On May 2, 1895, eleven members of the California Track and Field team boarded a train at the Berkeley station on Shattuck Avenue and departed for the east coast to take on some of the great powerhouses of American track. No western team had ever traveled so far or competed against the highly regarded easternContinue reading “How the 1895 Track and Field Team Turned Cal into the Golden Bears”
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Coach Clarence “Nibs” Price: A Rose Bowl AND a Final Four for Cal
Who is the only person who ever coached teams to both the Rose Bowl and the Final Four? The University of California’s Clarence “Nibs” Price. Nibs Price took over as Cal’s football head coach in 1926, after the death of Andy Smith. In his five years as head coach, he had three tremendous seasons andContinue reading “Coach Clarence “Nibs” Price: A Rose Bowl AND a Final Four for Cal”
Pappy Waldorf: Cal’s Most Beloved Football Coach
Lynn O. “Pappy” Waldorf was the most beloved football coach in Cal history: beloved by his players, by the fans, and even by the Bears’ opponents. He was a great coach. A career record of 157-89-19, and a 67-32-4 record at California, are evidence of this. So are three straight Rose Bowl appearances and back-to-backContinue reading “Pappy Waldorf: Cal’s Most Beloved Football Coach”
Andy Smith: Cal Football’s Greatest Coach
Andy Smith’s accomplishments at Cal are, quite simply, beyond compare. In 10 seasons at California, he compiled a 74-16-7 record, won five Pacific Coast Conference championships and four consecutive national championships, and took the Bears to two Rose Bowls. He also led Cal to an astonishing five straight undefeated seasons. In the Wonder-filled 1920 season,Continue reading “Andy Smith: Cal Football’s Greatest Coach”
Garrett Cochran: Cal’s First Great Football Coach
Garrett Cochran was only 22 years old when he was hired as head coach of the University of California football and baseball teams in 1898, and he only coached at Cal for two seasons. Despite his brief tenure, this young man earned the right to be considered Cal’s first great football coach by taking aContinue reading “Garrett Cochran: Cal’s First Great Football Coach”
The House That Andy Built: The Making of Memorial Stadium
When its gates opened on November 24, 1923, it was called “the House the Andy Built.” Rightly so, since the impetus for the construction of California Memorial Stadium was the tremendous enthusiasm and fan support created by Coach Andy Smith and his Wonder Teams, which rendered venerable old California Field far too small, and requiredContinue reading “The House That Andy Built: The Making of Memorial Stadium”
1986: The Biggest Big Game Upset of Them All
Joe Kapp was the living embodiment of Cal football. As a Cal fan I know once said, “Joe Kapp is Oski made flesh.” It is no coincidence, then, that Joe Kapp played a role in three of Cal’s biggest Big Game upsets: in 1956 as Cal’s starting quarterback in Pappy Waldorf’s final game; in 1982Continue reading “1986: The Biggest Big Game Upset of Them All”
“Hey Stanford, Eat My Peach!” Wherein a Walk-On Cal Quarterback Beats John Elway
1980 was a truly abysmal season for the Bears. After a modestly successful 7-5 season in 1979, which had culminated in Cal’s first bowl appearance in 20 years (a loss to Temple in New Jersey’s Garden State Bowl), Cal fans hoped better times were ahead in 1980. This was especially so because of the returnContinue reading ““Hey Stanford, Eat My Peach!” Wherein a Walk-On Cal Quarterback Beats John Elway”
The Glorious ’98 Big Game
One of the most joyous Big Games ever for California fans was the glorious ’98 game. No, not the unfortunate 1998 game, but the 1898 game. Not only was it a Cal victory, but it was the Golden Bears’ very first Big Game victory, and it was especially sweet coming as it did after sevenContinue reading “The Glorious ’98 Big Game”
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”
Cal Bears History 