1947 Rose Bowl
Encyclopedia
The 1947 Rose Bowl was a college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

 bowl game
Bowl game
In North America, a bowl game is commonly considered to refer to one of a number of post-season college football games. Prior to 2002, bowl game statistics were not included in players' career totals and the games were mostly considered to be exhibition games involving a payout to participating...

. It was the 33rd Rose Bowl Game
Rose Bowl Game
The Rose Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game, usually played on January 1 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California. When New Year's Day falls on a Sunday, the game is played on Monday, January 2...

. The Illinois Fighting Illini
1946 Illinois Fighting Illini football team
The 1946 Illinois Fighting Illini football team represented the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in the 1946 college football season. Led by fifth-year head coach Ray Eliot and playing their home games at Memorial Stadium in Champaign, Illinois, the Illini won the Big Ten Conference...

 defeated the UCLA Bruins
UCLA Bruins Football
The UCLA Bruins football program represents the University of California, Los Angeles in college football as members of the Pacific-12 Conference at the NCAA Division I FBS level. The Bruins have enjoyed several periods of success in their history, having been ranked in the top ten of the AP Poll...

, 45–14. Illinois halfbacks Claude "Buddy" Young
Buddy Young
Claude "Buddy" Young was an American football player. A native of Chicago, the 5'4" Claude "Buddy" Young, also known as the "Bronze Bullet," had exceptional quickness and acceleration. He is one of the shortest men ever to play NFL football...

 and Julius Rykovich shared the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game award. They were named the Rose Bowl Players Of The Game when the award was created in 1953 and selections were made retroactively. It was the first Rose Bowl game that featured teams from the Pacific Coast Conference
Pacific Coast Conference
The Pacific Coast Conference was a college athletic conference in the United States which existed from 1915 to 1959. Though the Pacific-12 Conference claims the PCC's history as part of its own, the older league had a completely different charter and was disbanded in 1959 due to a major crisis...

 and the Big Nine Conference
Big Ten Conference
The Big Ten Conference is the United States' oldest Division I college athletic conference. Its twelve member institutions are located primarily in the Midwestern United States, stretching from Nebraska in the west to Pennsylvania in the east...

 by the terms of an exclusive five-year agreement. It is known as the first "modern" Rose Bowl, and the modern Rose Bowl records date back to this game. This exclusive agreement remained in place until the 1999 Rose Bowl
1999 Rose Bowl
The 1999 Rose Bowl was the 85th Rose Bowl game and was played on Friday January 1, 1999 at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California. It was a college football bowl game at the end of the 1998 college football season. Wisconsin defeated by a score of 38-31. Ron Dayne of Wisconsin was named...

 when the Rose Bowl became part of the Bowl Championship Series
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...

, with the exception of the games from 1960
1960 Rose Bowl
The 1960 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1960 at the end of the 1959 college football season. It was the 46th Rose Bowl Game. This was the first Rose Bowl appearance by the Huskies since the 1944 Rose Bowl and the first appearance by the Badgers since the 1953 Rose...

 onward following the collapse of the PCC and prior to the renegotiation with the newly formed Athletic Association of Western Universities (AAWU), highlighted by the 1962 Rose Bowl
1962 Rose Bowl
The 1962 Rose Bowl, played on January 1, 1962, was the 48th Rose Bowl Game. The Minnesota Golden Gophers defeated the UCLA Bruins, 21–3.Big Ten Conference champion Ohio State declined the invitation to play in the Rose Bowl...

 where the Big Nine champion Ohio State
Ohio State Buckeyes football
The Ohio State Buckeyes football team is an intercollegiate varsity sports team of The Ohio State University. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference of the NCAA, playing at the Division I Football Bowl Subdivision, formerly Division I-A, level. The team nickname is derived from the state...

 declined the invitation.

Big Nine-PCC agreement

At the beginning, the Rose Bowl game was intended to match a West Coast team against the best of the nation. The first team to appear was Michigan in the 1902 Rose Bowl
1902 Rose Bowl
Originally titled the "Tournament East-West football game," what is now known as the Rose Bowl Game was first played on January 1, 1902 in Pasadena, California, starting the tradition of New Year's Day bowl games.The inaugural game featured Fielding H...

 when they defeated Stanford 49-0. The Rose Bowl began to be hosted by the Pacific Coast Conference when it was revived in the 1916 Rose Bowl
1916 Rose Bowl
Originally titled the "Tournament of Roses football game," the second of what is now known as the Rose Bowl Game was played on January 1, 1916...

, and permanently with the 1920 Rose Bowl
1920 Rose Bowl
The 1920 Rose Bowl, known at the time as the Tournament East-West Football Game was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1920. It was the 6th Rose Bowl Game. The Harvard Crimson defeated the Oregon Ducks by a score of 7-6. Crimson halfback Edward Casey was named the Rose Bowl Player of...

. Ohio State was the next Big Ten team to participate what they lost to California 28-0 in the 1921 Rose Bowl
1921 Rose Bowl
The 1921 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1921. In the game, the 7th Rose Bowl, the California Golden Bears defeated the Ohio State Buckeyes by a score of 28-0. It was only the second time a Big Ten team had met a Pacific Coast Conference team. The first was the...

