The tradition of football in Dallas goes far back to the origins of the game in the early twentieth century. The first official Cotton Bowl Classic was played in 1937. This game pitted Texas Christian University against Marquette and was organized by the oil tycoon, J. Curtis Sanford. Texas Christian University took home the title, with the final score at sixteen to six.

Many famous football players, including Joe Montana, Joe Theisman, Troy Aikman and Dan Marino have played in this traditional New Years Day game.

So why is the game called the Cotton Bowl? The stadium, by the same name opened in 1932 on the site of Dallas’ Fair Park. The traditional, outdoor, grass stadium can hold as many as 68,300 football fans at a sold-out game. Once home to the Dallas Cowboys and the Dallas Texans (now the Kansas City Chiefs), the Bowl has witnessed many an exciting game, both for college and professional ball.

The Cotton Bowl hasn’t just witnessed the rise of football stars, but also musical legends. In 1957, the young Elvis Presley also played in an outdoor concert to a crowd of 27,000.

Unfortunately, although the stadium is a legend in Dallas’ history, many football events, including the Cotton Bowl Classic game have signed contracts with the Dallas Cowboy’s new stadium in Arlington, Texas. Dallas fans are disappointed to see the annual game leave their home. They are, however, happy to report that the annual Red River Shootout game between the University of Texas Longhorns and the University of Oklahoma Schooners will still take place there.

In addition, the stadium will still be used to host concerts and Texas State Fair related events and the city recently approved a plan to revamp the stadium’s facilities and increase capacity to admit an audience of over 90,000.