Game of the Century:
'51 Stanford vs. USC
Editor's Note: The following article appeared more than a
half-century ago in 1952’s Great
Moments in Stanford Sports. The mighty fine compilation of
outstanding essays has been out of print for more than 60 years, but as heated
debate recently raged on about the biggest wins in school history and we
approach another high-stakes battle with the Dirty Trojans, The Bootleg feels compelled to call attention to the 1951 varsity's epic
battle against Troy. Bob
Mathias' breathtaking 96-yard kick return assisted
by Stanford Athletic Hall of Famer Norm Manoogian's
remarkable lead blocking, remains (along with Tavita Pritchard's famous
pass to Mark Bradford in 2007) one of the defining moments in the 105-year
rivalry with USC. We managed to obtain permission from the author, Professor
Peter Grothe [AB ’53, AM ‘54] and The
Stanford Daily to reprint it here for our readers’ enjoyment and in some
cases, for “memory refreshment”. At The
Bootleg, we not only "bow to no program", but we also refuse ever to forget
the gridiron glory of righteous victories over the University of Southern
California.
In 1951, Pete Grothe
was serving as sports desk editor of the Stanford
Daily and Stanford sports
correspondent for the San Francisco
Chronicle. He also wrote for
the Burlingame
Advance for three years. Grothe was a member of the
Stanford Athletic Board and served as president of Sigma Delta Chi, the
professional journalism fraternity. At the time, even the oldest of old-timers
say that Stanford's 1951 27-to-20 victory over undefeated Southern
California was the most spectacular game that an
Indian team ever participated in (sic). Both teams were unbeaten in seven games,
USC was the favorite, and the Rose Bowl bid hinged on the outcome. What happened
on that memorable day is told by Grothe as he wrote it for his column in the
Stanford Daily.
LOS ANGELES COLISEUM,
Nov. 10, 1951 - I'm up in the Coliseum press box now. Sports scribes from all
parts of the country are beginning to piece together the lead paragraphs to
stories on one of the most spectacular games they've ever seen. And in the
gathering dusk down on the field a completely exhausted but deliriously happy
Stanford team is carrying Chuck Taylor and “Dutch” Fehring on its shoulders.
There can be no doubt that the red-and-white-clad squad just now going through
the tunnel had a distinct touch of greatness in it today.
Stanford can win or
lose the next two games and the Rose Bowl. Right now, it doesn't make any
difference to the thousands of rooters who are swarming to the USC side of the
field. The game which the electric scoreboard at the end of the stadium says
Stanford won, 27 to 20, was the alpha and omega of grid thrills. The 96,000 who
sat in this massive coliseum saw one of the great football games of all time,
and even the Big Game will be anti-climactic.
It's supposed to be
my job to throw together the best possible combination of words to describe
something, but for the first time in my life, I find myself virtually
speechless. I'm limp. What is there you can say about a gang like that? Throw
the dictionary at them, and you still couldn't do that Herculean
come-through effort justice.
The real drama of
today's game was crammed into the fourth quarter, in which 33 points were
scored, but Chuck Taylor's crew set the stage for things to come by tallying
first. USC's All-American halfback, Frank Gifford, fumbled the ball on his own
17, and Card linebacker Ted Tanner was there to pounce on it. Two running plays
netted three yards. Then quarterback Gary Kerkorian wheeled back, spotted Bill
McColl in a cluster of three defenders, and threw. It was a typical McColl
catch. He threw his six-foot, four-inch, 225-pound frame skyward and came
down with six points securely nestled in his hands. Kerkorian, who completed 18
passes, more than anyone else ever has against the Trojans, added the conversion
from Harry Hugasian's hold.
The first half saw no
further scoring, although the Indians threatened twice. The first half ended
with Stanford on the USC eight-yard line.
Coach Jess Hill's
team evened the count in the third quarter as the snake-hipped Gifford twisted
his way 18 yards goalward and converted from Johnny Williams' fingertips.
Troy had just
driven 74 yards in eight plays, and Stanford rooters had received their first
glimpse of why this USC squad was being compared favorably with the great Howard Jones teams. It was not their last glimpse. The ball exchanged hands several
times, and it was the, Trojans' turn to ramble again. They initiated the fourth
quarter by driving 57 yards, and making the score 14 to 7. Halfback "Hoagy"
Carmichael, on an off-tackle reverse, bit off
the last 36 yards in one spectacular chunk.
Twenty seconds later,
the USC rooters' thunderous elation was deadened as Bob Mathias, a trackman who
thought he'd give football a try, gobbled up Gifford's ensuing kickoff on the
Stanford four and never stopped until he reached the Southern
Cal goal, 96 yards later. The Olympic decathlon
champ accepted the kickoff, cut to his right, proceeded up field, ran into a
terrific jam on the 30, broke out of it, took advantage of Wes Laubscher's block
on Gifford, and then out-raced Williams and guard Elmer Willhoite to the
goal.
The Troy rooters had a chance to cheer again as Kerkorian's
extra point try was wide. It was that type of a fourth quarter - the rooters of
the two schools alternately going from the depths of despair to the heights of
uncontained joy-all in the matter of a few seconds.
A few minutes later,
not one of the 4,000 Farm students would have given you a cup of Cellar coffee
for the Indians' chances to win. Kerkorian faded back from his own 15, was
hit by end Bill Hattig, and fumbled in the end zone. USC's gargantuan tackle,
Charley Ane, draped his 250 pounds all over the ball, and the Trojans led, 20 to
13, 21 to 13, as Gifford converted. But here was a break. Southern California was penalized, and from 25 yards
out, Gifford missed…still 20 to 13.
And so here was the
situation: Nine minutes remained, and Stanford would have to score a
touchdown against the white-hot Trojans to tie, two touchdowns to win. Not an
easy chore. In the fabled 1924 Big Game, Stanford scored 14 points in the last
quarter to tie Cal, 20 to 20. But on this given day,
Kerkorian, McColl, and company would settle for nothing less than
victory.
Seven minutes remained as Kerkorian, from the USC 41, rifled a long floater to sophomore end
Sam Morley on the 14. Troy was penalized to the nine, illegal
substitution, and here was where Mr. Mathias took over. First, it was Bob,
blasting at the USC 220-pound-a-man line for four yards, then ripping, charging
for three more to the two. Co-captain and linebacker Pat Cannamela ordered an
eight-man line, but he might as well have saved his trouble. Mathias hit the
same hole, and aided by vicious blocks by guard Norm Manoogian and tackle Jim
Vick, churned over. This time, the 183-pound quarterback from Inglewood made sure he
didn't miss the conversion. It was 20 to 20, and the 4,000 students who had
traveled 400 miles to see this game drew a sigh of relief. But not the football
team. Remember, it was a victory they were striving for. A tie wouldn't do. And
if victory was to be attained, there were only three minutes in which to
score.