Gaels Gallop Over Raiders to Tune of 20 to 13
40,000 Fans See Mighty Comeback attempt by Tech
Texas Team Drives in Two Touchdowns During Last Quarter
1/2/1939
Seizing the breaks and capitalizing on the jitteriness of their opponents in the early stages to pile up a commanding lead, the mighty Galloping Gaels of St. Mary's College in California barely staved off a desperate last period rally by the inspired Red Raiders of Texas Tech to win the third annual Cotton Bowl grid classic here Monday afternoon 20 to 13, before the largest crowd ever assembled for a college football game in Dallas.
The attendance was approximately 40,000 including several score of school bands from scattered points in Texas and Southern Oklahoma, who furnished a picturesque setting with their multicolored uniforms. Both sides and ends of the huge Cotton Bowl saucer were jammed and the only vacant spots were narrow strips on the curves, the least desirable points of vantage.
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This was the first defeat of a long and laborious campaign for Pete Cawthorn's West Texans, who came here untied and undefeated, but even in their loss Monday lofted their banner to a new high. The result kept clean the record of the Mighty Magicians of the Moraga Hills of never losing to a team from the Lone Star State. Previously, Coach Slip Madigan's warriors had scored victories over the Southern Methodist Mustangs of years past in their only other two encounters with Texas opponents.
St. Mary's had a high-class team on the field that would have been a worthy opponent for any of the big bowl entries. The Gaels were a huge, brawny, well-coached and hard-charging aggregation that had to concede the Texans nothing – not even in foot speed. If they were affected, as some anticipated they would be as a result of a month's lay-off between the close of their regular season and the resumption of training for the local spectacle, they certainly showed no signs of it. At least, they must have deported themselves as exemplary young men during their time off, for against Tech they appeared in tiptop conditions, ready to tackle anything that roams the striped greenswards. They were as hard a socking crew as has been seen on a local gridiron and they convinced everyone in the huge throng that watched them that they would be a match for the best in the Southwest Conference.
Big-game seasoning no doubt had at least a slight influence on the outcome. The Red Raiders were without this. They were keyed to the highest pitch of their careers, fired with an emotional frenzy to make good in the greatest opportunity ever presented them and their nervousness was apparent from the outset. They were tense and jittery and made mistakes that were costly. It was not until after the half, when they had time to relax as all good elevens must and get their feet back on the ground that they played the football of which they were capable. And from then on it was a battle.
Trailing 20 to 0 going into the fourth period, they had been roundly outclassed. Up to this point they had only two first downs to show for their labors while nine were marked on the Gaels' side of the statistical record.
Reviving an aerial attack that had boomeranged discouragingly earlier in the fray, the red Raiders came into the home stretch with a new dash of determination and a bombing act that nearly blew the Gaels out of the place. From their own 24-yard stripe, Gene Barnett whirled a long pass that the Californians had covered but in a frantic effort to bat the ball aground, Harry Aaronson knocked it into the air and G.L. Webb came down with it for a completion and a first down in midfield. Another pass by Barnett to Jodie Marek and an off-tackle smash by Barnett drove to the 33 for another first down. Here Elmer Tarbox, ace of the Tech backfield array, whipped around end and cut into the secondary, then downfield to take a 10-yard aerial dart from Barnett, twisted away from a couple of defensive backs and legged the remaining twenty-three yards for the first Tech touchdown. When Marek converted the point from placement, an old-fashioned West Texas whoopee went up that fairly shook the stadium.
After the next kick-off and an exchange of punts, Tech had the ball on its own 20 by a touchback, when Mike Klotovich booted one far over the goal line. A surprise explosion caught the Gaels unaware and Webb made a high leaping stab of a thirty-eight yard heave by Barnett behind the St. Mary's secondary – in the clear with nothing to do but run. He started out and began to look for protection if it might be needed, but his blockers couldn't get downfield that fast. Webb galloped to the St. Mary's 30, the 25 and then, losing speed looking back over his shoulder he was brought down from behind by the speedy sophomore Andy Marefos, on the Gaels' 20, completing a sixty-yard play that might have been a touchdown. A penalty gave the Raiders another first down on the 15, but the Gael defense, which was exceptionally tight in the early stages, braced again and the threat by Tech was stifled.
The sudden halt didn't take any of the spark out of the Red Raiders, however. They prevented their hefty rivals from getting an offensive into motion, regained possession on their own 36, where Tarbox returned a punt, and went to pitching again. Two shots misfired, but Barnett hit Tarbox with the third and it was good for a first down to the 47. Two more were broken up before Webb made a sensational catch for another first down on the Gaels' 31. From there Barnett twice tried to reach Prince Scott and failed, then tried a running play with Tarbox carrying, but it was good for less than a yard before Jerry Dowd, the great St. Mary's center and captain, smeared the play.
