As it has for the last ninety years, Denver remains without a postseason college football game. Let's talk about the only other attempt.
Written By
Omar-Rashon Borja
Senior Writer, Editor, Historian
Written By
Omar-Rashon Borja
Senior Writer, Editor, Historian
What happens to a dream deferred? Or rather a bowl deferred? The dreams of a Denver bowl game appear to have dried up "like a raisin in the sun" after KTIK’s Mike Prater reported that the bowl could not secure a sponsor or TV partner.
Denver's lack of a bowl game is surprising given the city's size and connection to the rest of the country. Denver is the United States' 19th-largest metro area, and its airport is the 3rd-busiest in the country, a bowl game is a natural fit for the region. Nevertheless, this failed proposal continues a now over-90-year gap from the last time the city of Denver's last attempt at a college football postseason game.
On New Year’s Day in 1930, the Elks Club of Denver hosted a college all-star game to benefit charity efforts during the Great Depression. Charity games for Great Depression relief efforts were common in the late 1920s and early 1930s. In 1930, a charity game notably ended the Army-Navy Game's two-year hiatus stemming from eligibility disputes.
All-stars from the North Central Conference and Rocky Mountain Conference clashed for conference supremacy at Denver University's Hilltop Stadium. Most of the players were relative unknowns on the college football landscape, except for Utah center Marvin Jonas, a third-team All-American on Davis Walsh's team. The North Central Conference ultimately came out on top with a 13-6 win.
Newspaper accounts lauded the North Central all-stars' trickery, describing "triple passes" , reverses and double reverses as some of their wrinkles. North Dakota's Glen "Red Rabbit" Jarrett and Morningside's Lawrence Smith scored the touchdowns for the North Central All-Stars.
Jarrett used this all-star game as a launchpad for a breakout 1930 season where he earned honorable mention All-American honors from three publications and the New York Herald Tribune's Back of the Year award. Reputable New York sportswriter Herbert Reed praised Jarrett as "the best halfback on any field" and remarked "15 big time scouts" supported this claim.
The Rocky Mountain Conference did not score until the final minute of the game, literally throwing away an earlier scoring opportunity by passing on 4th and one inside the North Central 20. Paul Thorn of BYU scored the Rocky Mountain team's only touchdown of the day.
Unfortunately, this was the only edition of the game. In December of 1930, the Elks Club of Denver deemed the game financially irresponsible as the Great Depression intensified.
The failure of the proposed Denver bowl makes the 1930 North Central Conference-Rocky Mountain Conference All-Star Game may be short-lived, but it remains an odd piece of trivia in Denver's football history.
The NCAA’s Bowl and All-Star Game Records kicked off this research, while North Dakota’s Football Media Guide was an indispensable resource.
Proposed Pac-12 bowl game in the Denver area is dead after losing TV deal and title sponsor, per source. Game would have been for this 2026 season. P12 bowl options become very limited. "Dont know what the Pac-12 will do, or the Mountain West for that matter," source said.
