Thursday, August 20, 2009

Seriously?

In 1943, Percy Clark of UCLA made the mistake during the Rose Bowl game of being tackled behind the goal line while attempting to return a punt against Georgia. UCLA lost the game, 2-0. One newspaper carried the headline "CLARK 2, UCLA 0." Clark was openly shunned by classmates, and, in despair, he quit college a week later. He moved to the woods in Oregon, where he spent many years as a recluse; but on a positive note, he did not wind up becoming another Unibomber.

4 comments:

Beth said...

There's always a silver lining. ;)

Joy said...

There is that.

Ed said...

Ummm...except it's not true. Wikipedia describes this story as a myth.

"A myth about the game is circulating the web as a piece of incorrect trivia. "In 1943, Percy Clark of UCLA made the mistake of being tackled behind the goal line while attempting to return a punt against Georgia [in the Rose Bowl]," wrote Arizona Republic columnist David Casstevens in 1996. "UCLA lost the game, 2-0. One newspaper carried the headline: Clark 2, UCLA 0. Clark was ostracized by classmates and quit college a week later. He moved to the woods in Oregon, where he spent many years as a recluse."[7] The winning score was 9-0, not 2-0. The safety was scored by Red Boyd by blocking a punt. The UCLA media guide does not list any Percy Clark as a letterman, nor any "Percy" nor "Clark" who lettered in the 1940's."

Joy said...

Thanks, Ed, for letting me know. I get these from iGoogle and check them out occasionally. I did check this one and saw that on Wikipedia but don't always trust their information since anyone can add to it. Snopes didn't have anything about it at all. I should have added a disclaimer.