A
Come-Through Story:
The 1924 Big Game
John
Breier
is
a former Stanford
Daily sports editor and has written for several
Idaho
newspapers.
Breier explains why a lump comes to the throat
of
old timers when they recall the 1924
Big Game.
Editor's Note: The Bootleg is
proud to present this article as it originally appeared in Editor Peter Grothe’s
outstanding, but long out-of-print 1952 compilation of essays, Great
Moments in Stanford Sports. The Bootleg is profoundly grateful to our
longtime friend Mr. Grothe for having given us permission to re-publish these
wonderful, long-forgotten articles and open them up to a new generation of
Cardinal fans.
Greatest Big Game of All Time?
.
You
pay your money and take your choice, in the minds of the later-day fans. Some
will swear by the 1947 21-to-18 great game,
while
others will
back the 1950 7-to-7 tie.
But
scratch any old timer who was about in 1924 and you
will
find an expert on every
play
of that 20-to-20 game. He will bow to no one and accept no other game when it
comes
to
the greatest of the Stanford- California
football series.
For
sheer excitement
that game,
dear
to the hearts
of so many
from
both sides of the Bay,
must
take its place among the greatest of all time.
Stanford
and football were a little different in 1924. The student body
numbered
some 2,800 and the ratio
was about 1 to 5. This was
the
first
year
that padding
was
required
outside
shoulder and hip pads.
Helmets
were
not required and some players
from both sides chose the freedom
from headgear.
Stanford,
playing
its first year under the coaching of Glenn S. "Pop" Warner,
used
the double
wingback
with
the center throwing
the
ball
to
the
back
with
an
end-over-end
motion rather than the present-day
spiral.
It
was
a
meeting
of two undefeated teams
and
to the winner was to go
the
right
of meeting the Four
Horsemen of Notre Dame in the Rose
Bowl.
Two
great
football
coaches met that day
for
the
first time. Andy
Smith
led
a
team
that
had gone through 47 games without
a loss.
Stanford
under
Warner
was riding a seven-game
winning streak.
It
was
the
largest
crowd to witness a Pacific Coast American football game to that
time. Pregame
opinion as to the outcome was about evenly
divided. The advantage, if any, was given to California, for Norm Cleveland,
starting Stanford left halfback, had been declared ineligible three days before
the match. He was found to be playing in his fourth year of varsity competition,
as he had played two minutes in the Nevada game as a sophomore.
Cleveland's
ineligibility coupled with the continued loss of fullback Ernie Nevers from
ankle injuries seemed to be a heavy blow to the Cards.
Warner
was known to have built his system about the kicking and passing of Cleveland.
Nevers was not to reach the height of his fame until 1925. He had been out of
most of the 1924 games because of injuries. .
California's
Memorial Stadium was packed with some 80,000 red-hot football fans on that
November 22.
Some
additional thousands viewed the game from the surrounding hillsides and
rooftops.
The
tension of this game had been mounting all year. Neither team had met really
tough opponents; this was to be the final test of ability, stamina,
and
determination.
The
first quarter was almost a letdown. Both teams featured straight- line plunge,
end run, “kick-and-hope-to-put-your-opponent-in-the-hole” football.
Fullback
Cliff Hey's
running and a pass received by Ted Shipkey on the seven-yard line set up the
first score of the game in the second quarter. Little Murray
Cuddeback,
probably
the
most maligned player of the year, then booted a three-point field goal from the
18-yard line to put Stanford in the lead, 3 to 0.
There
had been much criticism of Warner's playing Cuddeback during the season and
starting him in this game. He had made only seven
yards from scrimmage during the three Coast Conference games. Many
Bay
Area
writers
thought he should have been relegated to the reserves.
But
it was Cuddeback who marked up the next three points after a fierce exchange of
down and punts. This came with
a half-minute left in the half and from.
the
45-yard line. His place kick put the Cards in front 6 to 0 at the intermission.
California
was known as a third-quarter team that year and a third- quarter team
they
were
that day.
A
drive featuring a 47-yard
Jim Dixon to "Tut" Imlay pass started on their 19-yard line and ended up with
the ball over the goal line. California led 7 to 6.
After
a short exchange of punts, California took the ball on the Stanford 42-yard line
and began another march. As the quarter ended,
Imlay
had
run the ball to the Stanford
20.
On
the third play of the
fourth
quarter
the
Bears
scored
again,
Dixon
to Imlay
for
15 yards
and a 14 to
6 score.
It
is here
that
Coach Smith
removed Dixon
and
Imlay
from
the game.
Under
the
rules of
that
day a player
could
not come
back into the
game
until
the next quarter
had
started.
This
was
the fourth quarter.
But
the Bear
scoring
was not
over.
A
Stanford
fumble
gave
Cal the ball
on the Stanford
29-yard
line.
Four successive line bucks
by
Griffin
took
him
over
and
the score stood
20 to 6 with but five
minutes remaining
in the
game.
Carlson
missed
his first conversion
of the day.
But it did
not seem
to matter at that
time.
Thus
the stage was
set for
one of the
greatest comebacks in Stanford athletic history.
It
must be remembered that the defense was
far
ahead
of the offense in that era. The forward
pass had been in use for years,
but
had
not been developed
to the point that a team could be expected to score twice in so short a time.
And California was famous for its line play.
Walter
Camp called
"Babe" Horrell
the "greatest
center
in
the game today."
It
is
here
that our old-timer will grow a little incoherent,
and
one must go to the record books for
what
happened in the next five minutes.
Little-known
and little-respected
Ed Walker came in for Halfback Jim Kelly
and
projected himself into the limelight with his surprise passing.
Walker
to
Fred Solomon to the Cal 15-yard line. A loss of seven
yards
on an end-around.
Captain and All-American Jim Lawson makes 4 yards
on the same play.
Then
it
is Walker to Ted Shipkey
behind
the goal.
Cuddeback scores his
seventh
point of the game and it is California
20 to Stanford
13.
It is about here that Cuddeback is knocked
out by
a
collision with
a movie
camera. They
revive
him and the game
goes on.
Minutes
left and it seems that the Cards must take
to the air again. But first
they
send
Hey
through
the
line to draw the Cal defense up.
George
Bogue
comes
in for Hey
and
gets one yard
up the middle.
Cuddeback
passes
incomplete.
It
was
a frenzied and unbelieving stand that then saw
Walker
go
back to throw
20
yards
to Cuddeback who
ran it over
for the
marker,
20
to 19.
Two
minutes
left. Stanford
approaches the line for the try
for
point, the
linemen just start to get settled when George Baker, who
had met and played equal to Cal's
great Horrell,
centered
the ball back for the kick.
The surprised Cuddeback put it squarely between the goal posts and it was 20 to
20.
Asked
later why he had centered the ball before his team was set and ready, Baker told
Coach Warner,
"Why,
Pop, I thought the time would run out on us!"
But
the point was made and game tied. At the half it was Stanford's game, in the
first of the fourth it was all California's, and at the final gun it was
nobody's. But Cal's string of wins over Stanford was over.
The
"Old Fox" of the East had brought his winning ways to the Farm.
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