I loved those Gophers teams of the early 1960s and when my Uncle John booked a train ride for the two of us to California for the 1962 Rose Bowl I couldn’t wait to hear the conductor yell, “All aboard!” It was a memorable ride through the Rocky Mountains with our first stop in San Francisco. Then it was on to Los Angeles where I read and tried to absorb all I could in anticipation of the game.
In the nights before the Rose Bowl I remember listening to the Lakers on the radio, and also seeing a TV special about Elgin Baylor whose basketball acrobatics had started when the team was in Minneapolis. I reveled in being close to the Lakers again while fighting off the disappointment of the great franchise having relocated from Minneapolis to southern California.
But whatever sorrow I carried gave way to the magical day of January 1, 1962. It was a Rose Bowl scene like you’ve seen so many times over the years on television. Blue sky, steady sunshine and that majestic stadium with 100,000 seats and the San Gabriel Mountains in the background.
I was ready for revenge and so were the Gophers. The final score had Minnesota winning by 18 points but that didn’t indicate the difference between the Gophers and Bruins on this day. The Gophers dominated second half ball possession and other stats for the game. Minnesota had 21 first downs, UCLA eight. The Gophers gained 397 total yards, the Bruins 107.
Stephens was the game’s MVP and is now a member of the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame. He scored two of Minnesota’s touchdowns, led the team in rushing yards and completed seven of 11 timely passes.
It was a day for the ages if you were from Minnesota. Not even keys locked inside the rental car could put a dark cloud over my Rose Bowl day experience.
The train ride back home was a blur but one thought dominated my mind. These Gophers, who had finished 6-1 in the Big Ten and 8-2 overall, could beat anybody in the country including 1961 national champion Alabama. The Gophers had lost the opening game in 1961 to Missouri, 6-0, and Wisconsin beat Minnesota 23-21. Nine points stood between the Gophers and another national championship.
Both the final Associated Press and UPI polls ranked Minnesota No. 6 in the nation. It’s the highest ranking the Gophers have had since the national championship season of 1960. Now even the most passionate of fans wouldn’t dare utter a whisper about another national title, but many of us hope for another Rose Bowl.
While generations of Minnesotans have been born and died without another glorious Gophers journey to Pasadena, I can be grateful for the trip and the triumph of 50 years ago.
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