The 1963 Gator Bowl was a college football postseason bowl game that featured the Air Force Falcons and the North Carolina Tar Heels.

1963 Gator Bowl
1234 Total
Air Force 0000 0
North Carolina 61487 35
DateDecember 28, 1963
Season1963
StadiumGator Bowl Stadium
LocationJacksonville, Florida
MVPKen Willard (RB, North Carolina) & Dave Sicks (FB, Air Force)[1]
RefereeJack Vest
Attendance50,018
United States TV coverage
NetworkCBS
AnnouncersLindsey Nelson
Terry Brennan
Jim Simpson
Gator Bowl
 < 1962  1965 (Jan)

Background

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This was the Falcons' first bowl game since 1959. The Tar Heels were co-champions of the Atlantic Coast Conference, which was their first conference title since the 1949 Southern Conference title. This was their first bowl game in 1950.

Game summary

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  • UNC – Willard 1-yard run (Kick failed), 2:34 remaining
  • UNC – Edge 6-yard run (Pass failed), 9:40 remaining
  • UNC – Robinson 5-yard pass from Black (Robinson pass from Black), 4:29 remaining
  • UNC – Kesler 1-yard run (Lacey pass from Edge), 4:44 remaining
  • UNC – Black 5-yard run (Chapman kick), 13:19 remaining

Willard ran for 94 yards on 18 carries.[2][3]

Aftermath

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Air Force did not return to a bowl game until 1971, nor win one until 1982. North Carolina did not return to a bowl game until 1970.

The morning after the game, there was a fire at the Hotel Roosevelt in downtown Jacksonville, with 22 dying.

Statistics

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Statistics Air Force North Carolina
First downs 14 23
Rushing yards 95 251
Passing yards 165 119
Punts–average 4–40.0 6–36.0
Fumbles–lost 3–2 2–0
Penalties–yards 3–42 3–35

References

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  1. ^ "1963". Archived from the original on December 31, 2017. Retrieved December 31, 2017.
  2. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 24, 2015. Retrieved December 22, 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on February 2, 2017. Retrieved January 13, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

Further reading

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