The 1954 Rose Bowl was the 40th

edition Edition may refer to: * Edition (book), a bibliographical term for a substantially similar set of copies * Edition (printmaking), a publishing term for a set print run * Edition (textual criticism), a particular version of a text * Edition Recor ...

of the

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

bowl game In North America, a bowl game is one of a number of post-season college football games that are primarily played by teams belonging to the NCAA's Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). For most of its history, the Division I Bowl Subdivis ...

, played at the Rose Bowl in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

, on Friday, January 1. The third-ranked

Michigan State Spartans The Michigan State Spartans are the athletic teams that represent Michigan State University. The school's athletic program includes 23 varsity sports teams. Their mascot is a Spartan warrior named Sparty, and the school colors are green and wh ...

of the

Big Ten Conference The Big Ten Conference (stylized B1G, formerly the Western Conference and the Big Nine Conference) is the oldest Division I collegiate athletic conference in the United States. Founded as the Intercollegiate Conference of Faculty Representati ...

defeated the #5

UCLA Bruins The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF). ...

of the

Pacific Coast Conference The Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) was a college athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pac-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, with eight of the ten PCC members (including a ...

, 28–20. Michigan State halfback

Billy Wells William Thomas Wells, better known as Bombardier Billy Wells (31 August 1889 – 12 June 1967), was an English heavyweight boxer. Fighting under the name "Bombardier Billy Wells", he was British and British Empire Champion from 1911 un ...

scored two touchdowns and was named the Player of the Game.2008 Rose Bowl Program
, 2008 Rose Bowl. Accessed January 26, 2008. This was the first year that Michigan State was counted in the Big Ten football standings, having been a member since

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...

. This Rose Bowl had the first

color television Color television or Colour television is a television transmission technology that includes color information for the picture, so the video image can be displayed in color on the television set. It improves on the monochrome or black-and-white t ...

"colorcast," viewable on 200 sets across the United States.

Teams

Michigan State College Spartans

The Michigan State Spartans had joined the Big Ten in

, but did not play a full schedule until 1953. They only lost one game, 0–6 at

Purdue Purdue University is a public land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded in 1869 after Lafayette businessman John Purdue donated land and money ...

, which broke a 28-game winning streak, with two

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 ...

. The Spartans were co-champions with

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, and the two did not meet this season. However, Illinois had last appeared in the

1952 Rose Bowl The 1952 Rose Bowl was the 38th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. Held on Tuesday, January 1, at the end of the 1951 college football season, it was the first nationally televised col ...

. Head coach Clarence "Biggie" Munn announced his retirement before the game.

UCLA Bruins

In the

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

season, the Bruins lost only once, to rival

USC USC most often refers to: * University of South Carolina, a public research university ** University of South Carolina System, the main university and its satellite campuses **South Carolina Gamecocks, the school athletic program * University of ...

12–14. Both teams had been undefeated and the Trojans took the Rose Bowl berth. In 1953, the Bruins again lost only one regular season game, 20–21 at

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 ...

on October 17; Stanford was later defeated by

on November 7. With the Rose Bowl again on the line for both teams, UCLA defeated USC 13–0 to win the Pacific Coast Conference outright and gain the New Year's Day berth in Pasadena.

Game summary

This was the first meeting between the two schools. It was the first Rose Bowl appearance for the Spartans; they had previously only played in the 1938 Orange Bowl. It was the third bowl appearance for the Bruins, all in the Rose (

1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 – ...

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country in ...

). The weather was sunny; the Spartans wore their green home jerseys and the Bruins wore their white road jerseys. Michigan State fumbled twice in the first half, which allowed the Bruins the first two scores. The Spartans had only one completed pass and 56 yards in the first half; they scored a touchdown with 4:45 remaining in the first half. Victor Postula knocked down four Bruin passes; head coach Biggie Munn instituted a "split-line offense" against the Bruins. The Spartans assembled two long drives in the third quarter to pull ahead 21–14. The Bruins recovered another Spartan fumble and scored to pull within a point at 21–20, but the extra point kick failed.

of Michigan State returned a punt 62 yards for a touchdown with 4:51 left in the game.

Scoring

First quarter

*UCLA — Bill Stits 13-yard pass from

Paul Cameron Paul Drummond Cameron (born November 9, 1939) is an American psychologist. Cameron has been designated by the Southern Poverty Law Center as an anti-gay extremist. While employed at various institutions, including the University of Nebraska–Li ...

