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Ice Bowl game video still capture courtesy of Merritt Mitchell

Ice Bowl game video still capture courtesy of Merritt Mitchell

FAIRBANKS — If local football fans were asked to describe the origins of the game in the Interior, they would probably point to the creation of youth and high school leagues in the 1960s and ‘70s. If that was as far back as we went, we would be missing an important, albeit short, earlier era of gridiron action.  The first attempt to develop organized football here in the Interior took place nearly 60 years ago. Those initial efforts were not sustained, but paved the way for a resurgence of the sport 20 years later.

Back in the autumn of 1948, sports enthusiasts at the University of Alaska and Ladd Field (now known as Fort Wainwright) began discussing the upcoming college bowl games. Those discussions evolved into a proposal for a game pitting students from “up on the hill” against recruits from “out on the base.” Plans developed quickly, and the game was scheduled for Jan. 1, 1949, and was dubbed The Ice Bowl.   Planners were adamant that the game be played regardless of weather conditions. They encouraged players to wear adequate clothing and proposed a scheme where each squad would have 33 players and entire platoons of 11 players would rotate every 5 minutes.

 The game drew lots of interest from the community. The Dec. 31, 1948, edition of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner contained an article which began as follows:

“The only New Year’s Day football game in the country where admission is free will get under way with the dull thud of mukluk on frigid pigskin tomorrow in Fairbanks’

‘Ice Bowl.’

Not even the prospect of 20 to 30 degrees below zero is expected to deter several hundred fans from mushing or snow-shoeing to the Ladd maintenance squadron gridiron for the spectacle, the first of its kind in history.”

 Well-known local entrepreneur Cap Lathrop donated a trophy for the game. Unfortunately, neither team could claim the prize. The Jan. 3, 1949, edition of the News-Miner reported on the game as follows:

“Five hundred fans scorned the 25-below zero weather to stomp on the sidelines and watch — through the frozen vapor of their own breath — the college and air force squads mush to a scoreless tie … The football itself exhibited an entirely new set of tricks in mid-air as punts lofted from caribou mukluks and passes wobbled off mittens.”

 Retired miner Don DeLima of Fairbanks was a self-described “failing student” at UA in 1949. DeLima had played “pulling guard” during his high school football career in California. He was an obvious choice for the UA team. DeLima recalled, “I thought that it would be lots of fun … something different, you know?”  DeLima initially stated that he didn’t remember many of the players. However, reading over a roster from the game spurred long-dormant memories as he recalled playing with the likes of fellow guard Johnny McCall, center Don Eyinck (who later went on to become Fairbanks city manager) and end Charlie (Jim) Binkley (of Riverboat Discovery fame). DeLima reminisced that the game was “ … a kick in the ass, but it was very cold. I had lots of chest pains the next day” from breathing the frigid air. DeLima recalled that the yard lines were marked with black coal dust on the white snow, a fact confirmed by newspaper descriptions of the game.

 Mary Binkley (Captain Jim’s widow) has clear memories of the game.

“We were living up on campus at the time. We had just bought a car from Charles Bunnell. We drove to the game and parked facing the field,” she recalled. “I got so cold that I would periodically go to the car and start the engine just to warm up.” 

When told that News-Miner accounts of the game indicated that the temperature was 25 degrees below zero, Mary exclaimed, “Oh, it seemed much colder than that.”  Mrs. Binkley also recalled that her husband Jim “ … played a big role in the game” with solid blocking and tackling from his position as an end.

 Merritt Mitchell also played end for the college squad. 

“I originally came to Fairbanks in search of a flying job with Sig Wien. He tentatively agreed to hire me, but encouraged me to finish college first,” he said.

Mitchell took the advice.

“We only had four days off from classes during the holidays back then. The football game seemed like a fun way to fill that time,” he recalled, noting, as Binkley did, the cold of the day. “Geez, it was really cold. You could see the smoke just pouring out of the chimneys on base. I wore mittens, felt shoes from the NC Company, a stocking cap under my helmet, a sweater under my jersey and long-johns under my football pants … maybe even a couple pair.”

That warm gear helped keep Mitchell going throughout the battle, he said.

