Roy Riegels wrong way run in the Rose Bowl

"Roy "Wrong Way" Riegels (April 4, 1908 -- March 26, 1993) played for the University of California, Berkeley football team from 1927 to 1929. His wrong-way run in the 1929 Rose Bowl is often cited as the worst blunder in the history of college football.

On January 1, 1929, the Golden Bears faced the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, USA. 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 Yellow Jackets' 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 for a safety, giving Georgia Tech a 2-0 lead.
Riegels was so distraught that he had to be talked into returning to the game for the second half. Riegels turned in a stellar second half performance, including blocking a Tech punt. Lom passed for a touchdown and kicked the extra point, but Tech would ultimately win the game—and their second national championship—by a final score of 8-7. The example of how the distraught Riegels was persuaded to pick himself up, return to the field and play so hard during the second half is sometimes used by motivational speakers to illustrate overcoming setbacks."

Category:

Sports

Tags:

• college
• football
• wrong
• way
• riegels
• rose
• bowl
• 1929

[BorntoRocknRoll95]

C'MON MAN!

[TheRamblinReck]

THANK YOU! I am a lifelong GT fan that has always wanted to see this play!

[Gaming4Jesus]

I decided to use your video footage for my latest "Witnessing for Jesus" video. I pretty much shared my pastor's message which I mentioned before. Thanks for posting this! ;) I'll send you a video response request. Hopefully you will like it enough to approve it. God bless you! ;)

[Gaming4Jesus]

Thank you for sharing this video. ;)

[Gaming4Jesus]

My pastor gave a sermon using Roy as an example of how many Christians end up going "the wrong way". Roy was so distraught over this mistake that he sat out the rest of the first half in the locker room. The coach came to him, grasped him by the shoulders and compassionately encouraged him to get back into the game.

Our lives are like the football. We often end up going the wrong way. But Jesus is our coach. We must listen to him and never JUDGE others who end up going "the wrong way".

[flibben2]

I first read about this event about 40 years ago in a book called, "Strange But True Football Stories". Always wanted to see a clip- thanks!

[35UGA0511]

My dad's first cousin, Raleigh Drennan, played for Georgia Tech in this game. He was a fun-loving guy with a mischievous smile. I believe that some tickets from this game have survived and been auctioned thru the years. I'd love to have one. FYI, this game exhibited the first-ever huddle behind the line of scrimmage, the GT gathering described as a "crap-shooting formation" by a radio announcer at the time.

[jipejena]

I am working on transcribing my dad's memoirs and although he did not personally see this game, he vividly remembers the hoopla about this event.