SALISBURY — Livingstone is home again this week, hosting the Commemorative Classic against Johnson C. Smith at 1 p.m.
Livingstone and J.C. Smith, then known as Biddle Institute, played in what is now recognized as the first collegiate football between historically black colleges.

The date was Dec. 27, 1892, and Biddle traveled to play on the snow-covered front lawn of Livingstone College's Old Delta Grove campus in Salisbury.

The two teams played two 45-minutes halves and Biddle won, 5-0, although there was some controversy to the victory. According to historians, W.J. Trent scored Livingstone's only touchdown on a fumble recovery.

Biddle argued that the fumble was recovered out of bounds and the snow covered the field's markings. The official ruled in Biddle's favor, allowing the score to remain at 5-0.

The two schools have played 63 more times since that snowy day in 1892, with J.C. Smith winning 41 of the games.
However, in the 25 games since 1990, the Golden Bulls hold just a slim 13-12 advantage.

Livingstone dominated the series in the 1990s, winning six straight games between 1994 and 1999.

More recently, J.C. Smith has had the upper hand. The Golden Bulls have won eight of the last nine games, going back to 2006, including the last six games.

The Blue Bears last won in 2008, 32-26.

A win on Saturday would give Livingstone its first winning season in 17 years, so it's an even bigger game for the Blue Bears. Livingstone is 4-3 overall and J.C. Smith is 4-5.

Livingstone was in the same situation last year, sitting at 5-4 while J.C. Smith came into the game with a record of 2-7. The Blue Bears needed a win for a winning season, but the Golden Bulls prevailed in Charlotte, 31-14.

"We're excited about this week's game," said Livingstone coach Daryl Williams. "Obviously, there is a rich tradition with this rivalry but on top of that, we want to win our last home game and have a winning season — which was one of our goals."