. John Hermann converts.

Second quarter

*UCLA — Cameron, two-yard run. Hermann converts. *MSU — Ellis Duckett, six-yard blocked punt return. Evan Slonac converts.

Third quarter

*MSU — Leroy Bolden, one-yard run. Slonac converts. *MSU —

, two-yard run. Slonac converts.

Fourth quarter

*UCLA —

Rommie Loudd Rommie Lee Loudd (June 8, 1933 – May 9, 1998) was an American former collegiate and professional American football player, coach, and executive. He was the first black assistant coach in the American Football League and the first black majority ...

, 28-yard pass from Cameron. Kick failed. *MSU — Wells, 62-yard punt return. Slonac converts.

Statistics

Aftermath

*In the next season, UCLA went undefeated and shared the

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, 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 be ...

. It was the first "split" championship in college football, when the writers (AP) selected

Ohio State The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best public ...

and the coaches (UP) chose UCLA. The Bruins didn't play in the Rose Bowl because of the PCC's no-repeat rule. * Billy Wells died in December 2001.

Game facts

In their first official season in the Big Ten, the Spartans led the league in the number of black players. Michigan State's eight black athletes represented nearly a quarter of all African Americans in the entire conference.Robinson, Will - "Nine of the Big Ten Schools Are Using Negro Football Players," Pittsburgh Courier, October 3, 1953. The Big Ten as a whole carried thirty-three black players in 1953. The team breakdown was: Michigan State-eight, Illinois-seven, Iowa-six, Michigan-four, Indiana-three, Ohio State-two, Minnesota-one, Wisconsin-one, Northwestern-one, and Purdue-zero.

UCLA roster

Players

*Bruce Ballard *Warner Benjamin *Bob Bergdahl * Sam Boghosian *Doug Bradley *Richard Braunbeck *Jim Brown *Sam Brown *

Hardiman Cureton Hardiman Cureton (December 8, 1933 - October 1, 2003) was an American player of Canadian football. He played high school football for the Monrovia Wildcats. He played the tackle position. Cureton was a dominant offensive guard and also played ...

*Bob Davenport *Terry Debay *Jim Decker *Preston Dills *Chuck Doud (co-captain) *

Jack Ellena Jack Duane Ellena (October 27, 1931 – March 23, 2012) was an American football player. Ellena played offensive tackle for coach Red Sanders at UCLA from 1952 to 1954. He was a member of the Bruins team that lost the 1954 Rose Bowl and was na ...

*John Farhood *Rudy Feldman (co-captain) *Russ Hampton * Johnny Hermann * Bob Heydenfeldt *

Bob Long Robert Andrew Long (born June 16, 1941) is a former American football wide receiver in the National Football League who played in the 1960s and 1970s and earned two Super Bowl rings. He attended suburban Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Pittsburgh's ...

* Gerry McDougall *Jack McKay *Gil Moreno *Clarence Norris *Gerry Okuneff *Steve Palmer *Doug Peters *Dave Peterson *Joe Ray *Mike Riskas *Jim Salisbury *Don Schinnick *Tom Thaxter *Primo Villanueva *Roger White

Coaches

Red Sanders Henry Russell "Red" Sanders (May 7, 1905 – August 14, 1958) was an American football player and coach. He was head coach at Vanderbilt University (1940–1942, 1946–1948) and the University of California at Los Angeles (1949–1957), compili ...

(head coach) *

William F. Barnes William F. Barnes (October 20, 1917 – April 23, 2009) was an American football player and coach. He was the head coach at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from 1958 to 1964. Barnes guided his teams to a record, including two s ...

* Deke Brackett * George W. Dickerson *Johnny Johnson *

Jim Myers James A. Myers (November 12, 1921 – July 17, 2014) was an American football coach. He coached for 40 years at the collegiate and professional level. He is probably most remembered for his time as line coach and (since 1971) associate head coac ...

Tommy Prothro James Thompson "Tommy" Prothro Jr. (July 20, 1920 – May 14, 1995) was an American football coach. He was the head coach at Oregon State University from 1955 to 1964 and the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) from 1965 to 1970, compili ...

References

{{UCLA Bruins bowl game navbox Rose Bowl Rose Bowl Game Michigan State Spartans football bowl games UCLA Bruins football bowl games 1954 in sports in California January 1954 sports events in the United States