Pasadena Seldom Serves Up Rose-Duds

The Rose Bowl game has a rich history of controversies, upsets, intrigue and improbable endings. One game that stands out is the 1939 encounter between USC and Duke.

The Blue Devils were undefeated, untied and unscored upon before the game and it seemed that their perfect record would remain intact, as they led the Trojans, 3-0, late in the fourth quarter.

However, Doyle Nave, a fourth-string USC quarterback, came off the bench to complete four consecutive passes to end Al Krueger, the last for a touchdown, as the Trojans won, 7-3.

*

Trivia time: Who holds the Rose Bowl record for the longest kickoff return?

*

Other significant games:

* 1922. Favored California was held to a 0-0 tie by Washington & Jefferson on a muddy field. One writer dismissed the underdog team before the game by writing, “All I know about Washington and Jefferson is that they’re both dead.”

* 1925. Notre Dame, with its famed “Four Horsemen” backfield of Don Miller, Elmer Layden, Dan Crowley and Harry Stuhldreher, prevailed over Stanford, 27-10.

* 1934. On a field soaked by rain, unheralded Columbia defeated Stanford, 7-0. The only touchdown was scored in the second quarter by Al Barabas, who skillfully executed a hidden ball play on a 17-yard run.

* 1949. Northwestern defeated California, 20-14, on a touchdown scored by the Wildcats’ Art Murakowski on a disputed play. There was no TV instant replay at the time to confirm whether Murakowski fumbled the ball before he crossed the goal line, although photographs indicate that he did.

* 1963. USC led Wisconsin, 42-14, in the fourth quarter before quarterback Ron VanderKelen rallied the Badgers with his accurate passing. The Trojans hung on to win, 42-37, in a game marred by penalties. Times columnist Jim Murray, noting the penalties, wrote that “the game lasted only slightly less long than the war of 1812.”

* 1976. UCLA trailed Ohio State, 3-0, at halftime but touchdown passes by John Sciarra to Wally Henry rallied the Bruins for a 23-10 victory over the Buckeyes and two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin.

* 1980. With 5:21 remaining, Ohio State led USC, 16-10. The Trojans then drove 83 yards in eight plays for a touchdown, all on the ground, with tailback Charles White carrying six times for 71 yards. The extra point gave USC a 17-16 victory.

* 1995. Penn State, in its first Rose Bowl appearance since losing to USC, 14-3, in 1923, defeated Oregon, 38-20. Oregon quarterback Danny O’Neil set Rose Bowl records for passes completed, 41 of 61, and yardage, 456, in the loss.

*

Trivia answer: UCLA’s Al Hoisch, 103 yards against Illinois in 1947.

*

And finally: The 1923 Rose Bowl game between Penn State and USC was scheduled for 2:15 p.m. But the bus carrying Penn State players and Coach Hugo Bezdek didn’t arrive until 2:30.

USC Coach Elmer “Gloomy Gus” Henderson was irate and asked Bezdek about the delay. The Penn State coach said the bus was caught in a traffic jam. Henderson didn’t buy the excuse. The coaches then shouted at each other and almost came to blows.

According to Joe Hendrickson’s book, “The Tournament of Roses,” the game didn’t start until 3:05 p.m. and finished “by the light of the moon.”