The Pythian Bowl was a postseason college football bowl game played from 1949 through 1951. In 1952, the game was played under the name of Lions Bowl. The game was played each year in December in Salisbury, North Carolina, at Shuford Stadium on the grounds of Catawba College. The bowl's original name came from the Knights of Pythias, a fraternal organization, with proceeds from the game going to a local orphanage. The 1952 game was named after Lions Clubs International, with game proceeds again being used for charitable works. Like some other postseason match-ups of the era, such as the Grape Bowl, Glass Bowl, and Optimist Bowl, results are listed in NCAA records, but the games were not considered NCAA-sanctioned bowls.

Game results Season Bowl Name Date Winner Loser Attendance References 1949 Pythian Bowl December 10, 1949 Appalachian State 21 7 2,000 1950 Pythian Bowl December 9, 1950 28 Appalachian State 26 4,500 1951 Pythian Bowl December 8, 1951 Lenoir Rhyne 13 7 4,500 1952 Lions Bowl December 13, 1952 13 East Carolina 6 2,700

Notes NCAA records list the date of the first Pythian Bowl as "11-26-1949", which is inconsistent with contemporary newspaper reports. The 1949 game was listed as the "Olympian Bowl" in some newspapers. For the 1952 game, West Chester had been invited and accepted, however the school later withdrew its acceptance due to the bowl not being sanctioned by the NCAA; Clarion was then invited and replaced West Chester.

See also List of college bowl games

References