By Darin In the history of college football, few plays are as instantly recognizable, or as painfully remembered, as the moment a championship hopeful decided to run the wrong way. The 1929 Rose Bowl between the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets and the California Golden Bears was a hard-fought contest, but it was overshadowed by one bizarre, 65-yard sprint that changed the course of the game and gave one player an unforgettable, if unfortunate, nickname.
The Run That Defined a Career
On New Year’s Day, 1929, the prestigious Rose Bowl played host to a classic matchup. Midway through the second quarter, with the game still close, Georgia Tech’s running back Stumpy Thomason fumbled the ball. California’s 20-year-old defensive standout, Roy Riegels, swooped in to seize the opportunity.
What happened next became the stuff of gridiron legend. Instead of turning toward the opposing end zone, Riegels inexplicably took off toward his own goal line, sprinting a staggering 65 yards in the wrong direction.
Article from Jan 2, 1929 Los Angeles Evening Post-Record (Los Angeles, California)
The crowd erupted in confusion and panic. Riegels’ teammate, Benny Lom, recognizing the catastrophic error, frantically chased Riegels down and managed to tackle him just shy of their own end zone, at the one-yard line.
The immediate consequence was devastating. With California backed up against their goal line, Lom attempted to punt the ball out of danger on the next play. Georgia Tech’s defense surged through and blocked the kick. The resulting play resulted in a safety, giving Georgia Tech two points.
Those two points proved to be the difference maker in the final score. Georgia Tech ultimately defeated California 8-7.
Conclusion
While the Golden Bears lost the game by a single point, the real legacy of the 1929 Rose Bowl belongs to Roy Riegels. Despite the heartbreaking and bizarre mistake in such a high-stakes game, Riegels handled the error with immense grace and class, readily accepting the moniker “Wrong Way” for the rest of his life. His run remains one of the most famous blunders in sports, a powerful reminder of how quickly fortune can turn in a championship setting.
