Story Financial Partners Bowl Brings Memories of 1960s Space City Classic

Saturday’s Story Financial Partners Bowl between Samford and North Alabama is a rare college football game at historic Joe W. Davis Stadium. The game is an attempt at a landmark kickoff game in the Rocket City. The new kickoff game in Huntsville is reminiscent of the city’s attempt at becoming a premier college football destination in the 1960s.

Huntsville attempted to cash in on 1960s Space Age fascination by launching a bowl game. In 1966, the Space City Classic began humbly with a matchup between Jacksonville State and Arkansas A&M (now Arkansas-Monticello).

Jacksonville State earned the bid after amassing a 6-2 record and winning the Alabama Collegiate Conference crown. Arkansas A&M accepted the bid with a matching record ahead of its season finale. Jacksonville State had to wait five days before the Space City Classic found an opponent for the Gamecocks. Sadly, this was slight foreshadowing.

The inaugural game took place on Thanksgiving at Milton Frank Stadium.

Selection issues aside, the first Space City Classic was an instant classic. Jacksonville State won a thrilling 41-30 affair, led by Bubba Long’s 141 rushing yards, 77 receiving yards, and three touchdowns. Both teams’ passing games excelled. Jacksonville State threw for 343 yards, while Arkansas A&M threw for 251. In all, 6,500 fans flocked to the initial Space City Classic.

Despite returning for the 1967 season with high hopes, the Space City Classic. After waiting five days to find an opponent for its Alabama representative the previous year, the Classic had its de facto home team reject their invitation. Troy won the Alabama Collegiate Conference with a 7-2 record and rejected their Space City Classic invitation, sending the bowl into a frenzy.

In all, the bowl considered seven teams to play in the game: 5-1-1 Arkansas A&M, 5-3 Carson-Newman, 5-1-1 Central Arkansas, Lenoir-Rhyne, 4-3 Livingston College (now West Alabama), 5-2 Northwestern State, and 5-2 Samford.

Ultimately, Samford accepted the bid as the Alabama representative, while Arkansas A&M returned to the bowl for a second straight year.

Samford’s Jim Lovette put on a NASA-caliber aerial show, throwing for 331 yards and three touchdowns in a 20-7 win. John Easley led the Bulldogs with nine receptions. Unfortunately, only 3,000 fans watched Lovette’s rocket launches, spelling the end for the Space City Classic, less than half of the previous year’s attendance.

The following year, the Space City Classic shifted to hosting local high school teams.

Nearly 60 years later, the Space City Classic has a new coat of paint and a different stadium. The spiritual successor to the Space City Classic, the Story Financial Partners Bowl, has stronger footing without the stress of finding interested teams at the end of a grueling season.