“I ended up playing the whole game. There wasn’t anyone to take my place. I had lots of fun out there; we all did. Well, except for Hal Sherman. He broke his leg,” he said.

Mitchell also noted that his wife shot movie film of the game. One noteworthy sequence of that footage shows Mitchell turning toward the camera and blowing his frosty breath at the lens. Another section of the film shows Sherman being hauled off on a stretcher. Mitchell is now retired and living in Homer. He has been an avid cross-country skier most of his life. At age 86, “I’m learning to skate-ski. It’s lots of fun.”

 That first Ice Bowl had proven so popular that the university created a varsity-level program in the autumn of 1949 and hired Jim Welsch to coach the team. Ed Orbeck recalled the scenario, “The university placed an ad in several Lower 48 newspapers. Jim answered the ad and took the job. There was some misunderstanding about the assistant coach. The college folks thought that Jim was bringing an assistant with him. Jim thought that the school would provide an assistant. I had come up in the summer of ’49 looking for a job. Jim and I had played pro ‘ball together in the Pacific Coast League. Jim asked me to coach the linemen and I agreed to help him out. We didn’t have any uniforms for the team, but Charlie Bunnell got some used uniforms from the University of Washington.  That Bunnell, he was a helluva guy.”  Orbeck went on to serve in the state Legislature during 1967-’68. He also served as the commissioner of the Department of Labor for eight years under Gov. Jay Hammond.   During that 1949 campaign, the UA squad played against teams from Ladd, Delta Junction and even a high school team from Fairbanks. The Ladd 11 defeated the UA squad 25-13 during the regular season.

 As the 1949 season drew to a close and temperatures dropped, plans for the second Ice Bowl heated up. UA coach Jim Welsch announced that his team would employ a secret offensive attack which he named the “Arctic V.” According to the Dec. 31, 1949, edition of the News-Miner, “ … coaches of Ladd Air Force Base have also come up with a grid novelty. They call it the ‘Atomic Attack’ and claim that it will lay waste to any defense.”

The article continued, “Another rule of this Arctic deep-freeze contest states that time out will not be charged against either team if play is interrupted by dog teams, trappers or wandering herds of caribou. Players are required to wear heavy woolen socks and either mukluks or shoe-pacs. Regulation football shoes are not permitted.”

 The 1950 game was another hard-fought contest, played in warmer weather than the previous year. In today’s jargon, the university played a “field position” game. According to the Jan. 3, 1950, edition of the News-Miner, “Coach Jim Welsch’s strategy was evident from the start. On nearly every fourth down he sent Helsby in to kick into Ladd territory, hoping for a Ladd fumble to set up a UA scoring opportunity.” 

The article continued, “The UA line presented a solid wall to the Flyers on the few occasions when the ball was pushed into University territory.” The college boys prevailed thanks to kicker Leo Helsby, “With the Ladd Flyers and the Polar Bears deadlocked in a scoreless tie … Big Leo was sent in for a last-ditch attempt for a field goal from the Ladd 20 yard line. Clearing a spot in the 10-inch deep snow, Leo swung his soft-toed sneaker, connected squarely and sent the pigskin flying 36 yards between the uprights.” 

The article concluded with this analysis: “All in all, the contest lived up to the expectations of the fans and it looks as if the Ice Bowl is definitely here to stay.”

Ultimately, that evaluation was overly optimistic. The Ice Bowl was played for two more years, but enthusiasm dimmed amongst the college crowd. The series came to an end after the 1952 contest due to “lack of interest,” News-Miner records claim.

 The Ice Bowl games that began more than 60 years ago were a result of the “can do” attitude that was commonplace in Alaska at the time. The organizers and participants undoubtedly shared a sense of pride at being able to stage the competition. Unfortunately they were unable to sustain that enthusiasm. Fairbanks football hibernated for 20 years, reawakening in the early 1970s with the creation of youth leagues and high school teams, and now appears destined to continue. The local youth league contains teams in several age categories. Their season culminates with championship games that incorporate all of the pomp and festivity that parents and league organizers can muster.  At the high school level, there are now varsity teams at five local schools (make that six, if we include Delta). They compete for conference and state championships. While enjoying the games today, we can look back and thank those brave men who pioneered the game here in The Frozen North.