The 15th Rose Bowl

The January 1, 1929 Tournament of Roses game has one of the most famous plays in gridiron history within it, but we will get to it in a moment. It was the 15th annual Rose Bowl Game and pitted the Georgia Tech Golden Tornado (later to become the Yellow Jackets) against the California Golden Bears.  
It would be the first appearance for Georgia Tech in a post-season bowl game as they concluded the regular season with a 13–0 win over Notre Dame and a 20–6 win over Georgia. 

Initially, the Bowl Committee members desired USC to represent the West, but declined the invitation to play as the winners of the Pacific Coast Conference. Next on the list was the team that tied them in head-to-head competition, the Golden Bears.

The game was notable for a play that occurred in the second quarter. Cal's All-American center Roy Riegels scooped up a Stumpy Thomason of Georgia Tech fumble and ran in the wrong direction toward his own goal. Riegels' teammate Benny Lom realizing the error chased down Roy, steering him to get out of bounds at the one-yard line before getting into the endzone. This errant dash to destiny earned the heir-apparent Cal Captain the dubious nickname of "Wrong Way Riegels." The Bears found to play in the shadow of their goalpost was much too risky, so they chose to seek a seeming way out of danger by kicking on first down. This choice did not go to plan as the punt was blocked by Tornado players Maree and Westbrook, resulting in two-point safety. These two early points proved to be pivotal in the outcome. 

The whole circumstance crushed Riegels; he had to be convinced at halftime by his teammates to return the game. The third quarter saw Georgia Tech move the ball on a long drive. It ended with a Thomason 14-yard dash to the endzone for six. However, Thomason's ensuing PAT kick failed. 

Cal stormed back when Benny Lom threw a touchdown pass and then kicked the extra point. Riegels finally got back in the game and contributed a block of a Georgia Tech punt in the second half. These accolades by the Bears stars were not enough, as Tech would win the game by a final score of 8–7.

Father Lumpkin 02 Jan 1929, Wed The Pomona Progress Bulletin (Pomona, California) Newspapers.com

Benny Lom was retroactively named the Rose Bowl Player Of The Game. Georgia Tech was retroactively named national champion by two organizations. 

A Very Special thanks to information obtained from the following brilliant internet sites: On This Day Sports, the Sports Reference's family of website databases & Stathead.com.

Banner photo is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons of Georgia Tech All-American Quarterback Warner Mizel running around end int he 1929 Rose Bowl game from the 02 Jan 1929, Wed The Pomona Progress Bulletin (Pomona, California) Newspapers.com