411 REFERENCE · Wikipedia
1940 Rose Bowl
Reference material by Wikipedia contributors. This retains its source identity and is not 411 news reporting.
American college football game
January 2019
December 2025
1940 Rose Bowl 26th Rose Bowl Game 1939 USC Trojans University of Southern California Tennessee Volunteers University of Tennessee 7–0–2 PCC 10–0 SEC Howard Jones Robert Neyland 3 2 0 7 0 7 0 0 0 0 January 1 Rose Bowl Pasadena, California Ambrose Schindler(USC QB) Even https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=z00bAAAAIBAJ&sjid=TkwEAAAAIBAJ&pg=4862%2C1980105 Pittsburgh Press United Press McLemore Henry Trojans, Vols rated even in Rose Bowl December 31, 1939 5, section 2https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fm9WAAAAIBAJ&sjid=H-QDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6944%2C80563 Spokesman-Review Spokane, Washington Associated Press All bowl teams rest on eve of big battles January 1, 1940 11Trojans Even Bet with Vols. Los Angeles Times, December 12, 1939 Spirit of Troy Louis Conlan (Pacific Coast;split crew: Pacific Coast, SEC) Spirit of Troy 92,200
The 1940 Rose Bowl was the 26th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Monday, January 1.
In a matchup of undefeated teams, the third-ranked USC Trojans of the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) shut out the #2 Tennessee Volunteers of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), 14–0.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=fW9WAAAAIBAJ&sjid=H-QDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6894%2C326557 Spokesman-Review Spokane, Washington Associated Press Southern California sweeps Tennessee aside in Rose Bowl triumph January 2, 1940 9https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=FG8hAAAAIBAJ&sjid=-YcFAAAAIBAJ&pg=6180%2C254671 Reading Eagle Pennsylvania INS Jordan Ralph B. Amby Schindler wrecks Tennessee dreams January 2, 1940 14https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=K0gzAAAAIBAJ&sjid=ne4HAAAAIBAJ&pg=6323%2C1922566 Lodi News-Sentinel United Press McLemore Henry USC outplays, overpowers Tennessee 11 at Pasadena January 2, 1940 5http://www.tournamentofroses.com/photogallery/RBGtimeline/1940s.htm Tournament of Roses – Rose Bowl Game Photo Timeline April 23, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20080311120749/http://www.tournamentofroses.com/photogallery/RBGtimeline/1940s.htm March 11, 2008 dead USC quarterback Ambrose Schindler was named the Player of the Game when the award was created in 1953 and selections were made retroactively.2008 Rose Bowl Program https://web.archive.org/web/20080306033551/http://www.bowlprograms.com/rosebowl/?pg=182 March 6, 2008 , 2008 Rose Bowl. Accessed January 26, 2008.
Teams
1939 college football season
The Rose Bowl committee had both USC and Tennessee on their list and it was likely that USC and Tennessee would play each other."TROJAN-VOL GAME LOOMS; COACH NEYLAND SCOUTS S.C." Los Angeles Times, November 27, 1939"Kentucky Bars Tennessee's Path. Today Rain Likely for Big Game Wildcats Eager to Ruin Vols' Rose Bowl Hopes Because of 1938 Rout". Los Angeles Times, November 30, 1939 The Volunteers were offered a berth in the Sugar Bowl on November 25;"Vols Sidetrack Sugar Bowl Bid to See What Coast Does" Los Angeles Times November 26, 1939. Quote:Tennessee has been invited to play in the Sugar Bowl at New Orleans on New Year's Day, but would prefer accepting an invitation to the Rose Bowl, Pasadena. they were also in the mix for the Cotton Bowl, which would have pitted them against the #1 Texas A&M Aggies.Homer Jacobs – The pride of Aggieland. Texas A&M University Press, 2002 0-7607-3257-4, 978-0-7607-3257-1 But the Rose Bowl committee did not extend official invitations until December 10, 1939."Troy, Tennessee in Rose Bowl". Los Angeles Times, December 10, 1939. It will be Southern California and Tennessee in the Rose Bowl January 1, 1940.
Tennessee
1939 Tennessee Volunteers football team
In the regular season, Tennessee shut out all ten opponents. Led by two All-American guards, Ed Molinski and Bob Suffridge, the Volunteers were forced to play without their star tailback George Cafego, who fell victim to a knee injury against The Citadel on November 11.http://www.utsports.com/football/page.aspx?id=37402 1940 Rose Bowl April 23, 2008September 2016 medicmedic After a 7–0 win over Auburn on December 9, Tennessee officially was extended an invitation to the Rose Bowl."Tennessee Beats Auburn, 7-0, to Qualify for Bowl Bid. Vols Black Out Last Dixie Foe Butler's Scoring Run Puts Neyland's Team in Line for Pasadena" Los Angeles Times, December 10, 1939
USC
1939 USC Trojans football team
The Trojans opened the season against Oregon, tying the Ducks 7–7, then scored three straight shutouts, becoming ranked #8 following the second, a 26–0 win over Illinois. A November 4 game featured #7 USC defeating #11 Oregon State 19–7. At Notre Dame on November 25, #4 USC defeated the #7 Irish 20–12. A win over Washington by scoring in the last 1:15 set up the very first epic UCLA–USC rivalry matchup.
Kenny Washington, Woody Strode, Jackie Robinson, and Ray Bartlett starred on the Bruins, in which African Americans made up three of the four backfield players.B.J. VIOLETT – "TEAMMATES RECALL JACKIE ROBINSON’S LEGACY" https://web.archive.org/web/20080528071600/http://www.today.ucla.edu/1997/970425TeammatesRecall.html May 28, 2008 . UCLA Today magazine, 1997 This was a rarity to have so many African Americans when only a few dozen at all played on college football teams."Kenny Washington" Encyclopædia Britannica The ninth-ranked Bruins also were also undefeated, with three ties. This was the first UCLA–USC rivalry football game with national implications, as it was the first with the Rose Bowl on the line for both.
