SPARTANBURG, S.C. – On January 2, 1950, the Wofford College football team traveled to Tampa, Florida, to face Florida State in the Cigar Bowl. The 1949 team completed its regular season with an 11-0 record, before a shocking 19-6 loss to Florida State in front of a record crowd of 14,000 fans at Phillips Stadium.
The Terriers scored only moments into the contest to take a 6-0 lead. After Bill Thurston blocked a Florida State punt, Vernon Quick recovered the ball at the one-yard line and carried it into the end zone for the Wofford touchdown. The extra point was missed.
For the balance of the first quarter, Florida State mounted several drives that stalled around midfield. The Terriers then put together their first offensive threat in the second quarter. However, the drive ended with an interception at the Seminole 16-yard line that was promptly returned to the Terrier 20-yard line. Shortly after, Red Parrish scored the first of his two touchdowns on a four-yard run to even the game at 6-6.
Late in the first half, an interference penalty on the Terriers gave Florida State the ball in Wofford territory to set up a go-ahead score as the Seminoles took a 13-6 lead.
The third quarter was a defensive battle with neither team able to mount a serious scoring threat.
In the fourth quarter, a Seminole punt pinned Wofford deep in its own territory. After the Terriers fumbled on their 8-yard line, the Wofford defense utilized a goal-line stand to remain in the contest. Parrish was stopped a foot short of the end zone on fourth down.
Unable to move the ball out of the deep hole, Wofford was forced to punt which gave the Seminoles excellent field position with just minutes remaining. With only seconds showing on the clock, Parrish sliced in from five yards out to seal Florida State's upset win.
Game Notes
The game was the first postseason appearance in school history. Wofford would also play in the 1970 NAIA Championship Bowl before a string of NCAA Playoff appearances beginning in 1990.
Under head coach Phil Dickens, the 1949 Wofford football team outscored its opponents by a 353-67 margin. Included in the total was a school-record 83 points in an 83-13 win over High Point.
Dickens also was the head basketball coach for one season and the head baseball coach for two seasons, along with serving as athletic director. He would coach at Wyoming (1953-1956) and Indiana (1958-1964) after leaving Wofford.
The Terriers rebounded from the upset to the Seminoles to post a 19-14 victory over Auburn in the 1950 season opener.
The loss snapped a 23-game unbeaten streak for the Terriers dating back to the 1947 campaign. Wofford opened the 1948 season with a national record five straight ties on the way to a 4-0-5 mark. The Terriers closed the 1947 season with three straight victories.
Players on the team included future Wofford Athletics Hall of Fame members Philip Clark '50, Jimmy Gordon '52, Elby Hammett '49, Harvey Moyer '50, Bob Pollard '52, Bob Prevatte '50, Vernon Quick '51, Sammy Sewell '50, and Willie Varner '52.
The Cigar Bowl was played from 1946 to 1954 and was sponsored by the Egypt Temple Shrine as a fundraising event for the Shriners Children's Hospital in Greenville, S.C. The name was inspired by the cigar industry in Tampa, which had been the main driver of the city's growth. The area next hosted a bowl game in 1986.
