November 2006

Celebrating an Unprecedented Victory 50 Years Later

GW Colonials and coach Bo Sherman celebrate the team's one and only bowl victory on Jan. 1, 1957.

By Zak M. Salih

When the GW Colonials traveled to El Paso, Texas, to compete in the 1957 Sun Bowl against the Texas Western Miners they were considered a 13 1/2-point underdog. It was the GW football team’s first and only bowl game, yet despite the odds, the Colonials’ 31 players returned victorious, upsetting the Texas team
13 to 0.

While GW ended its football program with its 1966 season, that victorious team of Jan. 1, 1957, held a reunion this Colonials Weekend to celebrate the 50th anniversary of their Sun Bowl win. Twenty-one
of the former teammates—
as well as four assistant coaches, the team’s student manager, the then-Colonials mascot, and the former GW Hatchet sports editor—returned to their alma mater for the event. Attendees hailed from places as
varied as Washington state, Pennsylvania, Nebraska, Florida, and California, and included a retired physician, former baseball player, university professor, and several high school football coaches.

Fifty years after winning the Sun Bowl, victors shared memories and rekindled friendships at their Colonials Weekend reunion.

Held in Arlington, Va., the reunion was spread over two nights with an informal gathering on Friday featuring cocktails and nostalgia, and a small Saturday ceremony complete with a buffet dinner, music, dancing, and a few impromptu speeches.

“We were delighted to see everyone interact and reconnect—some of these players hadn’t seen each other for 50 years,” says Ed McKee, GW director of sports media and campus/ community relations. “It was incredibly heartwarming.”

The reunion was spearheaded by Ray Looney, one of the team’s quarterbacks, who used skills honed in a career as an FBI agent to track down the teammates for the reunion. “It’s not just about football,” Looney says.

“It’s about friendship and memories.” “Just seeing people is something I’ve been looking forward to,” says former linebacker Bob Sutton, who traveled from Pennsylvania to attend the event.

With all the rich memories shared during the reunion, the victory may be history—but it was as sweet as the day it was claimed.

Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu