Mosquito Bowl

The Mosquito Bowl was a football game played December 24, 1944 between two regiments of Marines at Guadalcanal during World War II.^[1] Buzz Bissinger in 2022 wrote an account, The Mosquito Bowl: A Game of Life and Death in World War II, which was widely reviewed.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

Buzz Bissinger (left) speaks about his book on the game in 2023

Members of the 6th Marine Division, many of whom had played college football, were training on Guadalcanal during the final months of 1944.^[6] Many had been named to all-conference or all-American teams.^[6] Both of the division's 4th and 29th regiments could field a team of such prominent players, and a game was organized for Christmas Eve with sixty-five players, including John McLaughry and Tony Butkovich.^[6]

The game ended with a scoreless tie.^[4]

Terry Frei's "Third Down and a War to Go" (2004/2007) and his newspaper work earlier included extensive material on the Mosquito Bowl, relying on many interviews with then-surviving Marines who played in the game or served with those who did. In his book's backmatter, Bissinger thanked Frei for allowing him access to Frei's research and/or contacts. Frei's book featured his father's 1942 Wisconsin Badgers, including two of Jerry Frei's teammates -- Dave Schreiner and Bob Baumann -- who played in the Mosquito Bowl and were killed on Okinawa.

References

1. Bissinger, Buzz (2022). The mosquito bowl : a game of life and death in World War II (1st ed.). New York. ISBN 978-0-06-287992-9. OCLC 1267753036.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
2. "Review: A war story, 'Mosquito Bowl' defines courage, duty". AP NEWS. 19 September 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
3. "Buzz Bissinger On 'The Mosquito Bowl' : Fresh Air". NPR.org. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
4. Daniel, Douglass K. "Review: A war story, 'Mosquito Bowl' defines courage, duty". Philadelphia Inquirer. Archived from the original on 20 September 2022. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
5. Jennings, Jay (13 September 2022). "The Football Players Who Fought and Died in World War II". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 20 September 2022.
6. Daniel, Douglass K. (19 September 2022). "1944 Marine 'Mosquito Bowl' defines football, courage, duty". Navy Times. Retrieved 20 September 2022.