The Orange Bottom Classic, America’s oldest football classic, was started in 1933 at the Florida Agricultural & Mechanical College (FAMC). The college business manager, J.R.E. Lee, Jr., along with an athletic committee appointed by the President, had a novel idea: why not bring an outstanding football team from another part of the country to play against the Florida A&M football squad at the end of the regular season?

The annual Orange Blossom Classic was born. The first game was played at Durkee Field in Jacksonville, Florida, on December 2, 1933. The 5,000 screaming fans who attended saw Florida A&M defeat Howard University of Washington, DC by a score of 9-6. The game proved to be the forerunner of season ending spectacles, such as the Bayou Classic in Louisiana and the Florida Classic in Orlando. It quickly became the “ultimate Black College Football Classic”, the game that would determine the Black College National Champion.

John D. Johnson, a retired City of Miami Judge, was an original member of the Florida A&M marching band that performed at the first classic. He recalls the excitement of playing in Jacksonville at the time, jokingly referring to his band ensemble as the “at feet thirty”. No comparison, of course, to the world-renowned band, the “Marching 100” that currently dazzles fans of the classic at 350 steps a minute.

The next three annual contests were held in Jacksonville, but, in 1937, the site of the classic was moved to “The City Beautiful”, Orlando, Florida. The following year the classic thrilled both whites and blacks as it brought together unbeaten Kentucky State College and FAMU for a classic clash. In 1947, the Orange Blossom was moved to Miami.

In the first Miami game, the late Nathaniel “Traz” Powell, became the first black player to score a touchdown in historic Orange Bowl Stadium. It was the sole touchdown in a 7-0 win against Hampton Institute from Virginia. The game also featured the first predominately black teams to play in the stadium. After the classic moved to Miami, attendance grew leaps and bounds. Miami became a mecca for alumni and friends of Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU’s). Every year thousands came to meet old friends, and witness one of the most colorful football games in the South.

The Orange Blossom Classic grew from 5,000 attendees in 1933, to more than 40,000 a year in Miami. FAMU always played against a top opponent at the end of the regular season. In 1961, the Classic reached a high point when 47,191 fans packed the Orange Bowl to witness FAMU defeat Jackson State University from Mississippi 14-8, and finish the season with a perfect record (10-0).

The Orange Blossom Classic not only brought a strong festive atmosphere to Colored Town/Overtown, but to other sections of Miami as well. There were two parades held in honor of the Classic because of segregation. One parade was held for whites on Flagler Street the day before, and the second parade for blacks in Colored Town/Overtown, the following day. At the Colored Town/Overtown parade, proud African-Americans traditionally displayed their bright orange and green colors.

When segregation ended in the late 1960’s, the exodus of talented black players began. Outstanding Black athletes were lured away from the historically Black Colleges and Universities, thus causing an overall decline in many of their athletic programs. At the same time, most black colleges moved into the NCAA and NAIA. In the 1980’s, the Orange Blossom Classic was forced to beat a retreat into the regular season. By the 1990’s, the classic was reduced to regular season game rather than a post-season spectacle.

After a brief hiatus, the Orange Blossom Classic re-emerged in 1999 in Jacksonville, Florida. The classic was now a combination of the Palmetto Classic, which was started in South Carolina, and the Orange Blossom Classic. The classic was called the Orange Blossom-Palmetto Classic and was a regular scheduled game between South Carolina State University, Orangeburg, SC and Florida A&M University. Due to poor attendance, the merger lasted only 3 years, and the Orange Blossom Classic ceased to exist on a yearly basis. It was not until 2002 that the classic began to regain its glory.

That year, the Miami Hurricanes hosted the FAMU Rattlers in a David versus Goliath battle. Although this was a home for the University of Miami, the game was officially recognized as the 62^nd Orange Blossom Classic- the nation’s oldest college football classic. In 2004, the classic was revived when FAMU Rattlers played the Florida International University Golden Panthers during Thanksgiving weekend in Miami’s Orange Bowl.

On October 1, 2005, the Rattlers of FAMU will compete against the Golden Panthers of FIU again, breathing life back into an old classic. The game will mark the second year that these two schools will meet head to head. Once again, the great marching-bands, the screaming fans, and great football, returns to Miami in the Orange Blossom Classic!

Source:      Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University: Sixteen Years of Excellence with Caring (1985-2001), Neyland, Leedell W.; 2001.