All of this however set the stage for another long, desperate pass to a new receiver the Gaels might not be watching too closely. It was E.J. McKnight who took the ball on his chest as he stepped over the double stripe in the arms of Michael Perrie, another Tech touchdown scored. Marek lined up to try for the extra point, which, if good, would still have left Tech a fighting chance to win although only three minutes playing time remained. His placement try was wide. St. Mary's never gave up the ball after the next kick-off, but did manage to consume time in putting the ball in play and the final gun popped with the leather on the Gaels' 46-yard stripe.
This fourth quarter comeback by the Red Raiders was easily the high spot of a ball game that until then had been practically conceded to Slip Madigan's powerhouse by a rout. As events developed, however, the final count made this third classic the closest score game in Cotton Bowl history. Texas Christian University defeated Marquette, 16 to 6, in the inaugural on Jan. 1, 1937, and last New Year Rice Institute whipped the University of Colorado, 28 to 14.
Breaks went badly for the Raiders early Monday to dash their chances for victory. Jerry Dowd won the toss electing to defend the south goal and take advantage of a slight wind. Anxious for action and hoping to get the jump, Captains Frank Guzick and Abe Murphy of the Raiders wanted to receive and get their hands on that leather.
Dudley Akins was downed on his 21 with the kick-off return but he almost got loose on the next play, when he scampered twenty-nine yards off left tackle before Ed Heffernan knocked him out of bounds. This drive was broken up when Ralph Jack, a guard, intercepted a wobbly pass by Akins, who was rushed badly by Jack Crampton on the play. After an exchange of kicks, in which Mr. Dowd showed the folks how to boot the leather high and far down the field to gain ground, another Tech error gave St. Mary's the chance for a successful scoring drive. Akins had completed a pass to Webb but in attempting a lateral, the latter threw the ball wild and Fullback Herb Smith recovered for the Californians. It gave them the ball on the Tech 38. Lou Rimassa and Michael Perrie collaborated on a pair of wide running plays for a first down to the 25 and Ed Heffernan, the best passer the Gaels have had in a decade, completed a throw to Perrie on the 9 for another fresh start. On a wide sweep play around left end, Heffernan galloped for a touchdown on the next play with the game only three minutes old. Perrie place kicked the point and it was 7 to 0.
Dowd's great punting kept the Raiders in the hole the remainder of the first period. The Gaels were on the march when this frame expired, having picked up two first downs on running plays to reach the Tech 18. Madigan sent in his second unit at the start of the next stanza and Andy Marefos and Mike Klotovich combined with two fine drives for a firster on the 4.
It took three tries from here before Klotovich skirted left end for the score and Marefos' conversion stretched the St. Mary's lead to 14 to 0.
Tech steadied down some but was unable to make a threat before the half gun, although it did hold St. Mary's out of danger. A fumble by Barnett on a bad pass back from center was covered by Jones of the Gaels on the Tech 16 but the Raiders held the Gaels there. Then, a few minutes later, Holt Waldrep produced Tech's first good break when he intercepted one of Mike Klotovich's passes and was downed on the St. Mary's 28. In this series of downs, Perrie flagged down a peg by Barnett and after another kick exchange, a Raider offensive fizzled out when Milliciwich intercepted a pass.
Early in the third quarter, Tech got a break when Prince Scott recovered a fumble by Heffernan on the Gael 20 but the next play saw Heffernan intercept a pass on his 3 and he kicked out of danger. From his own 20 a few moments later, Dowd punted 74 yards dead to the Raiders' 6, a play that took a lot of the sap out of the West Texans and placed them in a hole that caused a break on which rode St. Mary's third and winning score. The Texans got out of trouble temporarily but they couldn't muster enough strength for a first down on three chances from or inside their own 20. Bobby Holmes was in the game and doing the passing at this time. He took one bad, wild gamble – trying to complete a toss into the flat zone. Fullback Herb Smith of the Gaels was out there to gather it in and he trotted unmolested the 24 yards he had to go to score. He might have walked and made it, the road was so wide open. Perrie missed his try for point from placement and the Gaels' tally-making for the day was over.
Milton Hill returned Perrie's kickoff 21 yards to his 24 as the third session ran out and that set the stage for the Red Raiders' final stanza bombing attack that turned a rout into a hair-raising finish for the fans, who left the big bowl dazed from excitement but thoroughly impressed by the performances of such Red Raiders as Waldrep, White, Murphy, Webb and Davis in the line and Akins, Barnett and Tarbox among the backs. They had plenty to say, too, for Dowd, Crampton, Mesak and Garard, forwards, and Klotovich, Heffernan, Rimassa, Smith and Perrie of the powerful Gael ball-lugging array.
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