1929: California, 7 vs. Georgia Tech, 8

California Captain-elect Roy Riegels’ name may have faded from the popular sports conscience, but to those who know about the 1929 Rose Bowl Game, Riegels is right up there with Bill Buckner in the 1986 World Series, Roberto de Vicenzo in the 1968 Masters or Leon Lett in Super Bowl XXVII … and again in the 1993 Thanksgiving Classic.

“Riegels” became the punch line. His blunder is one of the most infamous in all of sports; it was the Alpha of the ubiquitous blooper reels that now constantly flood the Internet and in between innings on jumbotrons across the nation. What’s worst of all, his blunder resulted in the difference in the game, Cal losing to Georgia Tech, 8-7.

It was early in the second quarter of a scoreless game; the teams had just switched ends, and Riegels had just recovered a “Stumpy” Thomason fumble at the Georgia Tech 35-yard line. However, instead of going the short distance straight toward the Tech end zone, he decided to take the long way – a bee line toward his end zone, 65 yards away – in what Paul Lowry, sports editor of the “Los Angeles Times,” called “one of the queerest plays in all football history” in the next day’s paper.

“It was a regular Harold Lloyd play of the films – crazier than any the popular funster ever thought of and is probably unrivaled in the annals of the gridiron sport,” Lowry wrote. “Suddenly, he turned tail and lit out for the California goal. Sixty yards he cleated his way down the field with Benny Lom, California’s star halfback, in close pursuit.”

Riegels crossed into the end zone, but Lom caught him, and the pair turned around and stepped out. Although a throng of pleasantly surprised Georgia Tech players hammered the two into the end zone, the referee ruled that forward progress was stopped and gave the ball to Cal on the Bears’ 1-yard line.

The Bears were forced to punt, which was blocked. The ball squirted out of the end zone, last touched by Cal, resulting in a safety.

“And that is the ridiculous way in which this struggle – the fourteenth annual Tournament of Roses classic – was decided this afternoon,” Lowry wrote. “But for this crazy, unheard-of play California probably would have walked from the field with a 7-to-6 victory.”

Reigels showed his captain valor and rebounded to play a great second half, even blocking a Tech kick that ultimately bounded out of bounds, but those two points haunted him and his team until the end, unable to overcome them.

And, for the rest of his life, Riegels remained unable to overcome the stigma of that day. Wrote Rube Samuelson in his book, The Rose Bowl Game, “For Riegels, in later years a coach and then a prosperous Sacramento, California, businessman, his experience has been a nightmare – something he isn’t allowed to forget. It happened to the wrong kind of guy, although, conversely, he is the right guy to the core.

“Retiring by nature but a scrapper in action, Riegels was a player’s player, an important cog in the Golden Bears’ machine. While inconsolable following his costly error, he accepted full blame and denied an oft-proposed excuse that he had been dazed by a blow on the head. His simple explanation was, ‘I just bounced out with the ball, saw a pair of goal posts and headed for them.’”

Attendance
71,000

Weather
75 degrees

Scoring
Second Quarter
GT – Maree and Westbrook block Lom’s punt for a safety

Third Quarter
GT – Thomason, 14-yard run (Thomason kick failed)

Fourth Quarter
Cal – Phillips, 10-yard pass from Lom (Barr kick good)

Coaches
California: Nibs Price
Georgia Tech: William Alexander

Fun Fact
The south end of Rose Bowl was closed in 1929, giving the structure its famous, sight line-enhancing elliptical shape.

Individual Stats
Rushing
Cal: Lom 18-115
GT: Mizell 11-91; Lumpkin 18-39; Thomason 11-34