2008 Hula Bowl Player / Coach / Staff Screening

Special screening event for the players, coaches, and staff of the 2008 Hula Bowl.

History of the Hula Bowl

The first Hula Bowl All-Star Classic was played on January 5, 1946, marking the beginning of a post-season bowl game that has spanned seven decades and launched the professional careers of countless football greats. That inaugural game, founded by the legendary Hawaii sports promoter Mackay “Shogun of Sports” Yanagisawa, featured local Hawaiian All-Stars taking on a national “college” team. Much has changed, however, but the Aloha spirit of the game has remained the same.

One thing that has remained constant about the Hula Bowl is the incredible players that come to Hawaii year after year. Over the past 59 years, the Hula Bowl has seen such Heisman Trophy winners as Johnny Rogers, Jim Plunkett, Tony Dorsett, Billy Sims, Mike Garrett, Steve Owens, Rashaan Salaam, Danny Wuerffel, Ricky Williams, Ron Dayne, and Eric Crouch.

The game grew in the 1950’s when NFL players were allowed to join Hawaiian All-Stars to strengthen their chances against the national team. Detroit Lions star Doak Walker and Pro Football Hall of Famer Otto Graham of the Cleveland Browns played after leading their teams to NFL titles. Big-time NFL alumni also noted for joining in the action include Y.A. Tittle, Billy Kilmer and Paul Hornung.

In the 1960’s, however, this tradition ended as new rules limited play for future Hula Bowls to only collegiate athletes. Yet the action was as competitive as ever, as the game continued to build tradition through the 70’s, featuring MVPs from this era such as Fran Tarkington (1961), Mike Ditka (1961), Merlin Olsen (1962), Larry Csonka(1968), Jim Plunkett (1971), and Tony Dorsett (1977). The 70’s were also famous for two Notre Dame Joe’s who played in the game: Joe Theismann (1970) and Joe Montana (1978).

It shifted into high gear in the 1980’s, as eight games were decided by less than a touchdown. High profile MVP’s also became the norm, with such big time players as Billy Sims (1980), Dan Marino (1983), and Deion Sanders (1989) taking home the top honors.

The 1995 game saw the birth of “Slash” in front of a newly signed national television audience on ESPN and a worldwide radio audience on CBS/Westwood One, as Colorado’s Kordell Stewart electrified the crowd with the longest run in Hula Bowl history, a 72 yard dash down the sideline.

A year later, in the Gold Anniversary game of 1996, MVP Winslow Oliver upstaged his competitors with 88 yards and 2 touchdowns in a narrow 17-10 East victory, as many of the All-Time great MVP’s looked on. Such a performance vaulted him from relative unknown to a draft pick by the Carolina Panthers.

In 1997, the Hula Bowl joined forces with the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), the Downtown Athletic Club (home of the Heisman Trophy Award) and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes to create one of the strongest alliances among the post-season bowls. That game featured Notre Dames’ Lou Holtz being upstaged by Florida State’s Bobby Bowden, as Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel led his South squad to a 26-13 victory.

1998 brought dramatic changes for the Hula Bowl and its fans when the game moved to Maui, bringing the bowl into its present form. This move proved at the time to be a winning combination, as it gave the players an opportunity to play on natural grass in a beautiful setting.

Since 1998 there have been a number of exciting games led by well known collegiate players such as Drew Brees and not so well known Japanese players from the Kansai and Kantoh Football Associations in Japan. In the 2002 game alone 78 players were drafted or signed by an NFL team. Coaches and fans alike have seen some of the best players play their final collegiate game in the beautiful state of Hawaii; what a storied tradition it has been and will continue to be.

The 2008 legendary Hula Bowl will be returning Sat. Jan. 12, 2008 (1 PM HST / 6 PM EST on Versus) to Aloha Stadium on Honolulu.