Courtesy of Salem Museum
A time-honored tradition returns to Salem this weekend as the 50th annual Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl will be played in Salem Stadium on Friday night. The Stagg Bowl is the name given to the NCAA Division-III Football National Championship game. Salem has hosted the most Stagg Bowls of any location since its founding in 1973. It is a large part of Salem’s heritage as “Virginia’s Championship City.”
Salem hosted the Stagg Bowl for the first time in 1993, for the 21st Annual Stagg Bowl game. The 1993 game featured the Mount Union Purple Raiders (from Alliance, Ohio) against the Rowan University Profs (from Glassboro, New Jersey). Mount Union won the Championship game 34-24, the first of 13 National Championships they would win at Salem Football Stadium.
Leading up to the game, the players and coaching staffs of each team signed a football to give to the City of Salem as thanks for hosting the event. These signed footballs are pictured here, and on display at the Salem Museum in the exhibit “A Winning Tradition: Salem’s Champions Gallery.”
The Salem Museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and located at 801 E. Main St.