. The Big Ten did not participate in bowl games following that game. The University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...

 discontinued its football program in 1939 and withdrew from the conference in 1946, leaving the Big Nine Conference.

During World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

, many college football schools had dropped some conference opponents and instead played football against local military base teams. Many colleges could not even field teams due to the draft and manpower requirements. After the war was over, demobilization and the G.I. Bill enabled returning servicemen to attend college. The 1946 season was the first true post-war college football season with travel restrictions lifted and civilian college opponents returning to schedules.

The Big Nine agreed, after much negotiating over payments, rules, and ticket allocations to a five-year exclusive deal with the Rose Bowl to send the conference champion to meet the PCC conference champion. UCLA, USC, Minnesota and Illinois all voted against it. UCLA, the PCC conference champion, expressed interest in playing either Army or Notre Dame, who had played to a scoreless tie in the 1946 Army vs. Notre Dame football game
1946 Army vs. Notre Dame football game
The 1946 Army vs. Notre Dame football game was a regular season college football game played on November 9, 1946. Army , then ranked Number 1 in the Associated Press college football poll, played the University of Notre Dame, of South Bend, Indiana, ranked Number 2, at Yankee Stadium in New York City...

.

The Big Nine and PCC were of the same accord when it came to treating players as amateurs, as compared to the semi-professional status that the Southern Universities proposed. Also, the Big Nine and PCC both had the same attitudes towards desegregation and allowing African-Americans to play football. Many other universities were still segregated. None of the Southeastern Conference
Southeastern Conference
The Southeastern Conference is an American college athletic conference that operates in the southeastern part of the United States. It is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama...

 schools had an African American athlete until 1966. The Cotton Bowl, Orange Bowl, and Sugar Bowl would not be integrated until 1948, 1955, and 1956 respectively.

UCLA Bruins

The UCLA Bruins had last appeared in the 1943 Rose Bowl
1943 Rose Bowl
The 1943 Rose Bowl game, played on January 1, 1943 was the 29th Rose Bowl game. The University of Georgia Bulldogs defeated the UCLA Bruins 9-0. The game returned to the Rose Bowl stadium after being played at Duke Stadium the year before...

 where they were held scoreless against Georgia. The Bruins fielded the strongest team in their history to date. It was the second undefeated team since the 1939 6–0–4 team, and the first undefeated and untied team in school history. After convincing wins over Oregon State and at Washington, UCLA entered the AP Poll at #5. The Bruins would go to number four after defeating #17 Stanford, 26–6. Coming into the November 23, 1946 UCLA-USC rivalry
UCLA-USC rivalry
The UCLA–USC rivalry is the American college rivalry between the UCLA Bruins sports teams of the University of California, Los Angeles and the USC Trojans sports teams of the University of Southern California ....

 football game, the Rose Bowl was on the line for both USC and UCLA. UCLA prevailed, 13–6, to win the PCC. In the Bruins final game of the regular season, the Bruins blanked the Nebraska Cornhuskers, 18–0.

Illinois Fighting Illini

This was the first appearance for the Fighting Illini in any post-season football game. The Illini opened the season winning at Pittsburgh, 33–7. They lost to Notre Dame in the first game for the 1946 Fighting Irish, a team that would eventually play in the 1946 Game of the Century
Game of the Century (college football)
The phrase "Game of the Century" is a superlative that has been applied to several college football contests played in the 20th century, the first full century of college football in the United States...

 against Army. The Illini beat Purdue, but then lost to Indiana. The Illini would go on to win the rest of their games including 13–9 at Michigan and a 16–7 win over Ohio State. In the final regular season game, they blanked in-state rival Northwestern 20–0. The win over Michigan proved to be the pivotal game as Michigan finished 5–1–1 in conference to Illinois 6–1 record.

Game summary

The UCLA Bruins scored their first ever post-season points when Ernie Case scored on a quarterback sneak to give the Bruins a 7–6 first-quarter lead. However, it was the fourth-ranked Illini who took control after that, outscoring UCLA 39–7. Illinois dominated the Bruins on the ground, compiling 320 yards to the Bruins 62.

A number of records were set in the game. Illinois set two new Rose bowl records: Most first downs at 28 (the previous first down record was 22, set against UCLA by Georgia in the 1943 Rose Bowl
1943 Rose Bowl
The 1943 Rose Bowl game, played on January 1, 1943 was the 29th Rose Bowl game. The University of Georgia Bulldogs defeated the UCLA Bruins 9-0. The game returned to the Rose Bowl stadium after being played at Duke Stadium the year before...

), and Most yards gained by rushing at 320 (the previous record for yards rushing was Oregon's 298 against Harvard in the 1920 Rose Bowl
1920 Rose Bowl
The 1920 Rose Bowl, known at the time as the Tournament East-West Football Game was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1920. It was the 6th Rose Bowl Game. The Harvard Crimson defeated the Oregon Ducks by a score of 7-6. Crimson halfback Edward Casey was named the Rose Bowl Player of...

