1917: Oregon, 14 vs. Pennsylvania, 0

The third Rose Bowl Game in history was played 15 years after the first, partly because the first was such a rout – organizers didn’t think the West Coast would stand a chance against the East Coast. In 1902, Michigan beat Stanford, 49-0, leading Stanford to concede before the game was even over. Then, after a 14-year hiatus, the Rose Bowl Game returned in 1916, with Washington State defeating Brown University, 14-0. If this partly silenced critics of West Coast football, 1917 quieted them completely.

Pennsylvania entered the game heavy favorites – they had four All-Americans and were ranked fourth in the East, with victories over powerhouses Michigan and Cornell. The Oregon team shut out the powerful Quakers, winning 14-0 in front of a sellout crowd of 25,000 at Tournament Park.

“It is for this reason if no other that the 1917 game stands as an important milestone along the Rose Bowl trail,” wrote Maxwell Stiles in his book, The Rose Bowl. “For it is more than just one western victory in an ebb and flow of the intersectional tides. It is a dog-eared leaf in the history book of American football, the first significant victory of a Pacific Coast team over a big-time team admitted to be truly representative of eastern football at its best.”

During the first half, the two teams went back and forth, with the defenses standing strong. At halftime and throughout much of the third quarter, the game was scoreless.

However, in the second quarter came what Harry Williams of the Los Angeles Times called the turning point of the game. Outstanding Penn back Howard Berry was hurt and replaced by Bill Quigley. Quigley, on the Oregon 3-yard line, swung outside instead of going up the middle, which had been successful throughout that drive. There, he ran into a wall of Oregon defenders, who tackled him for a 10-yard loss. Pennsylvania missed the ensuing field goal and came away empty-handed.

Toward the end of the third quarter, Oregon’s Shy Huntington intercepted a pass and was brought down at Oregon’s 30-yard line. It was one of Huntington’s three interceptions on the day and Oregon’s five. Highlighted by a 20-yard pickup on a double-pass and the one-two-three punch of Shy, Hollis Huntington and Orville Monteith, Oregon drove to Penn’s 20-yard line. One play later, Shy Huntington hit R.L. Tegert for a 19-yard score.

The Webfoots would score again. Shy Huntington again intercepted the ball, and Oregon took over on Pennsylvania’s 43-yard line. Backfield star Johnny Parsons then put together the run of the game, a 42-yard jaunt described as “dazzling” that ended as Berry brought Parsons down from behind on the 1-yard line. Shy Huntington punched it in two plays later for the 14-0 lead.

Because of the financial success of the 1917 game, organizers began planning a permanent stadium to house the contest.

Attendance
25,000

Weather
Sunny

Scoring
Third Quarter
Ore – Tegert, 19-yard pass from S. Huntington (S. Huntington kick good)
Fourth Quarter
Ore – Huntington, 1-yard run (S. Huntington kick good)

Coaches
Oregon: Hugo Bezdek
Penn.: Bob Folwell

Fun Fact
After inviting Oregon coach Hugo Bezdek to watch his practice, University of Pennsylvania coach Bob Folwell showed Bezdek how to run their reverse-pass play. The Webfoots then used the Quakers’ own play to score their first touchdown.

Individual Stats
Rushing
Ore: S. Huntington 17-69; H. Huntington 7-21
Penn: Berry 9-16