Roy Riegels
Center | |
Personal information | |
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Born: | Oakland, California | April 4, 1908
Died: | March 26, 1993 Woodland, California | (aged 84)
Weight | 165 lb (75 kg) |
Career history | |
College | California (1927–1929) |
Bowl games |
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Career highlights and awards | |
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Roy "Wrong Way" Riegels (April 4, 1908 – March 26, 1993) played for the
Background
The 1920s saw the first golden age of
Riegels played center on the 1928 California Golden Bears football team, which had a 6–1–2 record going into the Rose Bowl game. Riegels led the Golden Bears in conference minutes played that season, and he was voted onto the All-Coast team. He was a good blocker, but his strength was playing "roving center" on defense, similar to present day middle linebacker position. Cal's coach Nibs Price gave credit to Riegels as the smartest player he ever coached.[4] Cal's Rose Bowl opponent was undefeated and had outscored its opponents 213 points to 40 after nine games played.[5] The Rose Bowl game was broadcast nationally by radio during this time.[6]
The game
On January 1, 1929, the Golden Bears faced the
I was running toward the sidelines when I picked up the ball," Riegels told The Associated Press. "I started to turn to my left toward Tech's goal. Somebody shoved me and I bounded right off into a tackler. In pivoting to get away from him, I completely lost my bearings.
— Roy Riegels[7]
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 and piled on by a wave of Tech players who tackled and then threw him over the goal-line. The referee called the ball down at the place where Riegels had been stopped by his teammate. 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 which after a mad scramble was recovered by Tech for a safety, giving Georgia Tech a 2–0 lead.[8][9][10]
During Riegels' wrong-way run, Georgia Tech's coach
Riegels did play, and he turned in a stellar second half performance, including blocking a Tech punt. In addition, Lom passed for a touchdown and kicked the extra point, but that was not enough. Tech would ultimately win the game and their second national championship 8–7. Georgia Tech's safety score after the wrong way run made the difference in the outcome of the game, which increased the significance of Roy's mistake. In spite of the loss, 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.[14]
Aftermath
After the game, coach Nibs Price defended Riegels, saying "It was an accident that might have happened to anyone."[4] That one play overshadowed Riegels' football talents. Georgia Tech center and captain Peter Pund said Riegels was "the best center I have played against all year. He's a battler and he never quit."[15] Riegels would take his spot as team captain during his senior year, earning All-America honors and he helped the Bears to a 7–1–1 record during the following season.[16][17] Later, the NCAA football rules committee would pass a rule barring a player from advancing a recovered fumble once it hits the ground, which remained in place for several decades.[18] According to one contemporary article, there were about 4,500 stories totaling an estimated 250,000 column inches written about Riegels' wrong-way run in newspapers across the United States. [5]
Riegels gained notoriety from his wrong -way run but he was able to capitalize on his blunder, parodying his famous run in
Looking back on the play years later, Riegels said, "I was embarrassed when I realized what I had done. I wanted a hole to open in the ground so I could jump in it. But that soon passed and I reached a stage when mention of it would cause me to bristle. Soon that passed and it has never really bothered me since, except in cases when people tried to exploit it."[23] Riegels was reminded of his mistake throughout his life. Riegels once said: "All the times I've run across or heard people saying 'wrong way,' even though they weren't referring to me, I immediately turned around to see if they were speaking about me. I still don't understand how I did it."[1] Riegels dealt with his situation by laughing about what happened.[10][14] Riegels once joked "If I had to do it again, I'd still run in the same direction, for I surely thought I was going the right way."[23] Riegels also said "You run the wrong way with a football in front of 60,000 people and it's pretty hard to lie out of it."[23] When presented his membership card into the Georgia Tech Lettermen's Club 42 years later, Riegels quipped, "Believe me, I feel I've earned this."[24][25][26][27][28]
External images | |
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Diagram of the play | |
With his teammates |
Riegels sent letters to athletes who made similar mistakes. For example, Riegels sent a letter to
In later years, Riegels said his blunder made him a better person. "I gained true understanding of life from my Rose Bowl mistake," he said in an interview with the Pasadena Star. "I learned you can bounce back from misfortune and view it as just something adverse that happened to you."[30]
In 1991, Riegels was inducted into the
Family and personal life
Riegels was born to Max Jakob Andreas Riegels and Beda Helena Nilsdotter. His father was from Denmark and his mother was from Sweden. Riegels had 2 sisters named Elsie and Dora and a brother named William. He was married to Barbara Bailey (1916–1985).[32] Riegels had four children: David, Richard, Alexa Richmond, and Helen Mackey.[33][34][35]
Riegels graduated from the University of California in 1931 with a degree in
References
- ^ a b c "Where Are They Now? Roy Riegels Worst Football Blunder". trivia-library.com. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
- ^ Feldman, Bruce (2007-05-30). "Top 10 blunders in history". ESPN. Retrieved 2014-01-11.
