PASADENA, Calif. -- In commemoration of the 100th Rose Bowl, the Tournament of Roses created a special program to honor great players and coaches throughout the history of The Granddaddy of Them All.
During the course of the regular season, members of the Football Writers Association of America selected one Rose Bowl Game representative from each decade to comprise an All-Century Class. The panelists, spanning media outlets across the country, also nominated one overall player and one overall coach who best captured the Passion, Strength, Tradition and Honor of the Rose Bowl Game.
“It has been a tremendous honor for members of the FWAA to participate in selecting the All-Century Class,” FWAA President Chris Dufresne said. “The Rose Bowl Game is synonymous with tradition. As we prepare to celebrate its 100th game, this project pays tribute to the great names that have graced the hallowed grounds of the Rose Bowl Stadium, lending to its storied history.”
| DECADE | REPRESENTATIVE |
|---|---|
| 1900s-1910s | George Halas, Great Lakes Navy |
| 1920s | Ernie Nevers, Stanford |
| 1930s | Don Hutson, Alabama Howard Jones, USC |
| 1940s | Charley Trippi, Georgia |
| 1950s | Woody Hayes, Ohio State |
| 1960s | John McKay, USC |
| 1970s | Archie Griffin, Ohio State |
| 1980s | Bo Schembechler, Michigan |
| 1990s | Ron Dayne, Wisconsin |
| 2000s | Vince Young, Texas |
| 2010s | Montee Ball, Wisconsin |
| All-Century Player | Archie Griffin, Ohio State |
| All-Century Coach | John McKay, USC |
Long before the nickname “Papa Bear,” George Halas showcased his talents in the 1919 Rose Bowl. A three-sport athlete at Illinois, Halas became a member of the Great Lakes Navy squad during a time college football teams were depleted due to World War I. In addition to a 45-yard touchdown reception against the Mare Island Marines, Halas returned an interception 77 yards to the Mare Island 3-yard line. For his performance, Halas was named Player of the Game.
Ernie Nevers established a Rose Bowl single-game rushing record in 1925, running for 114 yards on 34 carries. He also participated in nearly 80 percent of Stanford’s defensive plays, despite having casts taken off two broken ankles just 10 days earlier. Stanford lost the game to Knute Rockne’s Notre Dame and his Four Horseman 27-10, however, Nevers was still selected as co-Player of the Game with Notre Dame fullback Elmer Layden. Nevers went on to play professional baseball before beginning his professional football career. He holds the NFL record for points in a game, scoring six touchdowns and kicking four extra points. Nevers was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1963 and into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1991.
Don Hutson came to Alabama on a partial baseball scholarship and walked-on to the Crimson Tide football program. Upon graduation, he was an All-American end who would continue an illustrious career in professional football. Hutson played a crucial role in Alabama's 29-13 victory against Stanford in the 1935 Rose Bowl, catching six passes for 165 yards and scoring on receptions of 59 and 54 yards to help lead the Crimson Tide to victory. He was twice named NFL Player of the Year (1941 and '42) as a member of the Green Bay Packers. At the time of his retirement, Hutson held almost all the NFL’s receiving records and still holds many to this day. He was a charter member of both the NFL and College Football halls of fame and a 1993 Rose Bowl Hall of Fame Inductee.
From 1930 to 1940, Howard Jones led USC to the Rose Bowl five times, winning all appearances by a combined 95 points. Prior to his arrival, Trojan football had not secured a national title nor featured a single All-American. After 16 seasons under Jones, 19 All-Americans joined a long list of accolades which included eight Pacific Coast Conference titles and an unblemished Rose Bowl mark. Three of those victories -- in 1932, '33 and '39 -- led to national championships for USC. Jones’ overall record at USC was 121-36-13 from 1925-40. Along with being an inaugural member of the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 1989, Jones was a charter member of the College Football Hall of Fame in 1951.
In 1943, halfback Charley Trippi led \Georgia to a 9-0 Rose Bowl victory against UCLA, highlighting an 11-1 season and consensus national championship. Plagued by injury, Heisman winner Frank Sinkwich watched from the sidelines as Trippi played both offense and defense for 58 minutes, which was unprecedented for the times. Trippi carried the ball 25 times for 130 yards, earning Most Valuable Player honors. The Maxwell Award winner in 1946, he went on to play nine seasons in the NFL and was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1968, the College Football Hall of Fame in 1959 and the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in 1965. Trippi also was a 1991 Rose Bowl Hall of Fame inductee.
