The Syracuse Orangemen stunned college football in 1959, dominating competition en route to a Cotton Bowl victory and an undefeated season. Led by electric tailback Ernie Davis, soon to become the first African-American Heisman Trophy winner, the Syracuse team finished the season as the only undefeated independent team. Pitted against Darrell Royal and the 9-1 Texas Longhorns in the Cotton Bowl, Syracuse leapt out to a 15-0 halftime lead and never looked back. Davis immediately made an impact, catching an 87 yard touchdown pass from Gerhard Schwedes less than two minutes into the game. Syracuse dominated on both offense and defense in this game, which by many accounts resembled a street fight as much as a football contest, eventually hanging on to win by a score of 23-14. This was the first bowl win in the history of Syracuse football, and the Orangemen finished this dream season as National Champions.

This football has been signed by 51 members of the 1959 Syracuse team, including Davis and head coach Ben Schwartzwalder. Other signatures include Gerhard Schwedes, Bob Yates, Dave Baker, Art Baker, Pete Brokaw, Roy Seager, Dick Easterly, Fred Mautino, Pat Stark, Tom Gilburg, Dave Sarette, and more. The signatures have been written in blue pen. This white football has been painted with “59 Syracuse National Champions” in orange and blue letters. This item comes with a LOA from Steve Grad of Beckett Authentication (A03761).

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