Background of The Bluegrass Bowl
Game organizers expected the Bluegrass Bowl to be an annual bowl game in Louisville, with the 1958 contest being the first. The bowl organizers' first choices for the game were the University of Kentucky and the University of Alabama, which went 5-4-1 in its first season under Bear Bryant, who previously coached at UK for eight seasons. Kentucky was given an invitation to play in the game but the team's lettermen voted 18-12 to refuse the bid. (Kentucky's players also voted to turn down bowl bids, including one to the Gator Bowl, in 1953 despite a 7-2-1 record in Bryant's final season in Lexington, and in 1954 after going 7-3.) One reason that Kentucky declined was that the Wildcats had received poor treatment from the Louisville crowd during a 51-0 win over the University of Hawaii at Cardinal Stadium in their season opener. Oklahoma State University and Florida State University eventually accepted invitations.
Bowl organizers successfully negotiated a national television contract with ABC, with a 100-mile blackout. A crowd of 15,000 was expected for the inaugural game. Tickets were priced at $6.50 each, though due to unenthusiastic demand they were being sold for $1.50 on the day of the game. (Parking cost 25 cents.)
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