1939 Rose Bowl

1939 Rose Bowl
25th Rose Bowl Game
USC Trojans Duke Blue Devils (8–2) (9–0) PCC SoCon 7 3 Head coach:  Howard Jones Head coach:  Wallace Wade AP 7 AP 3
1 2 3 4 Total USC 0 0 0 7 7 Duke 0 0 0 3 3
Date	January 2, 1939
Season	1938
Stadium	Rose Bowl
Location	Pasadena, California
MVP	Al Krueger  (USC E) Doyle Nave (USC QB)
Favorite	USC by 10 to 14 points [1] [2]
Referee	Bob Morris (Pacific Coast; split crew: Pacific Coast, Southern) [3]
Attendance	93,852
Rose Bowl  < 1938   1940 >

The 1939 Rose Bowl was the 25th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Monday, January 2 and concluded the 1938 college football season.

The seventh-ranked USC Trojans of the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) downed the undefeated #3 Duke Blue Devils of the Southern Conference, 7–3. ^{[3] [4] [5] [6]}

Scoreless after three quarters, Duke gained the lead with a 23-yard field goal by Tony Ruffa early in the fourth. However, backup quarterback Doyle Nave of the Trojans completed four straight passes to sophomore end "Antelope" Al Krueger, who outmaneuvered Eric "The Red" Tipton and scored the winning touchdown with one minute remaining. Krueger's touchdown marked the first points scored against Duke during the season. ^{[4] [5]}

Ticket for the 1939 Rose Bowl game, as seen in Rose Bowl Museum

For his performance in the game, Krueger was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in the class of 1995. ^[7]

Scoring

First quarter

No scoring

Second quarter

No scoring

Third quarter

No scoring

Fourth quarter

• Duke – Tony Ruffa 23-yard field goal
• USC – Al Krueger, 19-yard pass from Doyle Nave (Phil Gaspar kick)

Statistics

Team Stats	USC	Duke
First downs	13	5
Rushing yards	128	84
Passing (att–com–int)	30–12–3	13–4–2
Passing yards	81	59
Total offense	209	143

Notes

• This was the 50th Tournament of Roses Parade, with ten-year-old Grand Marshal Shirley Temple (the youngest) presiding over the parade and the game ^[8]

A crowd of over 90,000 assembled to watch the game.

References

1. McLemore, Henry (January 2, 1939). "Trojans held big favorites to win over Blue Devils". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. p. 1, sports.
2. "U.S.C. favored in Rose battle". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. January 2, 1939. p. 12.
3. McLemore, Henry (January 3, 1939). "USC's story-book finish beats Duke". Pittsburgh Press. United Press. p. 22.
4. Zimmerman, Paul (January 3, 1939). "Trojans stain Duke's record in final minute, 7 to 3". Miami News. Associated Press. p. 2B.
5. "Southern California snags win in closing minutes". Spokesman-Review. Spokane, Washington. Associated Press. January 3, 1939. p. 1.
6. "Trojans favored over Duke in Rose Bowl game today". Miami News. INS. January 2, 1939. p. 2B.
7. 2009 Kickoff Luncheon and Rose Bowl Hall of Fame Induction program
8. 2013 Rose Bowl Game Historical Media Guide, Tournament of Roses Association, December 2012