The attendance of 103,303 was the second largest college football crowd ever in the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. UCLA attempted a pass on fourth down, instead of kicking a field goal. Bobby Robertson of USC knocked down Ned Matthews’ four-yard pass in the end zone with less than five minutes to play to preserve the scoreless tie. The Pacific Coast Conference voted to have USC, with a 7–0–2 record play in the Rose Bowl instead of UCLA with a 6–0–4 record.https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=6ctYAAAAIBAJ&sjid=lugDAAAAIBAJ&pg=6214%2C3587782 Eugene Register-Guard Oregon Associated Press Southern California wins Rose Bowl bid; tied by UCLA 0-0 December 10, 1939 14 Art Cohn, sports editor of the Oakland Tribune implied that race may have been a factor in the decision, since teams from the south refused to play against African Americans.Columnist was early, angry voice against sports color lineJune 2021 medicmedic Los Angeles Times, March 23, 2008. Quote: Art Cohn died 50 years ago today. From Long Beach to the Bay Area, the newsman afflicted the sports world with hard questions about racial equality long before the civil rights movement. ... Since the winner of the 1939 UCLA-USC game would face undefeated, untied Tennessee in the Rose Bowl, Cohn pointed out that Tennessee did not play integrated teams. If UCLA beat USC, would the Volunteers consent to play against Kenny Washington, Woody Strode and Jackie Robinson? Cohn was convinced that the Bruins would not bench their three stars.
Tennessee happens to be one of the colleges that does not recognize the Emancipation Proclamation. Not only does it bar Negroes from playing on its own team, but it also refuses to compete against any college having Negro players.
Below the Mason and Dixon, men feel strongly. In their blind devotion to a prejudice that makes a mockery of tolerance and justice, they gladly sacrifice everything, even $100,000 gravy-bowl games.
When the UCLA-USC game ended in a scoreless tie, conference officials voted to send the Trojans to Pasadena and Tennessee had its bowl game. After the regular season, the Trojans were named national champions.Dickinson System Rates Troy Eleven First in Nation Bruins Stand Tenth in List For Third Time, South Carolina Gets Rockne Trophy; Tennessee Only Fifth. Los Angeles Times, December 12, 1939. Quote:Southern California, described as the best team in the best section, ranked first among the nation's football teams in the annual rating announced today by Frank G. Dickinson, associate professor of economics at the University of Illinois
Game summary
Trojan backs Granny Lansdell and Ambrose Schindler rushed for 51 and 81 yards respectively, for a team total of 229 yards rushing. Schindler scored one touchdown and passed to Al Krueger — the hero from the previous year — for the other. Head coach Howard Jones earned his second straight Rose Bowl victory, and his fifth in as many appearances.
Scoring
First quarter
No scoring
Second quarter
USC – Ambrose Schindler 1-yard run (Jones kick)
Third quarter
No scoring
Fourth quarter
USC – Al Krueger 2-yard pass from Schindler (Gaspar kick)
Aftermath
USC head coach Jones died less than two years later, in the summer of 1941. Joe Shell, the captain of the Trojans who became an oil company owner and a state assemblyman, died on April 8, 2008.Weber, Dan Captain of USC's 1939 National Champs Dies https://web.archive.org/web/20110707223700/http://www.beloblog.com/Pe_Blogs/collegesports/2008/04/captain-of-uscs-1939-national.html July 7, 2011 . Riverside Press-Enterprise, April 8, 2008
USC bases its 1939 national championship claim on winning the Dickinson System, a formula devised by a University of Illinois professor which awarded the only championship trophy between 1926 and 1940. In 1939, Dickinson was the only poll or system to rank the Trojans number one. USC's stance, however, is in keeping with that of most other schools which won the Dickinson title; only Notre Dame, which won the Dickinson crown in 1938, does not claim a major national title for that year. Since at least 1969, USC had not listed 1939 as a national championship year; but in 2004, USC once again began recognizing the 1939 team as national champions after it determined that it qualified.This Just In: USC Also Is a 1939 Champion . Washington Post, July 28, 2004USC 1939 National Champions. Washington Times, August 27, 2004 USC Now Will Recognize Its 1939 Football Team As A National Champion. Trojan have 10 national champs in the sport. USC Trojans Athletic Department, July 24, 2004.
Ambrose "Amblin' Amby" Schindler went on to be the MVP in the 1940 College All-Star Game in Chicago in late August. He was inducted into the San Diego Hall of Champions Breitbard Hall of Fame in 1973.http://www.sdhoc.com/main/awards/athletes/football/ambyschindler San Diego Hall of Champions - Amby Schindler April 25, 2008 https://web.archive.org/web/20040905031945/http://www.sdhoc.com/main/awards/athletes/football/ambyschindler September 5, 2004 usurped He was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 1997.1997 inductees for the USC Athletic Hall of Fame Announced. USC Trojans Athletic Department, November 30, 1996. He was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in 2002.
Tennessee player Bill Barnes was later the head coach of the UCLA Bruins and led them to the 1962 Rose Bowl.
References
2
Rose Bowl
Category:Rose Bowl Game
Category:20th century in Pasadena, California
Category:Tennessee Volunteers football bowl games
Category:USC Trojans football bowl games
Category:1940 in sports in California
Category:January 1940 sports events in the United States