Peach Bowl

Claborn’s role with the Chick-fil-A Bowl suits two of his lifelong passions – football and sales. A former defensive end at the University of Miami, Claborn officiated games in the SEC for 20 years and for 26 overall. Away from the field, Claborn operated one of the nation’s most famous Buick dealerships, and his taglines such as “Wouldn’t you really rather deal with D.L., D.L. Claborn, Claborn Buick” endeared him to customers. During his 39-year run, he is estimated to have sold more than 200,000 cars.

In the 1971 Peach Bowl, Claborn’s successes in both areas came to the forefront. He served as an official when Georgia Tech and Mississippi played in the first Bowl game at Atlanta’s Fulton-County Stadium. To promote the game, Claborn donated an Opel GT to the winning ticket holder.

In the years following his role as a game official, D.L. remained involved with the Chick-fil-A Bowl ticket sales volunteer. Year in and year out, Claborn established himself as the top seller and set the bar high for his team. In 2004, the D.L. Claborn Award was created to recognize outstanding Chick-fil-A Bowl ticket sales volunteers.