The 1928 Rose Bowl Game was a match between

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is considere ...

(7–2–1) and the

Pittsburgh Panthers The Pittsburgh Panthers, commonly also referred to as the Pitt Panthers, are the athletic teams representing the University of Pittsburgh, although the term is colloquially used to refer to other aspects of the university such as alumni, facu ...

(8–0–1). Usually, the Rose Bowl was played on January 1, but in 1928, that fell on a Sunday, so the game was played on January 2, 1928. At this time, the Rose Bowl was the top and only bowl game, an east-vs.-west matchup. Stanford won the game, 7–6.

Coaching

The coach for Pittsburgh was

Jock Sutherland John Bain Sutherland (March 21, 1889 – April 11, 1948) was an American football player and coach. He coached college football at Lafayette College (1919–1923) and the University of Pittsburgh (1924–1938) and professional football for the ...

, while the Stanford coach was

Pop Warner Glenn Scobey Warner (April 5, 1871 – September 7, 1954), most commonly known as Pop Warner, was an American college football coach at various institutions who is responsible for several key aspects of the modern game. Included among his inn ...

. Sutherland had played on several of Warner's Pitt teams while Warner was head coach at Pitt. Warner was head coach at Pitt from 1915 to 1923 and coached the Panthers to three undefeated seasons, 33 straight wins, and was credited with three

national championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...

for Pitt before going to Stanford in 1924.

Game summary

Stanford's

Frank Wilton Frank S. Wilton Jr. (August 17, 1905 – December 17, 1977) was an American football player and coach of football and baseball. He served as the head football coach for Miami University in Oxford, Ohio from 1932 to 1941, compiling a record of 44– ...

had been the goat of the

1927 Rose Bowl The 1927 Rose Bowl Game was a college football bowl game held on January 1, 1927, in Pasadena, California. The game featured the Alabama Crimson Tide, of the Southern Conference, and Stanford, of the Pacific Coast Conference, now the Pac-12 Confere ...

: with Stanford leading 7–0 late in the game, an

Alabama (We dare defend our rights) , anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama" , image_map = Alabama in United States.svg , seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery , LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville , LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...

defender broke through the line and blocked his punt, setting up the Tide's tying touchdown. In the 1928 game, Wilton again made a critical error, losing the ball after being hit on his own 20 yard line, allowing Pittsburgh's Jimmy Hagan to run the fumble in for a touchdown. Walt Heinecke of Stanford blocked Allen Booth's point after attempt, holding Pitt's lead to 6–0. Later in the game, Wilton had his redemption when teammate

Spud Lewis Lawrence D. "Spud" Lewis (? – November 29, 1978) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of San Francisco from 1932 to 1936, compiling a record of 15–21–4. Lewis played college footba ...

fumbled a yard from the goal. Wilton scooped up the ball and crashed through for the tying touchdown. The kick was good, and Stanford held on for a 7–6 win."Lucky Fumble Gives Cards Win," ''Oakland Tribune'', January 3, 1928, p25

Scoring

Third quarter

* Pitt – Jimmy Hagan, 17-yard run (off Stanford fumble) (Booth kick failed) * Stan – Frankie Wilton, 5-yard run (off Stanford fumble) (

Hoffman Hoffman is a surname of German and Jewish origin. The original meaning in medieval times was "steward", i.e. one who manages the property of another. In English and other European languages, including Yiddish and Dutch, the name can also be spelle ...

kick good)

Individual stats

Rushing

* Stanford: Hoffman 25–82; Hyland 5–19; Post 3–10 * Pitt: Welch 10–53; Booth 8–32

Game notes

The capacity of the Pasadena

Rose Bowl Stadium The Rose Bowl is an outdoor athletic stadium located in Pasadena, California. Opened in October 1922, the stadium is recognized as a National Historic Landmark and a California Historic Civil Engineering landmark. At a modern capacity of an all-s ...

was increased to 76,000, adding 19,000 seats. At game time, the temperature was .

References

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred species and tens of thousands of cultivars. They form a group of plants that can be ...

Rose Bowl Game Pittsburgh Panthers football bowl games Stanford Cardinal football bowl games 1928 in sports in California January 1928 sports events {{Collegefootball-bowl-stub