Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Football became a State Fair of Texas tradition years before the Red River Rivalry selected the Cotton Bowl as a neutral site. Wiley College and Langston University played the inaugural State Fair Classic in 1925. Festivities on "Negro Day"—the single day when Black guests were admitted to the fair until 1961—also included parades, beauty contests, and a football championship for Black high schools in Dallas. Prairie View A&M replaced Langston in 1929. This news segment for Houston's KPRC-TV documents the Panthers preparing for the 1985 game, when Grambling State University became their regular opponent.
Explore the web exhibit, Game Film, at: tinyurl.com/es6vrude
Contributed to the Texas Moving Image Archive Program by KPRC-TV.
#football #collegefootball #statefairclassic
Football became a State Fair of Texas tradition years before the Red River Rivalry selected the Cotton Bowl as a neutral site. Wiley College and Langston University played the inaugural State Fair Classic in 1925. Festivities on "Negro Day"—the single day when Black guests were admitted to the fair until 1961—also included parades, beauty contests, and a football championship for Black high schools in Dallas. Prairie View A&M replaced Langston in 1929. This news segment for Houston's KPRC-TV documents the Panthers preparing for the 1985 game, when Grambling State University became their regular opponent.
Explore the web exhibit, Game Film, at: tinyurl.com/es6vrude
Contributed to the Texas Moving Image Archive Program by KPRC-TV.
#football #collegefootball #statefairclassic
