1923: USC, 14 vs. Penn State, 3

The first-ever Rose Bowl Game played in the Rose Bowl began 50 minutes late with a near donnybrook between coaches and ended with the moonlight peeking over the stadium’s huge sides and writers filing stories by match light.

In fact, technically, 1923 was the first ever “Rose Bowl Game.” The contest received that distinction from Pasadena Star-News writer “Dusty” Hall, on loan to the Tournament of Roses as a press agent just before the 1923 matchup, which featured USC beating Penn State, 14-3.

It was a swarm of firsts, as it was not only the first-ever “Rose Bowl Game” being played for the first time in the Rose Bowl, it also featured the first Southern California-area-”hometown team” to earn a berth.

And given the local connection for the USC team, it’s only appropriate that the game begin 50 minutes late due to something as Southern California as USC itself: traffic.

Penn State arrived at the locker rooms 15 minutes after the game was scheduled to start, something that prompted USC Head Coach Elmer “Gloomy Gus” Henderson to confront Penn State Head Coach Hugo Bezdek. Newspaper reports said that Henderson claimed that Bezdek used traffic as an excuse to delay the start of the game, a claim Bezdek took exception to. It escalated until the two had to be separated.

Ultimately, the game started at 3:05 p.m., with Penn State surprising the hometown crowd that was still filing in due to an infrastructure not yet designed for this.

“The Nittany Lions of Penn State took the field first, ran through signals with confidence and precision, and Pittsburgh rooters in the Penn State stands commenced to enthuse over the chances of the Bezdek boys,” wrote famed track star Charles Paddock, writing for the Pasadena Star-News. “And in the first quarter there is small question but that the Easterners had a distinct edge, and they were not slow to take advantage of it.”

Helped by what was reported as a “fifteen-year” penalty, Penn State capitalized early with a Mike Palm 20-yard field goal to go up 3-0.

Then, in the second quarter, USC was helped by a magical play that all but signaled the beginning of the end for the Nittany Lions.

Threatening on the Penn State 8-yard line, USC’s Roy “Bullet” Baker dropped back to throw, and USC “does more than throw a football at the Penn State goal line. It also throws a man. The ball is thrown by Bullet Baker. The man is thrown by himself,” writes Rose Bowl historian Maxwell Stiles, who witnessed the play.

Harold Galloway has no chance to catch this low rocket from “Bullet.” However, as the ball is about to hit the turf, Galloway dives along the grass and makes the miraculous catch sliding along on his back, eventually stopping at the 2-yard line, knocked out from the play but still clutching the ball. USC punched it in for the touchdown and added another on an easy march down the field to start the second half.

The game ended as the moon rose, and thus the Rose Bowl Game began its run as the “Granddaddy.”

Attendance
52,000

Weather
73 degrees

Scoring
First Quarter
PSU – Palm, 20-yard field goal
Second Quarter
USC – Campbell, 1-yard run (Hawkins kick good)
Third Quarter
USC – Baker, 1-yard run (Hawkins kick good)

Coaches
USC: Elmer “Gloomy Gus” Henderson
Penn State: Hugo Bezdek

Fun Fact
In 1923, the Jan. 1 game, which was previously called the Tournament of Roses, received its current name, the Rose Bowl Game.

Individual Stats
Rushing:
USC: Baker 27-107; Campbell 19-76; Kincaid 15-60
PSU: Wilson 21-48; Palm 17-33