SENIORBOWL.com :: Senior Bowl History

Consecutive Ladd Stadium sellout crowds, an endless parade of future NFL stars, and the highest scoring contest in the event's 57-year history characterized the Senior Bowls of the 1980s.

NORTH 57, SOUTH 3
MVP: Marc Wilson, Brigham Young
NORTH COACH: Bud Grant, Vikings
SOUTH COACH: Ray Perkins, Giants
TOP PLAYERS: Joe Cribbs, Mark Malone, Marc Wilson, Art Monk

The Senior Bowl's 1980's started off with the game's most lopsided contest ever, as the Marc Wilson-led, Bud Grant-coached North squad blew out the South 57-3. Wilson earned MVP honors with a 11-19, 128-yard, three-touchdown passing performance -- two of them to San Jose State's Jewerl Thomas -- and Arizona State quarterback Mark Malone threw for another North score as the Yanks scored 21 second quarter points to break the game wide open.

NORTH 23, SOUTH 10
MVP: Neil Lomax, Portland State
NORTH COACH: Bill Walsh, 49ers
SOUTH COACH: Red Miller, Broncos
TOP PLAYERS: Neil Lomax, Stump Mitchell, E.J. Junior, James Brooks, Rickey Jackson

The North made it two in a row and their sixth win in eight years in the 1981 contest as Portland State's Neil Lomax, who entered the contest the holder of over 90 NCAA passing and total offense marks, led the North to a 23-10 win. On a cold, windy day at Ladd Stadium, Lomax threw for 167 yards as the North erased a second-quarter South lead with an 11-yard TD run by Oklahoma's David Overstreet to lead 13-7 at the half and never looked back.

SOUTH 27, NORTH 10
MVPs: John Fourcade, Ole Miss / Steve Clark, Utah
NORTH COACH: Marv Levy, Chiefs
SOUTH COACH: Chuck Noll, Steelers
TOP PLAYERS: Jim McMahon, Morten Andersen

Ole Miss quarterback John Fourcade, who took "Offensive MVP" honors, led the South to a 27-10 victory in the 1982 Senior Bowl. Two one-yard touchdown runs by Fourcade put the South up 14-0 in the second quarter. Other scoring highlights included an 84-yard interception return by Alabama's Bennie Perrin in the third quarter, a Senior Bowl record 55-yard field goal by SMU's Eddie Garcia, and the lone fourth quarter score came on a 24-yard North field goal by future NFL great Morten Andersen of Michigan State.

NORTH 14, SOUTH 6
MVPs: Dan Marino, Pitt / Terry Kinard, Clemson
NORTH COACH: Frank Kush, Colts
SOUTH COACH: Bum Phillips, Saints
TOP PLAYERS: Dan Marino, Bart Oates, Jeremiah Castille, Albert Lewis

Two second half touchdown passes by Pittsburgh's heralded quarterback Dan Marino gave the North a 14-6 win in Senior Bowl '83. Marino, the NFL's future all-time passing leader, turned in a 178-yard passing performance to earn the game's "Offensive MVP" award. Other game stars included North Carolina running back Kelvin Bryant, who gained 77 yards; Alabama defensive lineman Mike Pitts and Clemson defensive back Terry Kinard, who earned the game's "Defensive MVP" award.

Pittsburgh’s Dan Marino looks for an open receiver during the 1983 Senior Bowl. The NFL’s future all-time passing leader threw for 178-yards in the contest and was named the game’s Offensive MVP.

SOUTH 21, NORTH 20
MVPs: Walter Lewis, Alabama / Doug Smith, Auburn
NORTH COACH: Kay Stephenson, Bills
SOUTH COACH: Don Coryell, Chargers
TOP PLAYERS: Bill Maas, Carl Banks, Al Del Greco, Louis Lipps, Wilber Marshall

Alabama quarterback Walter Lewis built a 21-7 lead for the South in the 1984 Senior Bowl, and the Southerners survived a second-half North rally for a breathtaking 21-20 win. Leading 7-0, Florida linebacker Wilber Marshall gave the South a 14-0 first-quarter lead when he returned an interception 42-yards for a score. The North defense shut out the South in the second half and the offense responded with two more scores. However, Ole Miss' Andre Townsend made the game's biggest play when he blocked a North extra point attempt which would have tied it in the fourth quarter and the South hung on for the victory.

