January 1, 1929: The Wrong-Way Run of Roy Riegels

Roy Riegels, running the wrong way

January 1, 1929: The Rose Bowl game is played, at the stadium of the same name, in the Los Angeles suburb of Pasadena, California.

The host team was the University of California, the Golden Bears. They were 6-1-2, having blown the Pacific Coast Conference title by only playing the University of Southern California to a 0-0 tie, and USC played more games. But USC declined the invitation to the Rose Bowl, so Cal were invited in their place, and they accepted.

Their opponents were the Georgia Institute of Technology. At the time, Georgia Tech's teams were most commonly called the Golden Tornado. They were also, already, called the Ramblin' Wreck. But they have most commonly been called the Yellow Jackets.

Led by center and captain Peter Pund, They were 9-0, and their signature win was 13-0 over Notre Dame on October 20. Notre Dame coach Knute Rockne said, "I sat at Grant Field, and saw a magnificent Notre Dame team suddenly recoil before the furious pounding of one man: Peter Pund."

Rockne wasn't kidding about his team. Three weeks later, they beat Army at Yankee Stadium, after his "Win one for the Gipper" speech, and they won the National Championship in each of the next 2 seasons. But he wasn't kidding about Pund and Tech, either: They also beat Virginia Military Institute, Oglethorpe, Vanderbilt, Alabama, Auburn (51-0) and arch-rival Georgia at home; Tulane in New Orleans; and North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

So, despite the difficulties in traveling across the country in 1928, George Tech went into the Rose Bowl on New Year's Day 1929 as the favorite over Cal.

Midway through the 2nd quarter, with the game still scoreless, Tech running back John "Stumpy" Thomason fumbled on the Tech 30-yard line. Roy Riegels, both the offensive and defensive center for Cal in those single-platoon days, picked the fumble up, and, started running the wrong way.

He later explained: "I was running toward the sidelines when I picked up the ball. I started to turn to my left toward Tech's goal. Somebody shoved me, and I bounded right off into a tackler. In pivoting to get away from him, I completely lost my bearings."

Riegels was tackled by a teammate -- Benny Lom, his own roommate -- at the Cal 1-yard line. Cal coach Clarence "Nibs" Price decided to punt, but Tech tackle Vance Maree blocked it, sending it back through the end zone, for a safety. Georgia Tech led 2-0.

Vance Maree

Riegels was distraught. But Price reminded him that the game was only half-over. Inspired, Riegles blocked a Tech punt. In the 3rd quarter, Thomason scored a touchdown, and it was 8-0 Tech. The Golden Bears almost got out of it, with their captain, Irvine Phillips, scoring a touchdown. But 8-7 was as close as Cal got, and from New Year's Day 1929 onward, Roy was known as "Wrong Way Riegels."

Georgia Tech were awarded the National Championship, and got it on the basis of a safety. This game, and the 1905 "Game of the Century" in which the University of Chicago beat Michigan, 2-0, may well be the only times in the history of sports where the words "Defense wins championships" actually came true.

Price told the press, "It was an accident that might have happened to anyone." Pund said of Riegels, "He is the best center I have played against all year. He's a battler, and he never quit." Sure enough, Riegels was named Cal's captain the next season, helping them to a 7-1-1 record.

He graduated from Cal in 1931, with a degree in agriculture. He became a public school teacher, and coached football in high school, in junior college, and at Cal. He served in the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War II, and founded a successful chemical company. He died in 1993, at the age of 84. Vance Maree, performer of the most important blocked kick in the history of American football, was also a member of Georgia Tech's basketball and boxing teams. He lived until 1976.

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January 1, 1929 was a Tuesday. There were no other bowl games until 1933, when the Orange Bowl began. The NBA wasn't founded until 1946. And baseball and pro football were in the off-season. But there were 5 games played in the NHL that day:

* The New York Rangers beat the Toronto Maple Leafs, 3-2 at the Mutual Street Arena in Toronto. Bill Cooke scored in the 2nd period. His brother Frederick "Bun" Cook scored in the 3rd. Art Smith closed the Leafs to 2-1. Bill Cook made it 3-1 with just 3 minutes left in regulation. Andy Blair made it 3-2 with 1:05 left, but the Leafs couldn't find the equalizer.

* The New York Americans and the Montreal Canadiens played to a tie, 1-1 at the old Madison Square Garden.

* The Boston Bruins beat the Ottawa Senators, 3-0 at the recently-opened Boston Garden.

* The Montreal Maroons beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 4-2 at the Duquesne Gardens in Pittsburgh. The Pirates, named for the baseball team of the same name, became the Philadelphia Quakers in 1930, and went out of business a year later. The Maroons hung on until 1938.

* And the Detroit Cougars beat the Chicago Black Hawks, 2-1 at the Chicago Coliseum. The Cougars became the Detroit Falcons in 1930, and the Detroit Red Wings in 1932. The Black Hawks moved into the new Chicago Stadium 2 months later.