- ^ "Cal History" (PDF). calbears.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2013-08-02.
- ^ a b c Dave, Newhouse (2013-01-03). "An infamous Rose Bowl, Cal v. Georgia Tech, 1929". bearinsider.com. Retrieved 2013-06-12.
- ^ a b c Fimrite, Ron (1990-10-15). "Nowhere To Hide". sportsillustrated.com. Retrieved 2013-08-02.
- ^ "Tournament of Roses". tournamentofroses.com. Retrieved 2015-01-01.
- ^ a b Goldstein, Richard (2003-12-25). "Revisiting Wrong Way Riegels". The New York Times. Retrieved 2013-06-05.
- ^ a b "TECH PLAYERS HAILED AS U. S. CHAMPIONS: Freak Break Decides Game; California Captain-Elect Runs to Wrong Goal; Supposedly Groggy". San Antonio Light (AP wire story). 1929-01-02.
- ^ Greenspan, Bud (1999-01-01). "Misdirection Misconception". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-07-02.
- ^ a b c "Great Run: Wrong Way". sportsillustrated.com. 1955-01-03. Retrieved 2013-08-13.
- ^ "Tech Tradition" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-12-30. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
- ^ a b Rosenbaum, Art (1993-03-29). "Even Riegels had to laugh at 'wrong way' play". Sarasota Herald-Tribune. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
- St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
- ^ a b Whitley, David (2012-08-31). "Kent State player not the only one to run the wrong way". sportingnews.com. Retrieved 2013-06-09.
- ^ The Rose Bowl - Michelle L. Turner - Google Books
- ^ a b "Nine Athletes Named to Cal's Hall of Fame". calbears.com. 1998-04-30. Archived from the original on 2013-10-04. Retrieved 2013-08-01.
- ^ Trumbell, Walter (1929-01-29). "Roy Riegels Is Lucky; He Gets A Comeback". The Milwaukee Journal. Retrieved 2013-08-10.
- ^ "The Fumble Experiment" (PDF). Intercollegiate Football Research Association. Charleston Daily Mail. 1929-10-16. Retrieved 2013-06-10.
- ISBN 0-671-79788-3.
- ^ Nixon, Rob. "Flight". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
- ^ "Sportsflicks: John Goldfarb, Please Come Home, or The Strangest Football Movie Ever Made". theclassical.org. 2013-01-18. Retrieved 2013-06-30.
- ^ "The Day Roy Riegels Ran the Wrong Way". bloomsbury.com. 2011-10-11. Retrieved 2013-08-02.
- ^ a b c ""Wrong Way" Roy Riegels Honored by Georgia Tech". Gettysburg Times. 1971-09-25. Retrieved 2013-06-09.
- ^ "Wrong Way Riegels". Georgia Tech Alumni Association. Spring 1998. Archived from the original on 2012-09-27. Retrieved 2012-06-30.
- ^ "Rose Bowl". espn.com. 2012-01-02. Retrieved 2013-08-04.
- ^ a b Glick, Shav (1991-08-09). "Wrong-Way Run Finally Turns Out Right : College football: Despite his mistake that cost Cal in 1929, Roy Riegels is inducted into Rose Bowl Hall of Fame". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-08-05.
- ^ "Major Athletics News in 1928". Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine. Fall 1978. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
- ^ "The Most Famous Run". Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine. Fall 1971. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
- ^ a b c "By Any Other Name". 2010-04-12. Retrieved 2013-06-09.
- ^ Dufresne, Chris (2014-01-02). "The game that moved the nation". The Bulletin. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
- ^ "Rose Bowl Hall of Fame" (PDF). tournamentofroses.com. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-09-18. Retrieved 2013-08-03.
- ^ "Norway Archives". ancestry.com. 2010-09-07.
- ^ a b "Roy Riegels, 84, Who Took Off In Wrong Direction in Rose Bowl". The New York Times. 1993-03-28.
- ^ a b c Shav, Glick (1993-03-27). "Cal's Wrong-Way Roy Riegels Dead at 83". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2013-08-11.
- ^ a b "'Wrong Way' Riegels dead at age 84". Lewiston Morning Tribune. 1993-03-27. Retrieved 2013-08-11.
- ^ Los Angeles Times, December 29, 2006, "Sam Chapman, 90; halfback on last Cal team to win Rose Bowl" accessed 2006-01-01;
- ^ "Roy Riegels, Who Pulled Football Boner, Is Name Assistance Coach at California". The Lawrence Daily Journal-World. 1930-02-13. Retrieved 2013-06-13.
- ^ "Roy Riegels Chemicals". corpiva.com. Archived from the original on 2013-08-11. Retrieved 2013-08-11.
External links
- "Roy Riegels wrong way run in the Rose Bowl". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2021-12-22. on YouTube
- Roy Riegels on YouTube on I've Got a Secrettelevision show in 1958