Barbwire Bowl Classic

The Barbwire Bowl Classic was an American football game played at Stockton Ordnance Depot, California, on January 13, 1946, between German prisoners of war.[1]

Game

In December of 1945, the commanding officer of Camp Stockton, Kenneth Barager, proposed a football game between the German prisoners of the main camp in Stockade and the smaller camp at the San Joaquin County Fairgrounds as part of the reeducation program for the POWs.

The Germans formed two teams. The main camp in Stockton Ordnance Depot called itself "Stockade Tech". The fairground guys, who worked on farms, called themselves the "Fairground Aggies". Quickly, however, the teams were also given nicknames that honored the respective camp commanders. Thus, the Fairground team was also referred to as "Barager's Bears", while the Stockade squad went by "Kernan's Krushers". The Aggies won 6-0 in front of a crowd of 2,000.

Unsatisfied with their first outing, the Bears intensified their preparations for the rematch four weeks later and won 20-0.[2][3]

References

  1. ↑ "The Barbed Wire Bowl" Retrieved August 6, 2015
  2. ↑ "The Barbed Wire Bowl" Retrieved August 6, 2015
  3. ↑ "From Violence to Party: A History of the Presentation of American Football in England and Germany" Retrieved August 6, 2015
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