Sitting Bull
September 19th, 2019, 06:37 AM
W&M will be renewing what was a pivotal old conference rivalry Saturday, game 18 in the series with the East Carolina Pirates. Most of the games were played in the 60s and 70s when the two were usually fighting in the upper echelons of the Southern Conference. Rather than just a 2nd FBS game, many older Tribe fans just see this as another game against an older school rival, a program we have played more than most CAA programs. East Carolina is also one the closest regional teams, FBS or FCS, to W&M.
The two have had many great, competitive games in the series though the best in 1977 featured a lot of added drama, probably the best game in the series. Oddly, W&M never beat ECU in Wiilamsburg. Of the 4 Tribe wins in the series, 3 in Greenville at the 4th, the contest held at the 1977 Oyster Bowl in Norfolk.
For those unfamiliar, Norfolk hosted annually the Oyster Bowl game, a regular season match-up featuring regional teams. The game was sponsored by the Norfolk Shriners and was played at Foreman Field, the stadium now used by ODU (which had no team at the time). Foreman Field then had seating for 28,000 so the match-ups typically featured ACC programs (Duke, NC State and Maryland most often), Navy, Virginia Tech, VMI or nearby W&M. Tribe games at the Oyster Bowl over the years included NC State, Navy, Southern Miss, Virginia Tech, Yale, VMI and the 1977 game with ECU. Norfolk was both close and near equidistant for W&M and ECU, certainly so for the respective fan bases.
This 1977 game came late in the year, mid November. ECU had been flourishing in the 70s and was grasping for their first Bowl game appearance (there weren't that many back then). ECU came into this game at 8-2, with wins over NC State among several impressive wins. I think Pat Dye was their coach then. The rumor was a Peach Bowl invite with a win in the Oyster Bowl. W&M also had a strong program at the time though came in at 5-4, wins over Louisville among them and competeitve losses to Pitt and Virginia Tech.
The game was a near sellout, the Tribe won 21-17 sealed by a late pick. Among the drama though was one of the older, original coaches at ECU who was on the sideline for the game with a sideline pass. Late in the game with W&M trailing, the Tribe QB, Tom Rosantz, running the veer, took off down the sidelines for a 70 yard TD run. As he was running down the sideline, this older coach (don't remember his name) stepped out on this field in his overcoat and attempted to tackle Rosantz, who was able to brush by him for the winning TD.
Just wanted to share as it was one of the memorable games at W&M, not only in this series, though in the Tribes football history overall. It's what makes college football so much fun. Every series can usually find a few dramatic moments.
i expect this 2019 match-up can be just as competitive as previous years. Picking the Tribe since we aren't playing in Williamsburg.
The two have had many great, competitive games in the series though the best in 1977 featured a lot of added drama, probably the best game in the series. Oddly, W&M never beat ECU in Wiilamsburg. Of the 4 Tribe wins in the series, 3 in Greenville at the 4th, the contest held at the 1977 Oyster Bowl in Norfolk.
For those unfamiliar, Norfolk hosted annually the Oyster Bowl game, a regular season match-up featuring regional teams. The game was sponsored by the Norfolk Shriners and was played at Foreman Field, the stadium now used by ODU (which had no team at the time). Foreman Field then had seating for 28,000 so the match-ups typically featured ACC programs (Duke, NC State and Maryland most often), Navy, Virginia Tech, VMI or nearby W&M. Tribe games at the Oyster Bowl over the years included NC State, Navy, Southern Miss, Virginia Tech, Yale, VMI and the 1977 game with ECU. Norfolk was both close and near equidistant for W&M and ECU, certainly so for the respective fan bases.
This 1977 game came late in the year, mid November. ECU had been flourishing in the 70s and was grasping for their first Bowl game appearance (there weren't that many back then). ECU came into this game at 8-2, with wins over NC State among several impressive wins. I think Pat Dye was their coach then. The rumor was a Peach Bowl invite with a win in the Oyster Bowl. W&M also had a strong program at the time though came in at 5-4, wins over Louisville among them and competeitve losses to Pitt and Virginia Tech.
The game was a near sellout, the Tribe won 21-17 sealed by a late pick. Among the drama though was one of the older, original coaches at ECU who was on the sideline for the game with a sideline pass. Late in the game with W&M trailing, the Tribe QB, Tom Rosantz, running the veer, took off down the sidelines for a 70 yard TD run. As he was running down the sideline, this older coach (don't remember his name) stepped out on this field in his overcoat and attempted to tackle Rosantz, who was able to brush by him for the winning TD.
Just wanted to share as it was one of the memorable games at W&M, not only in this series, though in the Tribes football history overall. It's what makes college football so much fun. Every series can usually find a few dramatic moments.
i expect this 2019 match-up can be just as competitive as previous years. Picking the Tribe since we aren't playing in Williamsburg.