The 1939 Rose Bowl was the 25th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Monday, January 2 and concluded the 1938 college football season.
The seventh-ranked USC Trojans of the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) downed the undefeated #3 Duke Blue Devils of the Southern Conference, 7–3.
Scoreless after three quarters, Duke gained the lead with a 23-yard field goal by Tony Ruffa early in the fourth. However, backup quarterback Doyle Nave of the Trojans completed four straight passes to sophomore end "Antelope" Al Krueger, who outmaneuvered Eric "The Red" Tipton and scored the winning touchdown with one minute remaining. Krueger's touchdown marked the first points scored against Duke during the season. For his performance in the game, Krueger was inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame in the class of 1995.2009 Kickoff Luncheon and Rose Bowl Hall of Fame Induction program
Scoring First quarter No scoring
Second quarter No scoring
Third quarter No scoring
Fourth quarter Duke – Tony Ruffa 23-yard field goal USC – Al Krueger, 19-yard pass from Doyle Nave (Phil Gaspar kick)
Statistics {| class=wikitable style="text-align:center" |- ! Team stats ! USC ! Duke |- | First downs | 13 | 5
| Rushing yards | 128 | 84 |- | Passing (att–com–int) | 30–12–3 | 13–4–2 |- | Passing yards | 81 | 59 |- | Total offense | 209 | 143
Notes This was the 50th Tournament of Roses Parade, with ten-year-old Grand Marshal Shirley Temple (the youngest) presiding over the parade and the game2013 Rose Bowl Game Historical Media Guide, Tournament of Roses Association, December 2012
References