SOUTH 23, NORTH 7
MVP: Paul Ott Carruth, Alabama
NORTH COACH: Jim Hanifan, Cardinals
SOUTH COACH: Forrest Gregg, Packers
TOP PLAYERS: Lomas Brown, Kevin Butler, Jay Novacek

The South made it two in a row with a 17-point fourth quarter rally to down the North 23-7 in the 1985 Senior Bowl. Bolstered by three field goals by Georgia's Kevin Butler and an MVP performance by Alabama running back Paul Ott Carruth, the South erased a 7-6 deficit in the final stanza for the victory.

NORTH 31, SOUTH 17
MVP: Napoleon McCallum, Navy
NORTH COACH: Dan Reeves, Broncos
SOUTH COACH: Leeman Bennett, Bucs
TOP PLAYERS: Dalton Hilliard, Bo Jackson, Tim Green, Will Wolford, Mark Rypien, Pat Swilling, Reuben Mayes, John Offerdahl

Auburn Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson brought his talents to Mobile for a star-studded 1986 contest, but the North scored a 31-17 win behind the running of Navy's Napoleon McCallum. The North led 7-3 at the half on the strength of a TD pass from Washington State's Mark Rypien to McCallum, and three brilliant defensive plays by Western Michigan linebacker John Offerdahl, who stopped Jackson on one fourth down attempt in the first quarter and twice more during a classic goal line stand in the second period. A wild fourth period saw three TD's and a field goal -- two TD passes by Rypien and a brilliant 32-yard touchdown catch by Louisville's Ernest Givins -- but the South couldn't close the gap to less than 11 points and the North had its victory.

Auburn’s Heisman Trophy winner Bo Jackson is stopped at the goal line by Western Michigan’s John Offerdahl during one of the most memorable moments of the 1986 Senior Bowl. (Photo courtesy of the Mobile Register)

SOUTH 42, NORTH 38
MVP: Don Smith, Mississippi State
NORTH COACH: John Robinson, Rams
SOUTH COACH: Don Shula, Dolphins
TOP PLAYERS: Jim Harbaugh, Christian Okoye, Cornelius Bennett

A 42-38 South victory in 1987 set several records including most points ever scored (80), while featuring numerous big plays and outstanding individual performances. Azusa Pacific's "Nigerian Nightmare" Christian Okoye scored a Senior Bowl record four touchdowns for the South, but didn't even win the MVP Award as that honor went to Mississippi State's Don Smith, who racked up 131 yards of total offense and a touchdown. The North was led by the outstanding play of two first-round quarterbacks -- Jim Harbaugh of Michigan and Oregon's Chris Miller -- as they helped stake the North to a 24-14 halftime lead. Two Okoye TD runs and another North score made it 31-28 in favor of the North after three, but the South got two more Okoye scores to lead 42-31 before the North scored with 20 seconds left, recovered the onside kick and nearly pulled it out as Miller's pass in the end zone fell just short of the intended receiver on the game's last play.

NORTH 21, SOUTH 7
MVP: Thurman Thomas, Oklahoma St.
NORTH COACH: Chuck Knox, Seahawks
SOUTH COACH: Jim Mora, Saints
TOP PLAYERS: Thurman Thomas, Sterling Sharpe, Chris Chandler, Randall McDaniel, Dermontti Dawson

Oklahoma State running back Thurman Thomas shredded the South defense for 104 yards to earn MVP honors and lead the North to a 21-7 win in Senior Bowl '88 before another sellout crowd in Ladd Stadium. The North jumped out to a 21-0 lead on TD passes by Washington's Chris Chandler and Syracuse's Don McPherson and a one-yard run by UNLV's Ickey Woods. South Carolina's Sterling Sharpe scored the South's lone TD on the day with a 60-yard TD reception with 1:56 left in the game.

SOUTH 13, NORTH 12
MVP: Cleveland Gary, Miami
NORTH COACH: Dan Reeves, Broncos
SOUTH COACH: John Robinson, Rams
TOP PLAYERS: Derrick Thomas, Eric Metcalf, Dave Meggett, Daryl Johnston, Carnell Lake

The running and pass catching talents of Miami's Cleveland Gary led the South to a thrilling 13-12 victory in the 1989 Senior Bowl, as he gained 96 yards on the ground and 42 through the air to win overall MVP honors. Trailing 12-6 entering the final stanza, Gary and Tulane quarterback Terrance Jones led the South on its winning TD drive marching 73 yards on 16 plays capped off by a three-yard scoring toss from Jones to Auburn tight end Walter Reeves. The South then turned back two North drives in the final seven minutes to seal the win.