Hey Blake,
My wife and I have been racking our brains and trying to find out who was the original Sugar Bowl sponsor or sponsors. Can you help us with this information?
Jody and Sally Graham

Dear Sally and Jody,
It was a remarkable achievement when, during the throes of the Great Depression, a group of 39 men formed the New Orleans Mid-Winter Sports Association. This historic event took place on Feb. 15, 1934, and it was this group that sponsored the first Sugar Bowl game on Jan. 1, 1935. But the dream began many years earlier in 1927.

Courtesy of Tulane University Archives

This sovenir program announces the inaugural Sugar Bowl on New Year's Day 1935 and featured Tulane University's Green wave against the Temple University Owls.

The publisher of the New Orleans Item, Col. James M. Thompson, and the sports editor, Fred Digby, were the first to dream of a mid-winter event that would promote a program to advance collegiate sports in the Deep South and enhance New Orleans' reputation as the premier winter tourist destination. But when Thompson first proposed the idea publicly, there were many snickers and jeers. Digby urged civic-minded citizens to unite, but there were no takers.

Every year, Digby tried to advance the idea, and it was he who named the game the "Sugar Bowl." It was an appropriate name considering the fact that the university and stadium were built on land that once was Pierre Foucher's plantation where Foucher's father-in-law Etienne de Bore had first granulated sugar from cane syrup.

More attempts were made to promote the effort, but nothing materialized until January 1934. Leaders of two civic groups came up with proposals to put the Item plan into action. The managing editor of the newspaper suggested that the two groups combine and invite other civic, professional and sports groups to join. This they did, and thus the New Orleans Mid-Winter Sports Association was born. The first president was Warren V. Miller, vice-president was Joseph M. Cousins, secretary was T. Semmes Rantlett, and treasurer was Harry W. Fletcher.

Funds were raised -- remember, this was during the Depression -- and the announcement came in October 1934. The New Orleans Mid-Winter Sports Association declared that it had $30,000 in escrow, and with this they would promote the first Sugar Bowl Classic. The visiting team would get $15,000, and the host team would receive $12,000. The remainder would be kept for expenses.

Tulane University offered the use of its stadium for free, New Orleans Public Service Inc. contributed $1,000 to advertise the event and WSMB radio agreed to air the game.

Waldhorn Company Inc. donated a trophy, an enormous silver sugar bowl made in London in 1831 during the reign of George IV. The winning team keeps the genuine antique for a year and then is given a replica to keep in its trophy case.

Selecting the teams was, of course, a major consideration. The executive committee met on Dec. 2, 1934, and it deliberated for a long time. When the decision was finally reached, the committee had chosen Tulane and Temple. Tulane University's Green Wave was unbeaten in the South, and Temple University's Owls were the only unbeaten team in the North. The coach at Temple was the famous Glenn "Pop" Warner, and Ted Cox coached the Green Wave. It was the Confederates vs. the Yankees once again.

Interest was lukewarm at first, but when fans found out about the records of the teams, they raced for tickets. Eventually ticket sales exceeded $40,000. The Mid-Winter Sports Association was relieved to know that the event would be a success. The game was attended by 22,026 fans, and Tulane and Temple received $27,800 each from gate receipts.

There are still some of us who remember that exciting game. Tulane overcame a 14-point deficit to defeat Temple by a score of 20-14.

The Sugar Bowl is one of the oldest college football bowl game in the country. The oldest is the Rose Bowl, which has been played annually since 1902. Played every year in Tulane's stadium from 1935 to 1974, the Sugar Bowl moved to the Superdome in 1975. And sponsors, too, have changed. USF&G Financial Services (1987-1995), Nokia (1995-2006) and currently Allstate have been the most recent ones.