The Oregon men’s basketball team is currently in a dogfight for the PAC-12 title and, barring a total meltdown, will almost certainly reach the NCAA tournament in March. How far into the tournament can this team go? That same question was being asked in 1960. The 1958-1959 version of the Ducks basketball team had not fared well, finishing with a 9-16 record. The …
©University of Oregon Libraries – Special Collections and University Archives On the eve of this year’s Civil War game between Oregon and Oregon State many, if not most, fans don’t know that some Ducks and Beavers football players were once actually teammates on Eugene’s only professional football team — the Bombers. It didn’t last long – who would have thought? The Eugene …
www.ohsu.edu Oregon’s 1942 football season had turned out to be a major disappointment, finishing 2-6 with a roster that had managed to beat the eventual Rose Bowl bound 7-4 UCLA Bruins. To make matters worse, even though the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) had voted to allow freshman eligibility in December 1942, it would not be enough to save varsity football at Oregon …
“A day that will live in infamy.” President Franklin D. Roosevelt spoke those words to the United States Congress Dec. 8, 1941, a day after the Japanese surprised the world with their attack on Pearl Harbor just the day before. Of course this had great consequences throughout the country and the world, but on the Oregon campus, it would dramatically …
“Black Mamba”. “Super Mariota”. New additions to a prolific history of great Duck nicknames. Another great one? “Scrappy.” As in, Floyd “Scrappy/Scrap Iron” Rhea, one of the more interesting linemen to play for Oregon in the early 1940’s. Born in Rhea’s Mill, Arkansas on September 21, 1920, Rhea’s family moved to California shortly thereafter, with Floyd growing up in Fullerton. …
It has been almost 30 years since Oregon won its last NCAA men’s outdoor track and field championship. The Ducks men’s team won its last outdoor championship in 1984. One of the fascinating facts about Oregon’s track and field history is that all three of its undisputed men’s outdoor track and field championships (1962, 1964 and 1984) were won at …
Immediately following the conclusion of the Pacific Coast Conference games on November 21, 1948, the Conference’s faculty representatives convened by telegraph to cast their votes for the P.C.C.’s representative in the 1949 Rose Bowl game. While the vote was 6 to 4 to send California to the Rose Bowl, the Conference never released the actual vote. It is certain the …
Coming off its decisive victory over Washington State, Oregon was ranked 14th in the country with five wins and one loss. The remainder of the regular season schedule included a final home game against the St. Mary’s Gaels, and three consecutive road games against the Washington Huskies, UCLA Bruins, and Oregon State Beavers. Oregon had played an annual Thanksgiving Day …
Coming off a lackluster performance against against a mediocre Stanford team, Oregon would be on the road for the second consecutive week. This time the trip would be to Ann Arbor to face the Michigan Wolverines, who were coming off an unbeaten season, which included a 49-0 thrashing of Southern California in the 1948 Rose Bowl game. Michigan had tied …
551 yards, that’s the NFL passing record for a single game. Every year, the league evolves to incorporate more passing into offenses, yet that mark, set in 1951, has remained untouched for over six decades. It was a record set by Norm Van Brocklin, one of six Ducks in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and the star of the …
The 1963 Oregon Ducks football team finished 7-3 on the season, accepting an invitation to the 1963 Sun Bowl, where they took on the Mustangs of SMU. Led by Dave Wilcox, the Ducks were a team of over achievers, who banded together to get Len Casanova his only bowl win at Oregon. Oregon’s offense — which finished ranked fourth …
Oregon’s Ducks were coming off the four win, six loss 1958 season. The 1958 Ducks had been one of the great defensive teams in Oregon football history surrendering only 50 points over the course of 10 games. Unfortunately, the 1958 offense had been as inconsistent as the defense was consistent leading to most of the losses. 1959 would be Oregon’s …