Sun Bowl Honors 75 Players On 75th Anniversary Team
EL PASO, Texas (July 3, 2008) - Seventy-Five players have been named
the 75th Anniversary All-Sun Bowl Team to commemorate the Association's
Diamond Anniversary, announced President Joe E. Valenzuela.
"The Sun Bowl Association has a
long history of providing a quality postseason bowl game experience for
players, coaches, administrators and fans," said Valenzuela. "These 75
players reflect that experience and those memories. This is a way for
the Sun Bowl to honor those who have left those lasting memories for El
Pasoans, as well as fans everywhere."
The Brut Sun Bowl, the nation's second oldest bowl game, has had 75 different programs compete in the game, which is more than any other bowl in the nation.
"Over the years, the Sun Bowl has seen so many great individual achievements on the football field, we felt it was only right to honor those that gave it their all," said Bernie Olivas, executive director of the Sun Bowl Association. "Our panel, which included members of the media and Sun Bowl officials, worked diligently to honor those who excelled in the Sun Bowl.
But as always you cannot honor everyone and there were some great players that we not on the list. I am really excited how this project turned out. If nothing more, this makes for a great conversation piece for fans of college football."
In all, 41 of the 75 teams that have participated in the Brut Sun Bowl over the last 74 years are represented on the squad. It starts with El Paso's Ken Heineman from 1935 and ends with Oregon's Jonathan Stewart and Fenuki Tupou in 2007. The players on the squad represent every era of the game and represent the changes that college football has made over the years.
There are eight member of the College Football Hall of Fame on the squad - Cornelius Bennett (Alabama), Tommy Casanova (LSU), Glenn Dobbs (Tulsa), Tony Dorsett (Pittsburgh), Johnnie Johnson (Texas), Merlin Olsen (Utah State), Dave Rimington (Nebraska) and Ron Sellers (Florida State).
The list also includes the 11 players in Sun Bowl Association hall of fame called the Legends of the Sun Bowl - Bennett, Dorsett, Tony Franklin (Texas A&M), Ken Heineman (El Paso), Charley Johnson (New Mexico State), Bill Stevens (UTEP), Derrick Thomas (Alabama), Thurman Thomas (Oklahoma State), Pat Tillman (Arizona State), Alex Van Pelt (Pittsburgh) and Jesse Whittenton (UTEP).
UTEP, which has made eight Sun Bowl appearances, has nine players on the squad, followed by Texas with six players and LSU with four.
"This is a great way to kickoff our 75th anniversary," said Valenzuela. "We are looking forward to another exciting game in 2008."
The 75th Annual Brut Sun Bowl is slated for Dec. 31, 2008 at noon (MT) at Sun Bowl Stadium. The Pac-10 Conference will face either the Big 12 Conference, the Big East Conference or the University of Notre Dame. Ticket prices range from $15 to $60 and are available by calling our office at (915) 533-4416 or emailing the ticket office.
75th Anniversary All-Sun Bowl Team
|
Name
|
School
|
Position
|
Hometown
|
Sun Bowls
|
|
Charles Alexander
|
LSU
|
RB
|
Galveston, Texas
|
1977
|
|
Jason Baker
|
Iowa
|
P
|
Fort Wayne, Ind.
|
1997
|
|
Cornelius Bennett
|
Alabama
|
LB
|
Birmingham, Ala.
|
1983 & 1986
|
|
Joe Biggs
|
Hardin-Simmons
|
G
|
Eldorado, Texas
|
1958
|
|
Matt Blair
|
Iowa State
|
LB
|
Dayton, Ohio
|
1971
|
|
Tony Brackens
|
Texas
|
DE
|
Fairfield, Texas
|
1994
|
|
Blake Brockermeyer
|
Texas
|
OT
|
Fort Worth, Texas
|
1994
|
|
Rick Bryan
|
Oklahoma
|
DT
|
Tulsa, Okla.
|
1981
|
|
Tom Brzoza
|
Pittsburgh
|
OG
|
New Castle, Pa.
|
1975
|
|
Oscar Cabrera
|
UCLA
|
OG
|
Los Angeles, Calif.
|
2000
|
|
Fred Carr
|
UTEP
|
LB
|
Phoenix, Ariz.
|
1965 & 1967
|
|
Chris Carter
|
Texas
|
DB
|
Tyler, Texas
|
1994
|
|
Tyrone Carter
|
Minnesota
|
DB
|
Pompano Beach, Fla.
|
1999
|
|
Tommy Casanova
|
LSU
|
DB
|
Crowley, La.
|
1971
|
|
Harry Clarke
|
West Virginia
|
HB
|
Uniontown, Pa.
|
1938
|
|
Jerod DeVries
|
Iowa
|
DT
|
Aplington, Iowa
|
1995 & 1997
|
|
Paul Dietzel
|
Miami (Ohio)
|
C
|
Fremont, Ohio
|
1948
|
|
Glenn Dobbs
|
Tulsa
|
QB
|
Frederick, Okla.
|
1942
|
|
Tony Dorsett
|
Pittsburgh
|
RB
|
Aliquippa, Pa.
|
1975
|
|
Drew Dunning
|
Washington State
|
PK
|
Issaquah, Wash.
|
2001
|
|
Ronnie Estay
|
LSU
|
DT
|
LaRose, La.
|
1971
|
|
Raymond Evans
|
UTEP
|
T
|
Odessa, Texas
|
1949
|
|
Jamar Fletcher
|
Wisconsin
|
DB
|
St. Louis, Mo.
|
2000
|
|
Gus Forniciari
|
Georgetown
|
E
|
Framingham, Mass.
