Any Given January

Readers share warm memories of feats on the college gridiron.

EVERYTHING’S COMING UP ROSE BOWL

The 1958 Rose Bowl game pitted the Ducks of the University of Oregon against the Ohio State University Buckeyes. California sportswriters were calling it the “worst mismatch of the ages,” and oddsmakers had the “Ugly Ducklings” a 19-point underdog.

But the sportswriters were wrong. Final score: Ohio State 10, Oregon 7. Oregon fans were so jubilant that you’d have thought the Ducks had won. 

I was secretary to the Oregon football coaching staff and was so proud of my bosses and the team members. They were winners in my playbook! 

REBECCA TOWLER FALKNER EL PASO, TX

A Whirlwind Tour

BILL NEUMAN PITTSBURGH, PA

IN MY SOPHOMORE YEAR at Ohio State, the Buckeyes beat the University of Michigan 12-10 to get to the Rose Bowl.

After Christmas, five buddies and I took a school-chartered flight to California and stayed with friends in Long Beach. We spent four days sightseeing at Disneyland; Las Vegas; Tijuana, Mexico; and Beverly Hills. On New Year’s Eve, we headed to the Ambassador Hotel on Wilshire Boulevard in Los Angeles, where the rest of the group was staying.