Woody Hayes is synonymous with Rose Bowl history. His success translated into scores of accolades, including three of his four Rose Bowl wins leading to national championships for Ohio State. Hayes ranks second in all-time Rose Bowl appearances as a head coach (8), behind rival Bo Schembechler, who made 10 (six of which were after Hayes stopped coaching). Hayes also is one of three coaches to take his team to four consecutive Rose Bowl games (1973-76), facing off against John McKay and the USC Trojans for the first three (1-2 record), before losing to Dick Vermeil and the UCLA Bruins in his final Rose Bowl. Hayes was a member of the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame 1989 class.
In his 16 years as head coach for USC, John McKay’s teams won nine Pacific-8 Conference titles. He also led the Trojans to eight Rose Bowl appearances, including five victories -- four of which captured national titles. McKay was the first coach to take four consecutive teams to Pasadena and is tied for the most wins in Rose Bowl history. His eight all-time appearances in the Rose Bowl are tied for second all-time. McKay is well known for popularizing the I-formation and emphasized a power running game. He coached two Heisman Trophy winners and a slew of accomplished players throughout his career. McKay was a 1991 Rose Bowl Hall of Fame inductee.
The sixth-winningest college football coach of all-time in terms of winning percentage, Glenn ‘Bo’ Schembechler led Michigan to a record 10 Rose Bowl appearances during his 21-year tenure as the Wolverines coach (1969-89). In addition, Michigan's three consecutive Rose Bowl appearances (1977-79) trails only USC's John McKay and Pete Carroll, as well as Ohio State's Woody Hayes, who led their teams to four consecutive trips to Pasadena. Following the 1980 season, Schembechler gained the first of his two Rose Bowl victories by beating Don James’ Washington Huskies. Schembechler retired from coaching after the 1990 Rose Bowl Game. He was inducted into the Rose Bowl and College Football Hall of Fame in 1993.
Ron Dayne started four years at running back for Wisconsin. During his career, he set the Division I rushing record for total yards gaining 1,863 yards as a freshman; 1,421 as a sophomore; 1,325 as a junior; and 1,834 as a senior. Dayne led the Badgers to bowl games each season with his most impressive performances coming in the 1999 and 2000 Rose Bowl victories, where he rushed for 246 yards and 200 yards, respectively. Garnering Player of the Game honors in both appearances, he became the third player in the history of the Rose Bowl to win the award more than once -- and the first Big Ten player. Dayne won the Heisman Trophy in 1999 along with numerous accolades, including Big Ten Player of the Year and All-American honors. He was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2011 and the College Football Hall of Fame in 2013.
Texas quarterback Vince Young ran his way to Player of the Game honors in the 2005 Rose Bowl, tying the record for touchdowns responsible for with five (four rushing, one passing). He also ran for 192 yards and passed for 180 more. His two fourth-quarter touchdown runs helped overcome a 10-point deficit and earned Texas a win against Michigan. The Longhorns returned to Pasadena for the 2006 Rose Bowl and national championship where Young managed to best his performance from the year before. In arguably one of the best games and performances in college football history, Young ran for 200 yards, threw for 267 yards, and set the record for total yards. He ran for three touchdowns, including the last two scores of the game, leading the Longhorns past USC 41-38. Young earned Player of the Game honors, becoming just the fourth player in the history of the Rose Bowl Game to earn that honor twice.
At running back for Wisconsin, Montee Ball was twice recognized as the best at his position in the Big Ten Conference and a consensus first-team All-American. He currently holds the FBS records for most career rushing touchdowns (77) and total touchdowns (83). In the 2011 Rose Bowl, Ball ran for 132 yards and scored one touchdown on 22 carries against TCU. His 132 rush yards, 22 carries and 6.0 yards per carry all are ninth-most in UW bowl history; and his 40-yard run ties for 10th-longest in UW bowl history. In the 2012 Rose Bowl, Ball ran for 164 yards and a TD on 32 carries versus Oregon and lastly, in the 2013 Rose Bowl Game, he rushed for 100 yards and scored a touchdown. Ball became the first player in history to rush for 100 yards in three consecutive Rose Bowl games.
