Bowl Season Hall of Fame
George P. Crumbley, commonly known as the "Father of the Peach Bowl," was the original founder and executive director of the Peach Bowl and played an instrumental role in the creation of Atlanta’s annual bowl game tradition.
“George P. Crumbley left a long-lasting legacy on the sport of college football in the city of Atlanta,” said Peach Bowl, Inc. CEO and President Gary Stokan. “It’s truly surreal to see how the Peach Bowl has evolved over the years into one of the most prestigious bowl games in the county, and the lasting impact it’s had on countless coaches, players and fans, as well as the broader Atlanta community.”
In the 1960s, Crumbley came up with the concept to start the Peach Bowl as a way to raise money for his favorite charity, the Georgia Lions Lighthouse, an organization dedicated to helping underserved Georgians with vision and hearing care. Knowing how prevalent college football was in the South, Crumbley envisioned an end-of-season bowl game as a way to generate money for the Lighthouse. His hope was that all the proceeds from the game would be donated to helping the visually and audibly impaired, making the Bowl the first-ever charitable bowl game. He formed a six-man committee of Atlanta Lions to bid for a new Atlanta-based bowl before the NCAA bowl committee in 1966. After facing two initial roadblocks during their first two attempts, Crumbley and the Lions remained undeterred and were finally granted bowl certification in April of 1968, forming the ninth bowl game in college football history.
In just eight months under Crumbley’s leadership, the Peach Bowl found its home at Georgia Tech’s Grant Field, had its broadcast partner in Mizlou Television Network, recruited volunteers to put the game on, promoted the game on WSB-TV, and had locked in two teams with Florida State and LSU. More importantly, the initiative behind the game was preserved. With the success of the game, Crumbley and the Peach Bowl donated $100,000 to the Lions Lighthouse, made $100,000 payouts to LSU and Florida State, and also put money in their reserves to bid on future teams for their bowl games. The Peach Bowl would donate $100,000 to the Lions Lighthouse after every bowl game under his guidance, and still donates annually to the foundation to this day.
He served as executive director of the Peach Bowl for 18 years until 1985. During that time, more than $1 million was raised for the benefit of the visually impaired in Georgia, more than 786,000 fans attended the game and over 16.2 million was generated for team payouts.
The 2021 Bowl Season Leadership Hall of Fame inductee’s presence and legacy still live on today with the George P. Crumbley Trophy, which is presented annually to the winner of the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl. His vision for the first-ever charitable bowl game has also come full circle as Peach Bowl, Inc. has earned the dubious honor of being college football’s most charitable bowl organization, having donated $65.8 million to those in need.
