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Roy "Wrong Way" Riegels (April 4, 1908—March 26, 1993) played for the University of California, Berkeley football team from 1927&ndash1929. His |wrong-way run in the 1929 Rose Bowl Game is often cited as the worst blunder in the history of college football.
The game
On January 1, 1929, the Bears faced the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Midway through the second quarter, Riegels, who played center, picked up a fumble by Tech's Jack "Stumpy" Thomason. Just 30 yards away from the Bears' end zone, Riegels was somehow turned around and ran 65 yards in the wrong direction.
Teammate and quarterback Benny Lom chased Riegels, screaming at him to stop. Known for his speed, Lom finally caught up with Riegels at California's 3-yard line and tried to turn him around, but he was immediately hit by a wave of Tech players and tackled back to the 1-yard line. The Bears chose to punt rather than risk a play so close to their own end zone, but Tech's Vance Maree blocked Lom's punt and Georgia Tech scored a safety, giving them a 2-0 lead.
Riegels was so distraught that he had to be talked into returning to the game for the second half. Lom passed for a touchdown and kicked the extra point, and Riegels blocked a Tech punt in the second half, but Tech would win the game—and their first national championship—by a final score of 8-7.
Aftermath
After the game, coach Nibs Price defended Riegels, saying "It was an accident that might have happened to anyone." Price credits Riegels as the smartest player he ever coached. Riegels explained that he was hit during a pivot and wound up doing a U-turn, which faced him the opposite direction. Later, the NCAA Football Committee would pass a rule barring a player from advancing a recovered fumble once it hits the ground. Riegels would take his spot as captain during his senior year, earning All-America honors.
Despite the nationwide mocking that followed, Riegels lived a rather normal life, serving in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II, coaching high school and football - including time at Cal - and running his own chemical company. He was even able to capitalize on the error, parodying the now-famous run in vaudeville acts. The movie "Flight" by Frank Capra is based on Riegels, and uses photographs of him, though the Riegels-like character was played by Ralph Graves.
The entire 1928 Bears' football team was placed in the Georgia Tech Hall of Fame on Sept. 25, 1971. In 1991, the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame inducted Riegels. Son David said, "Dad's top thrill late in life was being inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame."
Riegels died in 1993, at the age of 84. In 1998, he would posthumously enter Cal's Hall of Fame.
Quotes from and about the 1929 Rose Bowl
- He's running the wrong way. Let's see how far he can go." - Georgia Tech's head coach, Bill Alexander
- "What am I seeing? What's wrong with me? Am I crazy? Am I crazy? Am I crazy?" - sports broadcaster Graham McNamee, who was calling the '29 Rose Bowl game
- "Coach, I can't do it. I've ruined you, I've ruined myself, I've ruined the University of California. I couldn't face that crowd to save my life."
- "Roy, get up and go back out there — the game is only half over." - an exchange between Riegels and Price at halftime
- "For many years I've had to go along and laugh whenever my wrong-way run was brought up, even though I've grown tired listening and reading about it. But it certainly wasn't the most serious thing in the world. I regretted doing it, even as you do, but you'll get over it." - a portion of Riegels letter to Paramount High School's Jan Bandringa in 1957. The defensive end intercepted a pass, only to run it 55 yards into his own end zone. This resulted in a safety for Centennial High, who won the game 9-7.
External links
- Cal ranks Riegels as #3 most memorable moment in the history of Bears' football
- IMDb.com page on "Flight", a movie based on Riegels and the Rose Bowl blunder