Rice Attends 60th Consecutive Magic City Classic

Carlton Rice will watch his 60th consecutive Amazon Magic City Classic presented by Coca-Cola on Friday. The longtime photographer has attended the annual matchup between the Alabama A&M Bulldogs and the Alabama State Hornets for six decades straight.

Rice’s streak began in 1972 when his family moved to Huntsville. He was five years old at his first game, accompanying his father, W.A. Rice. W.A. Rice, a 1947 A&M graduate and former player, attended 61 consecutive games. He missed only the 1955 event due to mumps.

On the morning of the game, Carlton Rice prepared food in Lot M, spaces 71 and 72. He said that is the same spot where his father often stood. Rice noted he is the only immediate family member attending this year. His brother, who played in the Marching Maroon and White from 1972 to 1976, died in 2022.

Rice also brought his father to the 2017 game. W.A. Rice fell in December 2017, developed pneumonia, and died in June 2018. "No way, because it’s a tradition," Carlton Rice said about missing the event. He described the game as an annual family reunion where relatives would travel from different locales.

W.A. Rice served as an agriculture teacher in Monroe County before becoming coordinator of the Cooperative Extension Service at A&M. He also worked as the school photographer and was inducted into the Alabama A&M Athletic Hall of Fame in 1993. Carlton Rice, a tennis player for the Maroon and White, joined the Hall of Fame in 1997.

Rice recalled living on campus and knowing every student. He and his father produced the yearbook from 1972 to his graduation in 1983. As a young child, he handled a bulldog owned by one of the coaches until the animal died. He later bought his own bulldog to rekindle that field tradition.

A bulldog will be on the field for the second time in recent history during Friday’s game. Rice said he plans the next trip the day after the current game concludes. "As long as I have health, I’ll be coming down here every year," he said.