08/07/26 03:30:00
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08/07 15:29 CDT US Senate adds Missouri to the list of teams with a claim to
college football's 1960 national title
US Senate adds Missouri to the list of teams with a claim to college football's
1960 national title
WASHINGTON (AP) --- Four teams had claims to the 1960 national championship in
college football. The U.S. Senate is adding Missouri to that list.
Sen. Eric Schmitt, R-Mo., introduced a resolution during a meeting Thursday
recognizing the Tigers for a claim to the national title. The measure was
passed with no objections; resolutions don't have the force of law and by the
chamber's definition reflect the Senate's "sentiments," according to the St.
Louis Post-Dispatch.
Still, it adds another odd wrinkle to college football history for a sport
decided by polls and rankings decades ago before the arrival of the Bowl
Championship Series or today's College Football Playoff. Missouri hadn't
previously claimed the 1960 team as a national champion.
In an email to The Associated Press on Friday, Missouri team spokesman Dave
Matter said the school is "aware" of the resolution but offered no additional
comment.
Missouri went 10-1 on the field after beating Navy and Heisman Trophy winner
Joe Bellino in the Orange Bowl. The lone loss had come to "Border War" rival
Kansas in a game to decide the then-Big Eight Conference title, though the
league ordered the Jayhawks to forfeit for using an ineligible player because
of recruiting violations.
In a past interview with the The Post-Dispatch, author Brendon Steenbergen ---
who wrote a book detailing that season --- said: "I've been beating the drum to
try to get the university to recognize it because I think they have as much a
right as anyone in the country to be national champions in 1960."
Minnesota was crowed champion by the AP and United Press International polls,
though that took place before the Gophers lost to Washington in the Rose Bowl.
The Football Writers Association of America voted Mississippi its post-bowl
champion.
The Helms Athletic Foundation, created in 1936 to promote amateur athletics
until dissolving in 1983, recognized Washington as its champion. Meanwhile, the
Litkenhous Rating system chose Iowa with its mathematical formula utilizing
scoring margins and opponent strength, according to The Athletic.
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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and
https://apnews.com/hub/college-football
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