The Japan Bowl (in Japanese, ジャパンボウル) was a post-season college football all-star game played in Japan each January from 1976 to 1993, which showcased East and West all-star teams made up of college football players from the United States.
History The first game was played in 1976 in Tokyo, to a crowd of 68,000 spectators. After being played at National Stadium for four years, the game moved to Yokohama in 1980, where it was played at Yokohama Stadium through 1991. The final two game were held at Tokyo Dome in 1992 and 1993.
From 1983 through 1989, the game was sponsored by Ricoh and was known as the Ricoh Japan Bowl.
The bowl featured various famous participants, including Heisman Trophy winners Bo Jackson and Ty Detmer, who both received MVP awards. College Football Hall of Fame coach Lou Holtz led the East team in the 1976 game, and Super Bowl XLIV champion Mark Brunell won the final MVP award in 1993.
The 1977 game featured California quarterback Joe Roth, who was fighting a battle with melanoma. The Japan Bowl ended up being the final football game of Roth's career; he died just a month after the game in February at the age of 21.
Several unrelated football games have been informally referred to as the "Japan Bowl", such as the 1993 Coca-Cola Classic, the 1994 Ivy Bowl, and some of the NFL's American Bowl games.
Game results No. Date Winner Loser Venue Attendance Ref. 1 January 18, 1976 West 27 East 18 National Stadium 68,000 2 January 16, 1977 West 21 East 10 58,000 3 January 14, 1978 East 26 West 10 32,500 4 January 14, 1979 East 33 West 14 55,000 5 January 13, 1980 West 28 East 17 Yokohama Stadium 27,000 6 January 18, 1981 West 25 East 13 30,000 7 January 17, 1982 West 28 East 17 28,000 8 January 23, 1983 West 30 East 21 30,000 9 January 16, 1984 West 26 East 21 26,000 10 January 13, 1985 West 28 East 14 30,000 11 January 12, 1986 East 31 West 14 30,000 12 January 11, 1987 West 24 East 17 30,000 13 January 10, 1988 West 17 East 3 30,000 14 January 15, 1989 East 30 West 7 29,000 15 January 13, 1990 East 24 West 10 27,000 16 January 12, 1991 West 20 East 14 30,000 17 January 11, 1992 East 14 West 13 Tokyo Dome 50,000 18 January 10, 1993 East 27 West 13 46,000 The West team won 11 games, while the East team won 7 games. NCAA records and contemporary news reports sometimes cite different game dates, likely due to differing time zones. NCAA records incorrectly list all games as having been played in Yokohama.
MVPs
Following the 1977 appearance of Joe Roth – an All-American quarterback from Cal who was suffering from melanoma, which would lead to his death weeks after playing in the game – the game's MVP recognition was given as the Joe Roth Memorial Award. The trophy is topped by Roth's helmet. The first recipient was Jimmy Cefalo of Penn State in 1978.
Year MVP Team Pos. 1976 Chuck Muncie Cal RB 1977 Robin Earl Washington RB/TE 1978 Jimmy Cefalo Penn State RB 1979 Scott Fitzkee Penn State RB 1980 Paul Campbell Ohio State RB 1981 J. C. Watts Oklahoma QB 1982 Leo Wisniewski Penn State OL 1983 Richard Neely SMU DL 1984 Irving Fryar Nebraska WR 1985 Gale Gilbert Cal QB 1986 Bo Jackson Auburn RB 1987 Troy Stradford Boston College RB 1988 Chad Hennings Air Force DL 1989 Mark Messner Michigan DL 1990 Anthony Thompson Indiana RB 1991 Bill Musgrave Oregon QB 1992 Ty Detmer BYU QB 1993 Mark Brunell Washington QB
See also List of college bowl games
References
External links Joe Roth at the 1977 Japan Bowl