|
1950
|
|
Tony Franklin
|
Texas A&M
|
PK
|
Fort Worth, Texas
|
1977
|
|
Bob Gaiters
|
New Mexico State
|
HB
|
Zanesville, Ohio
|
1959 & 1960
|
|
Ben Hamilton
|
Minnesota
|
C
|
Minneapolis, Minn.
|
1999
|
|
Wayne Hansen
|
UTEP
|
C
|
Monahans, Texas
|
1949 & 1950
|
|
Ken Heineman
|
El Paso
|
QB
|
El Paso, Texas
|
1935
|
|
Haskell Henshaw
|
Arizona State
|
HB
|
Tombstone, Ariz.
|
1940 & 1941
|
|
Priest Holmes
|
Texas
|
RB
|
San Antonio, Texas
|
1994
|
|
Ken Huff
|
North Carolina
|
OG
|
San Diego, Calif.
|
1972 & 1974
|
|
Chuck Hughes
|
UTEP
|
FL
|
Abilene, Texas
|
1965
|
|
Charley Johnson
|
New Mexico State
|
QB
|
Big Spring, Texas
|
1959 & 1960
|
|
Johnnie Johnson
|
Texas
|
DB
|
LaGrange, Texas
|
1978 & 1979
|
|
Bert Jones
|
LSU
|
QB
|
Ruston, La.
|
1971
|
|
Saxon Judd
|
Tulsa
|
E
|
Pottsboro, Texas
|
1942
|
|
Ernest Keily
|
UTEP
|
G
|
El Paso, Texas
|
1949 & 1950
|
|
Len Kuczewski
|
Wyoming
|
G
|
Mount Carmel, Pa.
|
1958
|
|
Buddy McClinton
|
Auburn
|
DB
|
Montgomery, Ala.
|
1968
|
|
Dana Moore
|
Mississippi State
|
P/PK
|
Baton Rouge, La.
|
1980
|
|
John Moseley
|
Missouri
|
KR
|
Columbia, Mo.
|
1973
|
|
Merlin Olsen
|
Utah State
|
T
|
Logan, Utah
|
1960
|
|
Kyle Orton
|
Purdue
|
QB
|
Altoona, Iowa
|
2001, 2002 & 2004
|
|
Samie Parker
|
Oregon
|
WR
|
Long Beach, Calif.
|
2003
|
|
Renso "Rock" Perdoni
|
Georgia Tech
|
DT
|
Wellesley, Mass.
|
1970
|
|
Wayne "Ripper" Pitts
|
Arizona State
|
FB
|
Glendale, Ariz.
|
1940 & 1941
|
|
Duane Putnam
|
Pacific
|
G
|
Antioch, Calif.
|
1952
|
|
Red Ramsay
|
Texas Tech
|
E
|
Chillicothe, Texas
|
1938
|
|
Dave Rimington
|
Nebraska
|
C
|
Omaha, Neb.
|
1980
|
|
Ron Sellers
|
Florida State
|
FL
|
Jacksonville, Fla.
|
1966
|
|
J.T. Shepard
|
Southern Miss
|
T
|
Moss Point, Miss.
|
1953 & 1954
|
|
Ed "The Claw" Sprinkle
|
Hardin-Simmons
|
T
|
Tuscola, Texas
|
1943
|
|
Bill Stevens
|
UTEP
|
QB
|
Galveston, Texas
|
1965 & 1967
|
|
Jonathan Stewart
|
Oregon
|
RB
|
Lacey, Wash.
|
2007
|
|
Taylor Stubblefield
|
Purdue
|
WR
|
Yakima, Wash.
|
2001, 2002 & 2004
|
|
Terry Tausch
|
Texas
|
OT
|
New Braunfels, Texas
|
1978 & 1979
|
|
Derrick Thomas
|
Alabama
|
LB
|
Miami, Fla.
|
1986 & 1988
|
|
Thurman Thomas
|
Oklahoma State
|
RB
|
Missouri City, Texas
|
1987
|
|
Zach Thomas
|
Texas Tech
|
LB
|
Pampa, Texas
|
1993
|
|
Lamont Thompson
|
Washington State
|
DB
|
El Cerrito, Calif.
|
2001
|
|
Pat Tillman
|
Arizona State
|
LB
|
San Jose, Calif.
|
1997
|
|
LaDainian Tomlinson
|
TCU
|
KR
|
Waco, Texas
|
1998
|
|
Mark Tucker
|
USC
|
OG
|
Wilmington, Calif.
|
1990
|
|
Fenuki Tupou
|
Oregon
|
OT
|
Sacramento, Calif.
|
2007
|
|
Alex Van Pelt
|
Pittsburgh
|
QB
|
San Antonio, Texas
|
1989
|
|
Terry Vitrano
|
Mississippi State
|
FB
|
Norco, La.
|
1974
|
|
Jimmy Webb
|
Mississippi State
|
DT
|
Florence, Miss.
|
1974
|
|
Fred Wendt
|
UTEP
|
FB
|
El Paso, Texas
|
1949
|
|
Charlie West
|
UTEP
|
DB
|
Big Spring, Texas
|
1965 & 1967
|
|
Jesse Whittenton
|
UTEP
|
QB
|
El Paso, Texas
|
1954 & 1955
|
|
Warren "Camp" Wilson
|
Hardin-Simmons
|
HB
|
El Paso, Texas
|
1943
|
|
"Big" Jim Wilson
|
Georgia
|
OT
|
Pittsburgh, Pa.
|
1964
|
|
Kailee Wong
|
Stanford
|
DE
|
Eugene, Ore.
|
1996
|
|
Carl Zander
|
Tennessee
|
LB
|
Mendham, N.J.
|
1984
|
|
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