TCU vs. Clemson

Saturday, December 19, 1959, Bluebonnet Bowl

No. 10 Clemson beat No. 7 TCU 23–⁠7. It was their first meeting; after it, Clemson led the series 1–⁠0.

Neutral site7TCU8–⁠3 in 1959
7
Neutral site10Clemson9–⁠2 in 1959
23

FinalTV: CBSAttendance 55,000The game on Wikipedia

In the newspapers

  • The Evening star's story: SPORTS ROUNDUP Penn State Tops AIobumo; TCU Falls to Clemson

    Evening star, District of Columbia, December 20, 1959, page 1

    Read the text

    SPORTS ROUNDUP Penn State Tops AIobumo; TCU Falls to Clemson In the inaugurals of two additions to the list of major football bowls, Penn State defeated Alabama, TO, before 1921 fans in Philadelphia s Liberty Bowl yesterday, while Clemson upset Texas Christian 23–⁠7. in Houston’s Bluebonnet Bowl. Texas All topped Lenoir Rhyme, 20–⁠7, to win the NIAA (small college, national title in the Holiday Bowl at st. Peters burg. Penn State lost Richie Lucas its All-America quarterback early in the second period because of a hip injury. However Sophomore Galen Hall took over and got the winning touchdown, taking a field goal try and passing to Roger Koch man on an 18-yard play. A crowd of $4,000 saw Glenn son, an 8-point underdog, win with a 20-point, fourth-period rally. “Details in Sports SectiOn)

Public-domain newspapers from the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America, found through the American Stories dataset (Dell and Harvard, CC BY 4.0). The text is the machine reading of the page, mistakes and all.

Photos from the game

  • Bill Mathis runs the ball for Clemson in the 1959 Bluebonnet Bowl.
    Bill Mathis runs the ball for Clemson in the 1959 Bluebonnet Bowl.Photo: Taps staff, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
  • A TCU defender tackles a Clemson ball carrier in the 1959 Bluebonnet Bowl.
    A TCU defender tackles a Clemson ball carrier in the 1959 Bluebonnet Bowl.Photo: Taps staff, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
  • Ron Scrudato runs the ball for Clemson in the 1959 Bluebonnet Bowl.
    Ron Scrudato runs the ball for Clemson in the 1959 Bluebonnet Bowl.Photo: Taps staff, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

From the game’s category on Wikimedia Commons, free licenses only, each credited.

Before kickoff

Our ratings going in

Our ratings (scores only)

TCU 60% to win. Clemson pulled the upset.

Tied 2–⁠2 in four meetings, counting the three since this game.

Recent meetings
2009TCU 14, Clemson 10
1965Clemson 3, TCU 0
1964TCU 14, Clemson 10
1959Clemson 23, TCU 7Bluebonnet Bowl

Around this game