For more than 60 years, the now-defunct Blue-Gray All-Star Football Classic was Alabama’s premiere contribution to the college football bowl season. The annual game, held in Montgomery’s Cramton Bowl Stadium, featured a roster of senior players against a backdrop that unapologetically adorned itself in the regalia of the Civil War.
From its earliest incarnations the game was available nationally on radio. In 1954, the National Broadcast Company (NBC) began televising the game as well. Since the contest was one of the few held the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve it garnered significant interest.