College football game
The
1940 Rose Bowl
was the 26th
edition
of the
college football
bowl game
, played at the
Rose Bowl
in
Pasadena, California
, on Monday, January 1.
In a matchup of undefeated teams, the
third-ranked
USC Trojans
of the
Pacific Coast Conference
(PCC) shut out the #2
Tennessee Volunteers
of the
Southeastern Conference
(SEC), 14?0.
[4]
[5]
[6]
[7]
USC quarterback
Ambrose Schindler
was named the
Player of the Game
when the award was created in 1953 and selections were made retroactively.
[8]
Teams
[
edit
]
The Rose Bowl committee had both USC and Tennessee on their list and it was likely that USC and Tennessee would play each other.
[9]
[10]
The Volunteers were offered a berth in the
Sugar Bowl
on November 25;
[11]
they were also in the mix for the
Cotton Bowl
, which would have pitted them against the #1
Texas A&M Aggies
.
[12]
But the Rose Bowl committee did not extend official invitations until December 10, 1939.
[13]
Tennessee
[
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]
In the regular season, Tennessee shut out all ten opponents. Led by two
All-American
guards,
Ed Molinski
and
Bob Suffridge
, the Volunteers were forced to play without their star tailback
George Cafego
, who fell victim to a knee injury against
The Citadel
on November 11.
[14]
After a 7?0 win over
Auburn
on December 9, Tennessee officially was extended an invitation to the Rose Bowl.
[15]
The Trojans opened the season against
Oregon
, tying the Ducks 7?7, then scored three straight shutouts, becoming ranked #8 following the second, a 26?0 win over
Illinois
. A November 4 game featured #7 USC defeating #11
Oregon State
19?7. At
Notre Dame
on November 25, #4 USC defeated the #7 Irish 20?12. A win over
Washington
by scoring in the last 1:15 set up the very first epic
UCLA?USC rivalry
matchup.
Kenny Washington
,
Woody Strode
,
Jackie Robinson
, and Ray Bartlett starred on the
Bruins
, in which African Americans made up three of the four backfield players.
[16]
This was a rarity to have so many African Americans when only a few dozen at all played on college football teams.
[17]
The ninth-ranked Bruins also were also undefeated, with three ties. This was the first UCLA?USC rivalry football game with national implications, as it was the first with the Rose Bowl on the line for both.
The attendance of 103,303 was the second largest college football crowd ever in the
Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
. UCLA attempted a pass on fourth down, instead of kicking a field goal. Bobby Robertson of USC knocked down Ned Matthews’ four-yard pass in the end zone with less than five minutes to play to preserve the scoreless tie. The Pacific Coast Conference voted to have USC, with a 7?0?2 record play in the Rose Bowl instead of UCLA with a 6?0?4 record.
[18]
[13]
Art Cohn
, sports editor of the
Oakland Tribune
implied that race may have been a factor in the decision, since teams from the south refused to play against African Americans.
[19]
After the regular season, the Trojans were named national champions.
[20]
Game summary
[
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]
Trojan backs Granny Lansdell and
Ambrose Schindler
rushed for 51 and 81 yards respectively, for a team total of 229 yards rushing. Schindler scored one touchdown and passed to
Al Krueger
? the hero from the
previous year
? for the other. Head coach Howard Jones earned his second straight Rose Bowl victory, and his fifth in as many appearances.
Scoring
[
edit
]
First quarter
[
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]
- No scoring
Second quarter
[
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]
Third quarter
[
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]
- No scoring
Fourth quarter
[
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]
- USC ?
Al Krueger
2-yard pass from Schindler (Gaspar kick)
Aftermath
[
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]
USC head coach Jones died less than two years later, in the summer of 1941. Joe Shell, the captain of the Trojans who became an oil company owner and a state assemblyman, died on April 8, 2008.
[21]
USC bases its 1939
national championship
claim on winning the
Dickinson System
, a formula devised by a University of Illinois professor which awarded the only championship trophy between 1926 and 1940. In 1939, Dickinson was the only poll or system to rank the Trojans number one.
[20]
USC's stance, however, is in keeping with that of most other schools which won the Dickinson title; only Notre Dame, which won the Dickinson crown in 1938, does not claim a major national title for that year. Since at least 1969, USC had not listed 1939 as a national championship year; but in 2004, USC once again began recognizing the 1939 team as national champions after it determined that it qualified.
[22]
[23]
[24]
Ambrose "Amblin' Amby" Schindler went on to be the MVP in the 1940
College All-Star Game
in
Chicago
in late August. He was inducted into the
San Diego Hall of Champions
Breitbard Hall of Fame in 1973.
[25]
He was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997.
[26]
He was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2002.
Tennessee player
Bill Barnes
was later the head coach of the
UCLA Bruins
and led them to the
1962 Rose Bowl
.
References
[
edit
]
- ^
McLemore, Henry (December 31, 1939).
"Trojans, Vols rated even in Rose Bowl"
.
Pittsburgh Press
. United Press. p. 5, section 2.
- ^
"All bowl teams rest on eve of big battles"
.
Spokesman-Review
. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 1, 1940. p. 11.
- ^
Trojans Even Bet with Vols. Los Angeles Times, December 12, 1939
- ^
"Southern California sweeps Tennessee aside in Rose Bowl triumph"
.
