The historic Orange Bowl stadium opened December 10th 1937 for the Miami Hurricanes football team. It was built with a seating capacity 74,476. The Orange Bowl has played host to some of the most memorable collegiate and professional football contests in history. It has been a part of 16 National championships - including three University of Miami National Championships – five Super Bowls and the 1972 Miami Dolphins Perfect Season.
The Orange Bowl is also the site of the NCAA’s longest college football winning streak. Between 1985 and 1994, the University of Miami Hurricanes won 58 straight home games. The Miami Dolphins also set an NFL record for most consecutive home games won at the Orange Bowl, 31.
The Orange Bowl Stadium has a rich history as a venue for soccer, as well, including the 1996 Summer Olympics soccer games and the CONCACAF Gold Cup, which showcases the finest men’s national teams from North America and South America. Other premier soccer events hosted at the stadium include the Marlboro Soccer Cup and the AC Milan Soccer Game.
The stadium played host to such events as President Kennedy’s Cuban Missile Crisis Speech, and concerts such as the Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Prince and many others.
It was the home of the University of Miami Hurricanes for more than 60 years and the home of the NFL’s Miami Dolphins for more than 20 years, as well. And it was, of course, the site of the annual Orange Bowl game, from which it took its name, for decades.
Historic Orange Bowl Stadium moments:
The Miami Dolphins’ 1972 Perfect Season – Led by the NFL’s all-time winningest coach, Don Shula, the Miami Dolphins win every home game of the regular and post-season at the Orange Bowl, before proceeding to Super Bowl VII, to defeat the Washington Redskins 14-7 and complete the only perfect season in Pro Football history.
1937 Orange Bowl – In the first Orange Bowl game played in the new stadium that would be renamed for the game and festival, Auburn squared off against Michigan State before a crowd of 19,000.
1963 Orange Bowl – A powerful Alabama squad coached by Bear Bryant and led by quarterback Joe Namath take on Bud Wilkinson's Oklahoma Sooners, in a game attended by President John F. Kennedy. Alabama’s Lee Roy Jordan sets a major-bowl record with 31 tackles and the Crimson Tide win, 17-0.
1971, ’72 and ’73 Orange Bowls – The early part of the decade sees three games in a row won by the Bob Devaney-coached Nebraska Cornhuskers, including back-to-back National Championships in 1971 and 1972.
1975 Orange Bowl – Notre Dame lets a retiring coach Ara Parseghian go out a winner, defeating Alabama, 13-11, and denying the Crimson Tide a national title in the process.
1984 Orange Bowl – The Miami Hurricanes top the Nebraska Cornhuskers in a 31-30 barn burner to win the National Championship in the 50th anniversary Orange Bowl game played in the stadium.
1991 Orange Bowl – A controversial clipping foul in the waning seconds wipes out an amazing 91-yard punt return for touchdown by Notre Dame’s “Rocket” Ismail, and Colorado wins, 10-9, securing the National Championship for retiring coach Bill McCartney.
1992 Orange Bowl – The Miami Hurricanes, coached by Dennis Erickson, once again square off against the Nebraska Cornhuskers and earn the National Championship by shutting out the Tom Osborne-coached ‘Huskers, 22-0.
1996 Orange Bowl – In this, the last Orange Bowl game played in the Orange Bowl Stadium, Florida State tops Notre Dame, 31-26. It’s the end of an era for college football in Florida and draws to a close an always exciting and profitable 60-year association between the Orange Bowl game and the stadium that hosted with so much grace and pageantry.
2007 Miami Hurricanes – The Miami Hurricanes complete their final season in the venerable Orange Bowl Stadium and announce plans to play in Dolphins Stadium in the future.
Super Bowl II – The Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL) defeat the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League (AFL), 33-14. It is an unprecedented third consecutive World Championship for the Packers and the last game as Packers coach for the legendary Vince Lombardi.
Super Bowl III – The New York Jets of the AFL, led by quarterback Joe Namath who brashly “guarantees” victory, defeat the heavily favored Baltimore Colts of the NFL, 16-7, in one of the greatest upsets in the history of sport. It legitimizes the AFL in the eyes of fans and leads to the 1970 merger between the two leagues.
Super Bowl V – A field goal as time expires by rookie Jim O'Brian propels the Baltimore Colts to victory over the Dallas Cowboys, 16-13, in the final championship game for Colts quarterback legend, Johnny Unitas.
Super Bowl X – In what is generally considered one of the most exciting Super Bowl games of all time, the Pittsburgh Steelers defeated the Dallas Cowboys, 21-17. The game featured numerous future Pro Football Hall of Famers, including Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Joe Green, Roger Staubach, and Randy White, to name but a few.
Super Bowl XIII – In this rematch of Super Bowl X, the Pittsburgh Steelers once again edged the Dallas Cowboys in a shootout, 35-31. It was Pittsburgh’s third championship of the four they would win over the course of the 1970’s.
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