On many Christmases past, football fans and NFL draftniks had an excuse to duck away from unwrapping gifts for a few minutes. The old, reliable Blue-Gray Game was on, delivering a nice little needed dose of football in-between heaping plates of holiday cheer.
An annual game for college stars hoping to turn pro, the Blue-Gray Game was one of the primary talent showcases of its time. And on Christmas 1984, those who tuned into the Blue-Gray Game saw a prolific wide receiver from a Division I-AA school star against major-college standouts.
Thirty years ago Thursday, Mississippi Valley State’s Jerry Rice was the Blue-Gray Game MVP as the South rolled to a 33-6 victory over the North.
Rice caught a pair of TDs, including a 60-yarder, according to The Associated Press‘s account of the game.
“I wanted to make a point for small college players everywhere,” Rice said afterwards, per the AP. “I wanted to play well for them.”
The Blue-Gray Game hasn’t been played as a college football all-star contest since 2003. Perhaps because of its placement on Christmas — and perhaps because it was that nice little shot of holiday football — the game still inspires some nostalgia. We wouldn’t mind its return. And we really wouldn’t mind seeing some highlights of the ’84 game, when Rice — soon to be an NFL star — made a big splash.