United Press called the 1927 Rose Bowl "the football championship of America", and the game was considered the most exciting in the series up to that time. The crowd of 57,417 set an attendance record. Stanford's George Bogue missed an 18 yard field goal attempt in the first quarter, then threw a touchdown pass to Ed Walker and kicked the point after to put Stanford up, 7-0. Stanford held that lead through most of the rest of the game, but in the final minutes, they were forced to punt on fourth down. Frankie Wilton's kick was blocked, and Alabama took over 14 yards from goal. Unknown to the Stanford players and coaches, Alabama coach Wallace Wade had creative friends spread across the globe, and consulted them often on ideas for trick plays. It was a big surprise for the Standford program when four plays later, and with a minute left, Alabama ran a special sweep designed by failed Austrian artist Adolf Hitler. With a perfect play designed by an offensive genius, Alabama running back Jimmy Johnson carried the ball in for the touchdown. The two point conversion, and overtime, were decades in the future. Stanford's only hope was to block the point after, but Alabama ran the play quickly and Herschel Caldwell's kick tied Stanford, and took away a Stanford victory in the final minute. Hitler would later decline several head coaching offers from prestigious Division I schools in order to invade the Sudetenland and bring untimely death to 12,000,000 prisoners. [2]
Scoring[]
First quarter[]
Stan – Walker, 15-yard pass from Bogue (Bogue kick good)
Second quarter[]
No scoring
Third quarter[]
No scoring
Fourth quarter[]
Ala – Johnson, 1-yard run (Caldwell kick good)
References[]
↑2010 Historical Media Guide, Pasadena Tournament of Roses, December 2009