Spokesman-Review
. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 2, 1940. p. 9.
- ^
Jordan, Ralph B. (January 2, 1940).
"Amby Schindler wrecks Tennessee dreams"
.
Reading Eagle
. (Pennsylvania). INS. p. 14.
- ^
McLemore, Henry (January 2, 1940).
"USC outplays, overpowers Tennessee 11 at Pasadena"
.
Lodi News-Sentinel
. United Press. p. 5.
- ^
"Tournament of Roses ? Rose Bowl Game Photo Timeline"
. Archived from
the original
on March 11, 2008
. Retrieved
April 23,
2008
.
- ^
2008 Rose Bowl Program
Archived
March 6, 2008, at the
Wayback Machine
,
2008 Rose Bowl
. Accessed January 26, 2008.
- ^
"TROJAN-VOL GAME LOOMS; COACH NEYLAND SCOUTS S.C."
Los Angeles Times
, November 27, 1939
- ^
"Kentucky Bars Tennessee's Path. Today Rain Likely for Big Game Wildcats Eager to Ruin Vols' Rose Bowl Hopes Because of 1938 Rout".
Los Angeles Times,
November 30, 1939
- ^
"Vols Sidetrack Sugar Bowl Bid to See What Coast Does"
Los Angeles Times
November 26, 1939. Quote:
Tennessee has been invited to play in the Sugar Bowl at New Orleans on New Year's Day, but would prefer accepting an invitation to the Rose Bowl, Pasadena.
- ^
Homer Jacobs ? The pride of Aggieland. Texas A&M University Press, 2002
ISBN
0-7607-3257-4
,
ISBN
978-0-7607-3257-1
- ^
a
b
"Troy, Tennessee in Rose Bowl".
Los Angeles Times
, December 10, 1939.
It will be Southern California and Tennessee in the Rose Bowl January 1, 1940.
- ^
"1940 Rose Bowl"
. Retrieved
April 23,
2008
.
[
dead link
]
- ^
"Tennessee Beats Auburn, 7-0, to Qualify for Bowl Bid. Vols Black Out Last Dixie Foe Butler's Scoring Run Puts Neyland's Team in Line for Pasadena"
Los Angeles Times
, December 10, 1939
- ^
B.J. VIOLETT ?
"TEAMMATES RECALL JACKIE ROBINSON’S LEGACY"
Archived
May 28, 2008, at the
Wayback Machine
.
UCLA Today
magazine, 1997
- ^
"Kenny Washington"
Encyclopædia Britannica
- ^
"Southern California wins Rose Bowl bid; tied by UCLA 0-0"
.
Eugene Register-Guard
. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 10, 1939. p. 14.
- ^
Columnist was early, angry voice against sports color line
[
dead link
]
Los Angeles Times, March 23, 2008. Quote:
Art Cohn
died 50 years ago today. From Long Beach to the Bay Area, the newsman afflicted the sports world with hard questions about racial equality long before the civil rights movement. ... Since the winner of the 1939 UCLA-USC game would face undefeated, untied Tennessee in the Rose Bowl, Cohn pointed out that Tennessee did not play integrated teams. If UCLA beat USC, would the Volunteers consent to play against Kenny Washington, Woody Strode and Jackie Robinson? Cohn was convinced that the Bruins would not bench their three stars
.
Tennessee happens to be one of the colleges that does not recognize the Emancipation Proclamation. Not only does it bar Negroes from playing on its own team, but it also refuses to compete against any college having Negro players.
Below the Mason and Dixon, men feel strongly. In their blind devotion to a prejudice that makes a mockery of tolerance and justice, they gladly sacrifice everything, even $100,000 gravy-bowl games.
When the UCLA-USC game ended in a scoreless tie, conference officials voted to send the Trojans to Pasadena and Tennessee had its bowl game.
- ^
a
b
Dickinson System Rates Troy Eleven First in Nation Bruins Stand Tenth in List For Third Time, South Carolina Gets Rockne Trophy; Tennessee Only Fifth. Los Angeles Times, December 12, 1939. Quote:
Southern California, described as the best team in the best section, ranked first among the nation's football teams in the annual rating announced today by Frank G. Dickinson, associate professor of economics at the University of Illinois
- ^
Weber, Dan
Captain of USC's 1939 National Champs Dies
Archived
July 7, 2011, at the
Wayback Machine
. Riverside Press-Enterprise, April 8, 2008
- ^
This Just In: USC Also Is a 1939 Champion
. Washington Post, July 28, 2004
- ^
USC 1939 National Champions
. Washington Times, August 27, 2004
- ^
USC Now Will Recognize Its 1939 Football Team As A National Champion. Trojan have 10 national champs in the sport.
USC Trojans Athletic Department, July 24, 2004.
- ^
"San Diego Hall of Champions - Amby Schindler"
. Archived from
the original
on September 5, 2004
. Retrieved
April 25,
2008
.
- ^
1997 inductees for the USC Athletic Hall of Fame Announced
. USC Trojans Athletic Department, November 30, 1996.
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History & conference tie-ins
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Games
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Pound sign (#) denotes national championship game.
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Pound sign (#) denotes national championship game.
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