[1][2] Despite its "bowl" designation, it was not a postseason game, but an in-season neutral-site contest that typically featured regional rivals from Virginia and neighboring states.

After appearing in just four of the first 29 Tobacco Bowls, the city's own University of Richmond Spiders played in each of the last five games, against a visiting team from elsewhere in the southeast.

The game served as centerpiece of the National Tobacco Festival, which was held in Richmond every fall from 1948 until 1984.

The queen was selected from a group of crowned tobacco princesses who arrived in Richmond from all over the East Coast.

[3] The National Tobacco Festival was originally held in South Boston, Virginia from its inception in 1935 to 1941, when it was suspended during World War II.