In 1925, the first ever edition of the annual State Fair Classic, held yearly at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, featured – the Wiley Wildcats and the Langston Lions?
Yes, in the mid-’20s, Wiley College of East Texas and Langston University of Oklahoma were the first two teams to take part in the annual State Fair Classic. The teams played four consecutive years before Prairie View A&M University replaced Langston University in 1929. Wiley and Prairie View played each other through 1960, with only Tennessee State University (1958) and Texas Southern University (1959) opposing PVAMU during those 20-plus years. In 1961, Bishop College took Wiley’s place in the annual classic as match-ups against East Texas State (A&M Commerce) and Southern University followed before moving the game against Grambling State University to Dallas in the mid-80s.
In 1990, Prairie View A&M disbanded their football program. When the program was allowed back on campus in 1991, the annual classic didn’t formally invite the Panthers. Grambling State took on North Carolina A&T University that year. In 1992, the annual State Fair Classic that we all have come to know and love was formed. This makes the Panthers’ 35-32 win on Saturday the first for Prairie View in the modern era of this classic event.
Originally, the annual contest always took place on “Negro Day” at the Texas State Fair and would feature the city high school football championship in the afternoon followed by the anticipated college game at night. The concept of “Monday Night Football” could also be attributed to the State Fair Classic as the contest took place on Monday nights well into the 1960s. Currently the game is still traditionally held during the Texas State Fair, but during the weekend.
The Panthers’ last win against the Tigers came in a 24-19 victory in the 1986 season. Before then, the Panthers were 12-25-1 against the small college from Northern La. Although the record during those years seems lopsided, during the majority of the Eddie Robinson era, Grambling State was a top five institution for National Football League draftees. Yes, among the Notre Dames, USCs, and Alabamas sat Grambling and most of the 100-plus players they handed to the NFL. Also, during Prairie View’s record breaking losing streak between 1990 and 1999, the team played without scholarship players. The university finally reinstituted the athletic scholarship program and in 2003 they fielded the maximum allotment for a Division 1-AA program.