Schnapps Bowl
Est,1985

Schnapps Bowl History

 

 

     The history of how the Schnapps Bowl began.

 

In the fall of the early 1980's, football was played every weekend at a field next to Gardner JR High School and fields next to Holt High School. After years of playing, body aches, broken bones and other injuries, these hard core football players decide that they would at least play once a year for the rest of their life’s. With that creed the Schnapps Bowl was born.

 

     December 24, 1985 Schnapps Bowl 1 Gardner JR High School was chosen for the first site. The first name for the Schnapps Bowl was the 1st annual Peppermint Schnapps Bowl Christmas Eve Day Classic. This name was use for the first five years of the Schnapps Bowl. The name changed when the date had to be changed because wife’s and girlfriends and families complained because we would all be zombies, from nursing our injuries, the next day. The Schnapps Bowl motto, "Bring enough schnapps to keep oneself warm” was enacted that day. Twelve players took the field that day. It was the first day that it didn't snow that month. Instead, it was sunny and COLD. The snow was so deep that a field was made next to the parking lot at the school. By days end, the field was so stomped down there was a shape of a rectangle in the deep snow. West ends winning with the score 56-35. The 1st two Most Valuable Players (MVP’s) were Gary "Rodan" Gardner for the West and Gary "Dreamweaver" Aldrich for the East, would now be the captains for the next years bowl game, which is still used today. Two of the original twelve, have played in all 28 bowls, H.D. Thomas "Peppermint" Marusich and Lawrence "Music Man" Piper. five others have played ten years or more. Seven have been MVP at least once, and one has become its commissioner.

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      How the Teams received their names. The field that the Reed Street boys would play on was Gardner Middle School in Lansing, Michigan. They had played there for several years before the Schnapps Bowl was ever conceived. The football field was used earlier in its life as a field for youth football. The Saturdays or Sundays were the days for the Reed Street boys to play. The field is actually runs north and south. The site was chosen for the First Annual Peppermint Schnapps Christmas Eve Classic. The day before and till that morning it snowed a total of three feet. The players copulated if it was worth walking out to the field or play right in front of the parking lot. The players decided to stomp out a field in front of parking lot with the end zones facing east and west, thus starting the naming the teams East and West.

 

     Armbands have been given out to all the players since the first Schnapps Bowl. The first ones were made from a old pair of jeans owned by the commissioner. They read" 1st Annual Peppermint Schnapps Bowl Christmas Eve Classic" with a field goal post and a football also printed on them. The colors of Green for the East And Red for the West, began with the fourth bowl game. It was to represent MSU (East) and USC (West) when they played each other in the Rose Bowl. Armbands have been given out every year, except Schnapps Bowl 13, 20 and 30 when shirts were given out. The armbands also represent acknowledgement and a  trophy to show others that a played in the Schnapps Bowl. View some of the old armbands displayed at the Schnapps Bowl Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame houses other Schnapps Bowl memorabilia.

 

     All might have come to a end after 10 years, with the hope that someone would show up on the bitter cold December day in 1996, the commissioner H.D. Peppermint along with Lawrence "Music Man" Piper waited a few more minutes, then a couple of cars pulled in the parking lot, and yes, it was El Tom "Franken" Stine along with five other players, Jim “Bad-Bad" Brown, Shaun "Streaking" McKimmy, Ben "the Reaper" Grimm, Allen "Lumberjack" Hazel and Bob "Don't call me Ben" Chea, and the Schnapps Bowl lives on to this day.

 

     A story on how the Schnapps Bowl theme song came from is, in Schnapps Bowl 14. H.D. Thomas Peppermint Marusich was safety for the East team. "Bad Moon" Risen broke around the end of the line and was heading for the end zone. H. D. lowered his head as Bad Moon charged, the two hit head on. Bad moon flew back and out of bounds and H.D. flew back in to the end zone. The first thing H.D. heard after being knocked out was the song by the Rolling Stones "Can't you hear me knocking"

 

     Records have been kept of every Schnapps Bowl played. Records are on Scoring. The only defense record kept is safeties and now interceptions (2014). Other records are for wins and losses, oddities, past team scores, MVP and rookies of the years. You can find these records on this web site (Records) or check the record books at the Schnapps Bowl. They are updated and also can be viewed at the Schnapps Bowl Hall of Fame.

 

     The Schnapps Bowl has become Christmas Day for the players, with the visions of touchdowns dancing in our heads. The night before, they can't go to sleep just thinking about the next day. Players can't wait for that phone call from the commissioner office giving them the date for that year's game.

 

 

More to Come

 

     One more reason for the Schnapps Bowl, it has become to the players a great memory, a time that they can tell to their other friends of and the folklore they can tell their children or grand-children of players they played with or against, and the plays they made.

 

     Another reason for the Schnapps Bowl is, it gives us all one more chance to play a sport that, otherwise with time, would just limit us to just watching it be played by others more younger and able. For most of us, it gives us a hope to shine one more time on the gridiron. It lets our minds tell our bodies; yes I can still do that at least once a year and twice if you play in the Booze Bowl (another bowl formed by Jim "Bad Bad" Brown and Brett "Brave" Hartford after they played in the Schnapps Bowl)