Vanderbilt began football in 1890 (with only one game that year). The school became a charter member of the SEC in 1933. Despite the conference's bowl-friendly attitude, the Commodores didn't play in a bowl game until the end of the 1955 season.

Under third-year coach Art Guepe, Vandy finished that season 7-3 including victories over Alabama 21-6, Virginia 34-7, Kentucky 34-0, Tulane 20-7 (with yours truly in attendance) and Florida 21-6. In the season finale in Knoxville, archrival Tennessee scored twice in Q4 to knock the Commodores out of a New Year's Day Bowl (Sugar or Cotton), 20-14. However, the Gator Bowl invited Vanderbilt to face another SEC team, Auburn, in the 11th annual game in Jacksonville. Chancellor Harvey Branscomb, worried that a bowl game might tarnish the school's academic reputation, reluctantly agreed, which was a good thing because Vandy has played in only two more bowls since then (1974 Peach Bowl and 1982 Hall of Fame Bowl). Furthermore, Vanderbilt received $142,619 and won the game.

Auburn finished 8-1-1, the only loss at Tulane 27-13 (another game yours truly attended). The 14-14 tie with Kentucky cost the Plainsmen a share of the SEC title as Ole Miss finished 5-1 to Auburn's 5-1-1. Shug Jordan's Tigers, ranked #8 in the final AP poll, were making their third straight appearance in the Gator Bowl. They lost to Texas Tech 35-13 in 1953 and defeated Baylor 33-13 the following year.

Vandy had a major problem as it prepared for the game. Its QB, Don Orr, had dislocated his right elbow near the end of Q3 in Knoxville, a major factor in the Vols comeback. Orr was the master of the Split-T O that Guepe had brought with him from Virginia. Used by Oklahoma and Maryland in winning national titles, the Split-T spread the defense to make it easier to open holes for quick RBs. Orr had attempted only 80 passes all season, completing 30 for 246 yards. His strong points were faking and running the option. Oddsmakers favored Auburn by 7. However, Dr. Ed Litkenhous, who along with Dick Dunkel pioneered statistical rankings of college football teams, thought Vandy the better team on a neutral field.

The crowd of 28,426 overcoat-clad fans included Joe DiMaggio as well as UT's legendary AD, Robert Neyland, who wore black and gold and openly rooted for the 'Dores as did his current head coach, Bowden Wyatt. The game was the first college football game ever televised coast-to-coast. The CBS audience was estimated at between 30 and 40 million for the only football game that Saturday. Russ Hodges ("The Giants win the pennant!") announced.

Despite the fact that his star QB had been involved in no contact in pre-bowl practices, Guepe decided right before the kickoff to start Orr. Showing no effects of his injury, Orr played the game of his life. Because of the limited substitution rules of the day, Don played almost the entire 60 minutes. He had already conquered polio, a bad facial injury, and a severe concussion. So what was a little elbow injury?

Midway through Q1, Vandy recovered a fumble at the Tiger 39. Guepe then unleashed some special formations he had concocted for the game. Sending All-American LHB Charlie Horton wide to the left and putting RHB Joe Scales in motion spread the Auburn D and allowed FB Phil King to burst up the middle three straight times to the 28. Orr hit TE Joe Stephenson to the 8 and then several plays later connected with Stephenson in the end zone for a 7-0 lead.

Auburn stormed back, tying the score on a 10-play drive that ended when speedy HB Fob James, future governor of Alabama, took a short pass and scampered 28 yards down the sidelines. Vandy bounced right back, needing only four plays to go 76 yards to regain the lead, which they would never again relinquish. Orr hooked up with Scales for 24 to the 4. Then Don faked to King and kept the ball on the classic Split-T option to score untouched. As often happened in the days before kicking specialists, the PAT was wide but Vandy led 13-7 at the break.

After losing a 51-yard TD pass to Stephenson because of a holding penalty, Vandy capitalized on another fumble to travel 49 yards. Faced with fourth and goal on the one, Guepe never considered a FG and King dove into the end zone for a 19-7 lead with four minutes left in Q3.

A 15-yard penalty and a 12-yard punt put Auburn in a hole as Vandy took over on the 26. Horton dove into the end zone on the first play of Q4 for a commanding 25-7 lead. Forced to go to the air, Auburn struck back when backup QB Jimmy Cook hit All-American E "Red" Phillips for a 7-yard TD to cut the margin to 25-13 with 11:35 to go. However, Vandy controlled the ball for most of the remaining time. Guepe was able to play 38 of the 39 players who dressed for the game.

Orr became the first ever unanimous Gator Bowl MVP. He completed 4 of 6 for 67 and rushed for 43 more on 10 carries. His faking ability was no better illustrated than on his 44-yard run that set up the second 'Dore TD. Tiger defenders tackled three different Vandy backs thinking each of them had the ball as Orr raced down the sidelines.

Follow-up: Orr went on to become a longtime NFL official. He made a key call in the 1979 AFC Championship Game between Houston and Pittsburgh at Three Rivers Stadium. Orr was the side judge who ruled that Oiler receiver Don Renfro did not have possession with both feet down on an apparent go-ahead TD pass. NBC showed replays that announcers Dick Enberg and Mervin Olsen agreed showed a TD. Nevertheless, Houston had to settle for a FG and lost 27-13. At a post-season celebration at the Astrodome, fans hanged Orr in effigy. However, NFL Films unveiled footage from an angle NBC didn't have that showed that Renfro bobbled the ball briefly before stepping out of bounds. Orr's vindication, however, didn't receive national exposure.

