NC State has rare history of playing regular-season games in December

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Saturday’s game between NC State and East Carolina, a hastily arranged replacement for the Wolfpack’s September game against West Virginia that was wiped away by Hurricane Florence, is a significantly rare event in the program’s history.

It’s only the fifth regular-season game played in December, just the second played in Raleigh and the first ever at Carter-Finley Stadium. It is not, however, the latest regular season game ever played for a program whose history dates back to 1892.

That honor goes to the most recent regular-season game played in the final month of the year, a Dec. 5, 1959, contest against Maryland that ended what must have seemed like the longest season in school history.

Just two years removed from its first ACC championship under head coach Earle Edwards, the Wolfpack opened the year in September with a victory over Virginia Tech. But the rest of the season was a wash with the Pack losing its next nine games to finish the year 1-9.

There was a bright spot on the season — Edwards broke in a rangy new quarterback from Wilmington named Roman Gabriel. In the December finale against Maryland, which the Pack lost 33-28, Gabriel shattered four ACC records when he completed 23 of 38 passing attempts for 279 yards and compiled 276 yards in total offense.

It was a big deal, and gave Edwards’ team something to build on heading into the 1960s, when the program won four ACC titles.

As a reward for surviving the only nine-loss season in school history, Edwards kept his team in Washington and took the whole squad to see a showdown between legendary NFL quarterbacks Norm Van Brocklin of the Philadelphia Eagles and Eddie LeBaron of the Washington Redskins the next day at Griffith Stadium.

That day, Gabriel saw both legends pass for more than 200 yards, but fewer than he had against the Terrapins. The Eagles, led by former NC State coach Buck Shaw, won the game 34-14 en route to a 7-5 record. The next year, in his final NFL season, Shaw led the Eagles to the NFL championship. Gabriel later spent six seasons as the Eagles starting quarterback.

NC State played three December regular-season games in the 1930s, one of which was particularly significant.

The Pack lost at Duke 32-0 on Dec. 1, 1934, to close out its first season under Heartley “Hunk” Anderson, who left his job as Knute Rockne’s successor as head coach at Notre Dame to lead NC State.

The Wolfpack also lost 27-7 at Miami on Dec. 1, 1939, at Burdine Stadium, to complete Williams “Doc” Newton’s third season as head coach of the Pack.

In 1938, the Wolfpack made a special December trip to Wilmington to face The Citadel in a game dubbed the Salt Bowl, which was a minor consolation considering Duke was heading to the West Coast to play in the New Year’s Day Rose Bowl. Wilmington officials lured the two college teams to dedicate its gleaming new Legion Stadium, a 9,000-seat complex near downtown that was built by the WPA.

The Wolfpack entered the game having not scored a point in its previous five games, shutout losses to Virginia Tech, Manhattan, Detroit, Duke and Carnegie Tech. Newton’s team found itself behind 6-0 at the half, extending its scoreless streak to 24 consecutive quarters.

All-America tackle Ed “Ty” Coon blocked a punt in the third quarter and quarterback Little Artie Rooney broke the scoreless skein with a 1-yard touchdown run, giving his team a 7-6 edge.

In the fourth quarter, Rooney set up his team’s second touchdown with a 64-yard punt return to the 16-yard line. Andy Pavlovsky finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run, giving the Wolfpack a 14-6 season-ending victory.

The Legion Sports Complex is still in use, though mainly for the Wilmington Hammerheads soccer team of the Premier Development League. However, the main competition area at the complex was named Jurgensen/Gabriel Field after Wilmington natives and New Hanover High School quarterbacks Sonny Jurgensen and Gabriel.

NC State won its only regular-season December home game back in 1927, a week after All-American Jack McDowall and company secured its only Southern Conference championship with a 34-0 win over South Carolina.

The Pack, already with an 8-1 record, completed the first nine-win season in school history with a 19-0 shutout of Michigan State at Riddick Stadium.

The game was played on a muddy, cold field in front of 2,000 fans. The Wolfpack’s Bob Warren scored on two 1-yard line plunges, and the NC State defense scored the final points of the season on a 15-yard fumble return for a touchdown to complete its third shutout of the season. McDowall, playing in the final game of his hall of fame career, kicked his team’s only extra point and was declared the Pack’s top performer for his passing and rushing.

This year’s Pack can match the feat of the ’27 team by winning its ninth regular-season game at home in December in Saturday’s contest against the in-state rival Pirates.

Tim Peeler is a regular contributor to The Wolfpacker and can be reach at tmpeeler@ncsu.edu.

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