One Flinging Badger Made Trojans Sweat

\o7Jim Murray, the late Times sports columnist, wrote this column, "A Close Second," on the 1963 Rose Bowl game, a 42-37 victory by USC over Wisconsin. The game was Coach John McKay's Rose Bowl debut and the victory clinched the 1962 national championship for the 11-0 Trojans. As part of The Times' 125th anniversary celebration, we will on occasion reprint Murray columns off major events.

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\f7In the longest, wildest and woolliest Rose Bowl game in history, the USC Trojans beat Ronald VanderKelen at Pasadena Tuesday.

The Trojans took the field with three teams and they needed all of them. They may be No. 1, as their rooting section constantly reminded the crowd of 96,698, but if so, VanderKelen is No. 2. In a rematch, I wouldn't make him worse than even money.

The game lasted only slightly less long than the War of 1812. It started in broad daylight but it ended up under conditions so dark a man would bump into an elephant. The official timer needed a calendar. If the game had lasted one more quarter, they would have run into next year's Rose Parade traffic.

The football was in the air so much, some of the officials were inclined to call a double-dribble by the fourth quarter. The Badgers scored more points than the Lakers in the last few minutes.

There were so many points scored, the Dow Jones ticker was running behind at the 3 o'clock close.

The game was like Russian roulette with all barrels loaded or a tennis game in which neither side could hold its serve. I have seen drunks put up a better defense falling off a stool.

Stay Away From VanderKelen

There were 79 points scored, 69 passes attempted. Anybody caught carrying the ball was a sissy. USC won, but they were like the kid who comes home with a nose bleeding, his ear torn, his clothes ripped and both eyes black and he says, "But you ought to see the other fellow."

I know some schools that shouldn't schedule Ron VanderKelen. He completed more passes than a sailor on leave in Tahiti. USC's pass defense was so poor, they were lucky he didn't score between halves from the dressing room.

No one is quite sure what happened in the fourth quarter because the Rose Bowl's idea of lighting is two guys holding a cigar lighter at either end of the field. But whenever VanderKelen got on target, the officials got cramps from throwing their hands up in the air.

Somewhere down there in the darkness, Ron VanderKelen scored 23 points.