Otto Graham (1941-3) set the Northwestern single-game records for most completions with 20 and most yards passing with 295. It took Tommy Myers only one game to tie the completion record and come within 20 yards of the second.

Tommy Myers

For the 1962 season, his sixth in Evanston, Ara Parseghian designed an explosive attack around the strong arm of his 6' 180 lb. sophomore QB and the soft hands of WR Paul Flatley. South Carolina wasn't prepared. Still, the Gamecocks struck first, recoverng a fumble at the Wildcat 23 and quickly taking a 6-0 lead. However, Myers led NW to the next 22 points. Then the visitors got scores from two future pros. HB Billy Gambrell raced 78 yards and QB Dan Reeves ran for four and added a two-point conversion to close the gap to 22-20. Then Myers took over again, engineering two more TD drives for a 37-20 triumph. The final stats credited him with 20 of 24 for 275 yards and two TDs. He also ran for another score.

Paul Flatley

Myers proved the first game wasn't just beginner's luck. The next week Northwestern scalded archrival Illinois 45-0. Then Tommy won his first road outing at Minnesota, the defending Rose Bowl champion, 34-22, to vault the Wildcats to a #8 ranking. The next week, Flatley caught 10 in another road win, this one at mighty Ohio State before a record Ohio Stadium crowd of 84,376, 18-14. Northwestern climbed to #3 behind Texas and Alabama.

One of Notre Dame's weaker teams came to Dyche the following week and fell 35-6. Aided by Rice tying Texas, Northwestern shot to the top of the AP poll for the first time since 1936. Facing the pressure of being #1, the Wildcats squeaked out a 26-21 victory at Indiana the next week despite outgaining the Hoosiers 504 to 245.

The bubble burst at Wisconsin on November 10. The Badgers unleashed their own potent combination of QB Ron VanderKelen and WR Pat Richter in a 37-6 romp. The next week, visiting Michigan State piled on the Wildcats 31-7. The loss ended NU's dream of a Big Ten title. Parseghian pulled the team together at Miami (FL) for a 29-7 victory to end the season 7-2. Unfortunately, the Big Ten allowed only the champion to play in the Rose Bowl. So NU had to be content with the school's best season since the Rose Bowl team of 1948 went 8-2. The 1962 squad can still claim something no other Wildcat contingent of the past 50 years can boast: "We were ranked #1 in the nation."

Philadelphia was excited about their "Whiz Kids" fighting for their first National League pennant since 1915. However, the city took a break from baseball to concentrate on the National Football League. Two defending champions were meeting in the Saturday night season opener. How was this possible?

• The Eagles were two-time NFL champions, having defeated the Los Angeles Rams 14-0 in the 1949 championship game.
• Their opponents were the Cleveland Browns, winners of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) all four years it existed. When the AAFC folded after the 1949 season, the NFL added three of its teams: the Browns, the Baltimore Colts, and the San Francisco 49ers.

The NFL intentionally scheduled Cleveland against the Eagles in the opening game to create excitement but also to show that the upstart Browns were no match for mighty Philadelphia. "The worst team in our league could beat the best team in theirs," proclaimed George Preston Marshall, owner of the Washington Redskins, during the AAFC's existence.

Paul Brown Otto Graham

It may seem strange to say this about a Hall of Fame coach but Paul Brown has always been underrated. The term "genius" is over-used, but "Football Genius" fits Brown because of his many innovations. Hired a full-time staff year round. Gave players intelligence tests. Made each player construct his own playbook each season. Graded game films position by position. Required players to stay together at a hotel the night before home games as well as road games. Used a "messenger guard" system to send in plays. Called "Mechanical Man" for his cool, attention-to-details personality, Brown brought a team to Philly that was superbly prepared to show the NFL that Cleveland was ready for prime time. The equally proud Eagles were led on O by RB Steve Van Buren, QB Tommy Thompson, and E Pete Pihos and on D by LB Chuck Bednarik. Philadelphia's cockiness was exemplified by the comment that summer from Coach "Greasy" Neale (himself no slouch as an innovator): "Who is there to beat us?" However, Van Buren would not play in the opener because of a broken toe.

Greasy Neale Dub Jones

The crowd of 71,237 cheered as their Eagles took a 3-0 Q1 lead. Then QB Otto Graham began executing the Browns' sophisticated passing game. After completing several short passes to Dub Jones, arguably the first split end in football history, Graham threw over the cheating LB to Jones for a 59-yard TD. The Eagles retaliated by driving to the Brown 6. 232-pound FB Marion Motley entered at LB and helped stuff four straight running plays. Philadelphia never recovered. Graham threw two more TDs, 26 yards to E Dante Lavelli and 12 to E Mac Speedie, to move the score to 21-3. Otto ended 21-for-38 for 346 yards in the 35-10 victory.

After the game, the usually emotionless Brown sported a rare smile: "I think today we were the best football team I've ever seen." Eagle T Bucko Kilroy said: "It was no upset. Man for man, they were just a better team." However, Neale wasn't so magnanimous. "Brown would have made a better basketball coach because all they do is put the ball in the air." Brown responded when Philadelphia came to Cleveland 11 weeks later. The Browns won 13-7 without completing a pass.

Cleveland finished 10-2, tied for the American Conference lead with the Giants, whom they defeated in a playoff 8-3. Then Brown's men defeated the National Conference champion Rams 30-28 to win the NFL Championship in their very first season in the league.

Brief videos on Paul Brown: Part I | Part II
Video on Cleveland Browns History