First recorded by Hugo Winterhalter in 1950, it became one of the most frequently heard songs on American radio during that year's college football season.

Lyrically associated with gridiron football, it is a staple in the repertoire of some college and high school marching bands and is particularly associated with the University of Nebraska.

"Mr. Touchdown, U.S.A." is an energetic jazz march composed in 1950 by Ruth Roberts with her husband Gene Piller and long-time collaborator William "Bill" Katz.

In the bridge, the lyrics recall Mr. Touchdown's triumphs over specific college football teams, such as describing "the day he murdered Minnesota", how he "took Wisconsin's white and red and made it black and blue instead", and declaring that "what he did to Arkansas should happen to your mother-in-law".

[6] To promote the song's debut, RCA offered a prize of a television set and a silver-plated album of Winterhalter's recording to the college football player who scored the most touchdowns during the 1950 football season; as part of the promotion, albums of "Mr. Touchdown, U.S.A." were sent to sports reporters at American newspapers.