Played on New Year's Day of 1935, the game featured high school teams and was sponsored by the El Paso Kiwanis club.
The following year's game, the 1936 edition, was the first Sun Bowl matchup between college football teams.
The game has been held annually in El Paso, Texas, from 1935 to the present.
[3] Ranger entered the Sun Bowl with a 5–1 record, having defeated Breckenridge High School for their district championship when both teams were 4–0,[4][5] then losing to Amarillo High School in a state playoff game.
[6] The El Paso team was co-coached by Mack Saxon, head coach of the Texas Mines Miners (now the UTEP Miners), and Harry Phillips, who had been a running back for the Texas Longhorns in the late 1920s.