Leslie Mitchell

1920 Rugby: Cal’s First Olympic Gold

Nothing could be more fitting than that rugby, one of the University of California’s signature sports, should have brought the first Olympic Gold Medals to Berkeley. The 1920 United States Olympic Rugby team was comprised entirely of northern Californians: six players from Cal, nine from Stanford, five from Santa Clara, and two club players. TheContinue reading “1920 Rugby: Cal’s First Olympic Gold”

Crew: Cal’s First Sport

What is the University of California’s most spectacularly successful sport ever? A good argument can be made for rugby, with its 33 national championships. Or swimming, which especially in recent years has brought Cal a multiple of medals and championships. But an equally good argument can be made for crew. Rowing is certainly Cal’s oldestContinue reading “Crew: Cal’s First Sport”

Jerry Drew: The Day the Dam Broke

A few years ago I was reading an article about the all-time greatest games by Cal running backs and came across this amazing statistic: Jerry Drew vs. Oregon State (1954) – 283 yards on 11 carries. That’s 25.7 yards per carry. I got to wondering: who was this Jerry Drew? Why had I never heardContinue reading “Jerry Drew: The Day the Dam Broke”

The World’s First Women’s College Basketball Team

It is not widely known that it was the University of California, Berkeley, which gave the world the very first women’s college basketball team. The Cal women became the first women’s team to play a basketball game as the representatives of their school the fall of 1892, less than a year after the game ofContinue reading “The World’s First Women’s College Basketball Team”

Nion Tucker: The Improbable Story of Cal’s First Winter Olympics Champion

The University of California can boast of over 200 Olympic Medals won by its students, alumni and coaches. But of all those Olympic Medals, only two have come in the Winter Olympics. Jonny Moseley won a Gold Medal in Moguls in 1998, nearly a decade before he graduated from Cal. And way back in 1928,Continue reading “Nion Tucker: The Improbable Story of Cal’s First Winter Olympics Champion”