1959 Sun Bowl

1959 Sun Bowl
1959 Sun Bowl
New Mexico State Aggies	North Texas State Eagles
(7–3)	(9–1)
Border Conference	Missouri Valley
28	8
Head coach: ; Warren B. Woodson	Head coach: ; Odus Mitchell
Date	December 31, 1959
Season	1959
Stadium	Kidd Field
Location	El Paso, Texas
Attendance	14,000
Sun Bowl
< 1958	1960 >

The 1959 Sun Bowl featured the New Mexico State Aggies and the North Texas State Eagles.

Background[]

New Mexico State represented the Border Intercollegiate Athletic Association (BAAA) and finished tied for third in Warren B. Woodson's second season as head coach for the Aggies. North Texas State was co-champion of the Missouri Valley Conference with Houston in Odus Mitchell's 14th year. This was the Eagles first bowl game since the 1948 Salad Bowl.

Game summary[]

New Mexico State - Atkins 57 yard touchdown pass from Johnson (Gaiters run), 14:20 remaining
New Mexico State - Locklin fumble recovery (run failed), :01 remaining
New Mexico State - B. Kelly 15 yard touchdown pass from Johnson (Villanueva kick), 4:05 remaining
North Texas State - Christie 51 yard punt return (Perkins pass from Duty), :01 remaining
New Mexico State - Gaiters 44 yard touchdown run (Villanueva kick), 13:50 remaining

Charley Johnson was named Sun Bowl MVP, going 7–of-15 with 124 yards passing and two touchdowns along with 31 yards rushing. Billy Ray Locklin had a defensive touchdown for the Aggies when he recovered a fumble as they led 21–0 at halftime. The Eagles could only muster a second half touchdown by and even though Abner Haynes had 174 all purpose yards, Bob Gaiters put the game out of reach with his 44 yard touchdown. ^[1]^[2]

Statistics	New Mexico State	North Texas State
First Downs	18	20
Yards Rushing	206	152
Yards Passing	136	182
Total Yards	342	334
Passing (C-A-I)	8-16-0	15-31-2
Penalties-Yards	8-69	5-35
Fumbles-Lost	4-2	8-6

Aftermath[]

New Mexico State returned to the Sun Bowl the following season after winning the BIAA once again. Mitchell coached the Eagles for seven more years and won the conference title twice. The program did not reach another bowl game until the 2001 New Orleans Bowl, 42 years later.

References[]

[1] "New Mexico State 28, North Texas 8 | Recaps - Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl | December 31, 2021 | el Paso, Texas".

[2] ttp://viewer.zmags.com/publication/c94984ee#/c94984ee/28

[1]

[2]

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Games	1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 (Jan.) 1958 (Dec.) 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1977 (Jan.) 1977 (Dec.) 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021
Notes	Util the 1957 season, the Sun Bowl was played in January of the ensuing year (for example, the 1935 season game played in January 1936). Since 1958 (except in 1976), the Sun Bowl is played in December. The 1976 season Sun Bowl was played in January 1977 and the 1977 season Sun Bowl was played in December 1977. No game was held in the 2020 season because of pandemic-related issues.