Gastonia’s Bill Uren on the final two plays. Except
for Crowe’s sprint, the opening semesters were
colorless, with not one first down being scored
rushing.
It was the Tar Heels who moved in
the third quarter, however, with the boys from down
under managing but two series of downs for the whole
15 minutes. The N.C. touchdown came on the last
play of the period.
The teams exchanged inconsequential
raids in the final chukker. Moneyham was through to
discourage an attempted North Carolina quick kick on
the 28, and Barmer took a reverse for a first down
on the N.C. 27. That was South Carolina’s last bow
and there it stopped.
Then in the closing minutes,
Charlotte Tech’s Hopkins intercepted a pass by Floyd
Sense and returned it 26 yards to the Sandlapper
39. On the ensuing play, however, Curtis played
turnabout by intercepting Rader’s aerial, and that
was the Tar Heels’ final act.
Statistics
S.C. N.C.
First
downs
4 8
Net yards
rushing
65 67
Forward passes
attempted
11 9
Forward passes
completed
8 4
Yards gained
passing
36 85
Forwards
intercepted
by
2 1
Opponents fumbles
recovered
1 0
Yards lost
penalties
80 30