The dream of J. Curtis Sanford finally became a reality, a New Year’s Day bowl game in Dallas, and the teams selected to kick off this new venture were the TCU Horned Frogs and the Marquette Golden Avalanche.

It was a game that pitted two of the nation’s premier passers, TCU’s Slingin’ Sammy Baugh and Marquette’s Ray “Buzz” Buivid. Buivid had finished third in the balloting that season for the Heisman Trophy while Baugh was fourth.

Two solid teams led by two outstanding athletes gave Sanford’s new bowl the kind of drawing card it so desperately needed. However, the duel between these two All-Americas never materialized. The TCU line stole the show, swarming Buivid time after time and never allowed Marquette’s highly publicized Art Guepe to become a factor. Before the game had aged five minutes, TCU had jumped to a 3-0 lead on a 33-yard field goal by L. D. Meyer, the nephew of Frog coach Dutch Meyer. Minutes later, the Avalanche answered back when Guepe knifed through Purple defenders en route to a 60-yard punt return and the Avalanche’s only score. But, before the opening quarter had expired, Meyer struck again, combining with Baugh for a 55-yard scoring play to push TCU back in front for good, 10-6. The first quarter proved to be a thrill a minute.

In the second period, Baugh and company went to work again, driving 62 yards for one last Frog touchdown. Marquette was expecting TCU to put the ball in the air and that’s precisely what the Frogs did. With the ball resting on the Avalanche 18, Vic Montgomery took the snap and looked downfield for Meyer. Meyer worked himself free between Guepe and another Hilltopper, leaped high for the pass, juggled it momentarily, then tucked it away as he crossed the goal line. The two teams produced 22 points in the first two quarters.

By halftime, the scoring came to a sudden stop. Seeing victory slipping away, Marquette tried to open up with Buivid’s passing, only to see the TCU lineman come tearing through to squelch each threat. Midway through the contest, Coach Meyer had used all 27 men on his bench. Frog reserves, led by a young sophomore named Davey O’Brien, played a greater part of the last half.

In total, Meyer accounted for each of TCU’s 16 points — a field goal, two touchdowns and an extra point. A gritty performance.

As for the game itself, it was a fine beginning for what would become an age-old classic. A fitting end came in the game’s waning minutes. With TCU reserves on the field and Baugh and company on the bench, Coach Meyer reinserted his star player into the game at the insistence of the crowd who wanted to see Sammy play one last time.