(1908-04-04)April 4, 1908 Oakland, California, U.S.
Died:
March 26, 1993(1993-03-26) (aged 84) Woodland, California, U.S.
Weight
165 lb (75 kg)
Career history
College
California (1927–1929)
Bowl games
Rose Bowl (1929)
Career highlights and awards
First-team All-American (1929)
First-team All-PCC (1929)
Roy "Wrong Way" Riegels (April 4, 1908 – March 26, 1993) played for the University of California, Berkeley football team from 1927 to 1929. His wrong-way run in the 1929 Rose Bowl is often cited as the worst blunder in the history of college football.[1][2] That one play overshadowed Riegels' football talents, since he earned first team All-America honors and served as team captain for the Bears in 1929. Riegels' notability has been shared by motivational speakers who use his life as an example of overcoming setbacks.
^"Where Are They Now? Roy Riegels Worst Football Blunder". trivia-library.com. Retrieved 2009-10-12.
^Feldman, Bruce (2007-05-30). "Top 10 blunders in history". ESPN. Retrieved 2014-01-11.
overshadowed Riegels' football talents, since he earned first team All-America honors and served as team captain for the Bears in 1929. Riegels' notability...
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ensuing punt proved to be the margin of victory. Riegels' teammate Benny Lom, who attempted to tackle Riegels on the run, was named the Rose Bowl Player Of...
New York to Ireland instead of west to California in 1938 nickname of RoyRiegels (1908–1993), a college football player who ran a recovered fumble the...
and was best known for his attempt to stop his own teammate RoyRiegels after Riegels ran the ball 69 yards in the wrong direction during the 1929 Rose...
had scored a touchdown only to see the other team receiving a safety. RoyRiegels took a ball 69 yards (more than half the length of the field) to his...
Teammate and quarterback Benny Lom chased Riegels and screamed at him to stop; Lom finally caught up with Riegels at California's 3-yard line and tried to...
two of the oddest and most memorable plays in college football: Roy "Wrong Way" Riegels' fumble recovery at the 1929 Rose Bowl and The Play kickoff return...
next year were national and Rose Bowl champions. The Rose Bowl included RoyRiegels' wrong-way run. On October 12, 1929, Yale lost to Georgia in Sanford...
1991 – Rex Kern, Ohio State; John McKay, USC; Ernie Nevers, Stanford; RoyRiegels, California; Bob Schloredt, Washington; John Sciarra, UCLA; Russell Stein...
RoyRiegels and then accidentally returned in the wrong direction. Riegels returned the ball all the way to California's 3-yard line. After Riegels was...
of the game, and limited them to one more field goal in a 27–22 win. RoyRiegels, whose wrong-way run in the 1929 Rose Bowl helped the University of California...
The game was decided by a safety, which was scored after Cal's Roy "Wrong Way" Riegels ran 65 yards (59 m) in the wrong direction. Several Georgia Tech...
30-yard line, and the loose ball was scooped up by California center RoyRiegels. He began to run towards the Georgia Tech end zone for a score, but then...
Cal's 7–8 loss. Riegel's run has been considered to be one of the stand out moments in Rose Bowl history, with Roy "the wrong way" Riegels being inducted...
Southern College Alma Richards Olympic high jumper, 1912 gold medalist RoyRiegels Member of the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame, famed for 1929 Rose Bowl where...
Going to the university at the suggestion of Tamalpais football coach RoyRiegels, Chapman starred in football for the Golden Bears under head coach Stub...
defending player could run with a recovered fumble, as in the case of RoyRiegels in the 1929 Rose Bowl. Three new conferences began play in 1929: Arkansas...
of Drama Eddie Rickenbacker – Leading American World War I flying ace RoyRiegels – All-American football player Robinson Risner – Decorated USAF General...
score of 8–7. The game was notable for a play by California All-American RoyRiegels in which he scooped up a Georgia Tech fumble and ran towards his own...
team" its only loss. The next season Tech won the Rose Bowl, including RoyRiegels' wrong-way run, and were declared national champions. On October 12,...
featured one of the biggest blunders in college football history when RoyRiegels of the Golden Bears picked up a fumble and ran the wrong way, leading...
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