Polk Times

City Of Lakeland issued the following announcement on Dec. 23. 

#FlashbackFriday with the Lakeland History & Culture Center: Ho! Ho! Ho! The Santa Claus Bowl

From 1947 through 1961 the Santa Claus Bowl was held the weekend after Christmas. Originally played in Pennsylvania and New York, by 1951, the Bowl moved to Lakeland to take advantage of Florida’s warmer weather. The four-day youth football event and other activities was first sponsored by the Pop Warner Foundation and later by the National Boys Football Foundation.

Four “Midget Class” teams were invited from all over the country. Players ranged in age between 9 to 13 and whose weight could not exceed 110 pounds. They played by high school football rules except for wearing sneakers instead of cleats. The teams, sporting Christmas colored uniforms, played in two semi-final games. The winners of those games met for the final Championship game. Attendance for these games reached nearly 9000 in the 1950s.

Teams stayed at the Tiger Town in the barracks formerly occupied by cadets of the Lodwick School of Aviation. All the games were played at Bryant Stadium. A parade kicked-off the weekend with bands, drill teams and floats steering through downtown Lakeland. Candidates for the female ambassador, Little Miss Santa Claus Bowl, were in the same age range as the football players. The winner was crowned at half-time during the Championship game. An award banquet was held as a breakfast following the final game. 

To learn more about the Lakeland History & Culture Center at the Lakeland Public Library, visit LakelandGov.net/CultureCenter!