. Six different Illinois players scored touchdowns. These were broken in later years.

UCLA's Al Hoisch returned Illinois kicker Don Maechtle’s kickoff 103 yards, establishing a Rose Bowl and UCLA team record which still stands as of the 2008 Rose Bowl
2008 Rose Bowl
The 2008 Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi, the 94th Rose Bowl Game, played on January 1, 2008 at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California, was a college football bowl game. The contest was televised on ABC, the 20th straight year the network aired the Rose Bowl, starting at 4:30pm EST...

. Hoisch also still holds the modern Rose Bowl record for Highest average Gain Per Return at 44.5 yards. The eight kickoff returns made by the Bruins also are a Rose Bowl record.

Illinois' Russell Steger set modern Rose Bowl records for both most yards on interception returns and the longest interception return for a touchdown with a 68-yard return that scored in the fourth quarter. Elmer Layden
Elmer Layden
Elmer Francis Layden was an American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, and professional sports executive. He played college football at the University of Notre Dame where he starred at fullback as a member of the legendary "Four Horsemen" backfield...

 holds the records, set in the 1925 Rose Bowl
1925 Rose Bowl
The 1925 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game. It was the 11th Rose Bowl Game. The Notre Dame Fighting Irish defeated Stanford University, 27-10. The game featured two legendary coaches, Knute Rockne of Notre Dame, and Glenn "Pop" Warner in his first year at Stanford. The game also featured...

.

First quarter

  • Illinois - Julius Rykovich, one-yard run. Kick failed.
  • UCLA - Ernie Case, one-yard quarterback sneak. Case kick.

Second quarter

  • Illinois - Buddy Young
    Buddy Young
    Claude "Buddy" Young was an American football player. A native of Chicago, the 5'4" Claude "Buddy" Young, also known as the "Bronze Bullet," had exceptional quickness and acceleration. He is one of the shortest men ever to play NFL football...

    , two-yard run. Maechtle kick.
  • Illinois - Paul Patterson four-yard run. Kick failed.
  • Illinois - Perry Moss
    Perry Moss
    -External links:...

     one-yard sneak. Kick blocked.
  • UCLA - Al Hoisch returns Maechtle's kickoff 103 yards. Case kick.

Fourth quarter

  • Illinois - Young, one-yard run. Maechtle kick.
  • Illinois - Russ Steger, 68 yard interception return. Kick failed.
  • Illinois - Stan Green, 20 yard interception return. Maechtle kick.

Aftermath

Six modern Rose Bowl records still stand as of the 2008 Rose Bowl
2008 Rose Bowl
The 2008 Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi, the 94th Rose Bowl Game, played on January 1, 2008 at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California, was a college football bowl game. The contest was televised on ABC, the 20th straight year the network aired the Rose Bowl, starting at 4:30pm EST...

. Buddy Young and Julius Rykovich were named co-Most valuable players when the Rose Bowl introduced the award in 1953 and then retroactively applied the award to previous games. They were inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall Of Fame in 1993. Al Hoisch was inducted in 1999.

The Big Ten dominated early in the Rose Bowl Series, winning 12 of the first 13. The tide would begin turn to the West coast teams with the 1960 Rose Bowl
1960 Rose Bowl
The 1960 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game played on January 1, 1960 at the end of the 1959 college football season. It was the 46th Rose Bowl Game. This was the first Rose Bowl appearance by the Huskies since the 1944 Rose Bowl and the first appearance by the Badgers since the 1953 Rose...

.

UCLA and Illinois would have a re-match in the 1984 Rose Bowl
1984 Rose Bowl
The 1984 Rose Bowl game, played on January 2, was the 70th Rose Bowl game. The UCLA Bruins defeated the Illinois Fighting Illini by a score of 45-9. Rick Neuheisel, UCLA quarterback, was named the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game. He completed 22 of 32 passes for 298 yards and four touchdowns...

 with UCLA winning 45–9 in a reverse of the 1947 game, where Illinois was favored and wanted a better opponent.

The exclusive agreement remained in place until the 1999 Rose Bowl
1999 Rose Bowl
The 1999 Rose Bowl was the 85th Rose Bowl game and was played on Friday January 1, 1999 at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California. It was a college football bowl game at the end of the 1998 college football season. Wisconsin defeated by a score of 38-31. Ron Dayne of Wisconsin was named...

 when the Rose Bowl became part of the Bowl Championship Series
Bowl Championship Series
The Bowl Championship Series is a selection system that creates five bowl match-ups involving ten of the top ranked teams in the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision , including an opportunity for the top two to compete in the BCS National Championship Game.The BCS relies on a combination of...

. The Pacific Ten Conference inherited the PCC representative position for the game. Even after 1998, the Rose Bowl would still attempt to pair a Big Ten and Pac-10 team. The 2008 Rose Bowl
2008 Rose Bowl
The 2008 Rose Bowl Game presented by Citi, the 94th Rose Bowl Game, played on January 1, 2008 at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, California, was a college football bowl game. The contest was televised on ABC, the 20th straight year the network aired the Rose Bowl, starting at 4:30pm EST...

would feature USC vs. Illinois.

External links

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