Benny Lom
Encyclopedia
Benjamin "Benny" Lom was an American
college football
player who played for three seasons for the University of California, Berkeley
Golden Bears
, and was best known for his attempt to stop his own teammate Roy Riegels
after Riegels ran the ball 69 yards in the wrong direction during the 1929 Rose Bowl
.
es to win the game. In another game that season, several of Lom's passes led Cal to a 13–0 win over Saint Mary's College of California
. The team went 7–3 that season and Lom was named as an honorable mention on the Associated Press
All-America
team and was named as a first-team member of Lou Little
's All-America team.
in the 1929 Rose Bowl
. In the second quarter, Lom forced a fumble by Stumpy Thomason of Georgia Tech. Lom's teammate Roy Riegels picked up the ball at the Georgia Tech 35-yard line and headed for a touchdown but reversed direction after spinning to avoid tackles and started heading towards his own goal line. Lom chased after Riegels trying to tell him to turn around, but Riegels couldn't hear him over the roar from the crowd of 70,000. Lom ultimately caught up with Riegels at Cal's own six-inch line. The play was described at the time as follows:
Recovering the ball inside their own one-yard line, the Cal Bears opted to punt on first down. Lom attempted the punt, but Lom's punt was blocked and the ball was recovered by Georgia Tech after a "mad scramble" for a safety that gave Georgia Tech a 2–0 lead.
Georgia Tech scored a touchdown in the third quarter to make it 8–0. With a little more than a minute left in the fourth quarter, Lom led Cal on a 98-yard drive to score a touchdown and kicked the extra point
to bring the Bears within a point, but the safety proved to be the margin of victory for Georgia. In its coverage of the game, The New York Times
called Lom "the outstanding hero of the game for the losers. he played smart football, was in every play and carried the ball on sweeping end runs with dash and vigor."
Lom was retrospectively honored in 1953 with the Player of the Game Award of the 1929 Rose Bowl game, one of only two players from the losing team to be selected outright for the honor.
that Cal won 12–7. In a November 1929 game against the heavily-favored University of Southern California Trojans, Lom set up for a punt and ran the ball back for an 85-yard touchdown after a USC player trying to block the kick was blocked and two USC players were avoided near the line of scrimmage. Cal beat USC 15–7, and Lom's performance led the United Press to write:
In 1929, Lom was selected for the All-Pacific Coast first team and was selected as a third-team All-American by the Associated Press and a second-team All-American by the Newspaper Editors Association and the North American Newspaper Alliance, He was also received honorable mentions from Grantland Rice
and United Press.
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
player who played for three seasons for the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
Golden Bears
California Golden Bears football
The California Golden Bears football team is the college football team of the University of California. The team plays its home games at California Memorial Stadium, however the team played at San Francisco's AT&T Park in 2011 while Memorial Stadium was being renovated, the team will return to...
, and was best known for his attempt to stop his own teammate Roy Riegels
Roy Riegels
Roy "Wrong Way" Riegels played for the University of California, Berkeley football team from 1927 to 1929...
after Riegels ran the ball 69 yards in the wrong direction during the 1929 Rose Bowl
1929 Rose Bowl
The 1929 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game and the 15th annual Rose Bowl Game. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defeated the California Golden Bears by a score of 8-7. The game was notable for a play by California All-American Roy Riegels in which he scooped up a Georgia Tech fumble and ran...
.
1927 season
As a sophomore in his first game with Cal, Lom threw two long forward passForward pass
In several forms of football a forward pass is when the ball is thrown in the direction that the offensive team is trying to move, towards the defensive team's goal line...
es to win the game. In another game that season, several of Lom's passes led Cal to a 13–0 win over Saint Mary's College of California
Saint Mary's College of California
Saint Mary's College of California is a private, coeducational college located in Moraga, California, United States, a small suburban community about east of Oakland and 20 miles east of San Francisco. It has a 420-acre campus in the Moraga hills. It is affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church...
. The team went 7–3 that season and Lom was named as an honorable mention on the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
All-America
All-America
An All-America team is an honorary sports team composed of outstanding amateur players—those considered the best players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply...
team and was named as a first-team member of Lou Little
Lou Little
Lou "Luigi Piccolo" Little was an American football player and coach. He served as the head coach at Georgetown College, now Georgetown University, from 1924 to 1929 and at Columbia University from 1930 to 1956, compiling a career college football record of 151–128–13...
's All-America team.
1928 season and 1929 Rose Bowl
Cal finished with a 6–1–2 record in the 1928 season and faced the Georgia Tech Yellow JacketsGeorgia Tech Yellow Jackets football
The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets football team represents the Georgia Institute of Technology in collegiate level football. While the team is officially designated as the Yellow Jackets, it is also referred to as the Ramblin' Wreck. The Yellow Jackets are a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference...
in the 1929 Rose Bowl
1929 Rose Bowl
The 1929 Rose Bowl was a college football bowl game and the 15th annual Rose Bowl Game. The Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets defeated the California Golden Bears by a score of 8-7. The game was notable for a play by California All-American Roy Riegels in which he scooped up a Georgia Tech fumble and ran...
. In the second quarter, Lom forced a fumble by Stumpy Thomason of Georgia Tech. Lom's teammate Roy Riegels picked up the ball at the Georgia Tech 35-yard line and headed for a touchdown but reversed direction after spinning to avoid tackles and started heading towards his own goal line. Lom chased after Riegels trying to tell him to turn around, but Riegels couldn't hear him over the roar from the crowd of 70,000. Lom ultimately caught up with Riegels at Cal's own six-inch line. The play was described at the time as follows:
"Down the field raced Riegels, the white lines passing beneath his feet, his mind concentrated upon out-running the Georgia Tech team. Lom gradually overtook him. Once it looked as if Lom were going to make a flying tackle of his teammate, as he was within diving distance, but he evidently expected to turn Riegels around. Not until Riegels reached the 1-foot mark did Lom overtake him. Lom then pulled Riegels by the shoulders and motioned toward tbe opposite goal. Riegels stopped, and at that instant two Georgia Tech players tackled him and threw him over the goal-line. The referee called the ball down at the place where Riegels had been stopped by his teammate."
Recovering the ball inside their own one-yard line, the Cal Bears opted to punt on first down. Lom attempted the punt, but Lom's punt was blocked and the ball was recovered by Georgia Tech after a "mad scramble" for a safety that gave Georgia Tech a 2–0 lead.
Georgia Tech scored a touchdown in the third quarter to make it 8–0. With a little more than a minute left in the fourth quarter, Lom led Cal on a 98-yard drive to score a touchdown and kicked the extra point
Extra Point
Extra Point is a twice-daily, two-minute segment on ESPN Radio that covers generic sports-related topical news and opinion. The AM edition airs Monday through Saturday at various times between 6 a.m. and 10 a.m. ET, and the PM edition airs Monday through Friday between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. ET...
to bring the Bears within a point, but the safety proved to be the margin of victory for Georgia. In its coverage of the game, The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
called Lom "the outstanding hero of the game for the losers. he played smart football, was in every play and carried the ball on sweeping end runs with dash and vigor."
Lom was retrospectively honored in 1953 with the Player of the Game Award of the 1929 Rose Bowl game, one of only two players from the losing team to be selected outright for the honor.
1929 season
The team had a 7–1–1 record in 1929. Highlights of the season included a 54-yard kickoff return on the opening play of a game against the University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
that Cal won 12–7. In a November 1929 game against the heavily-favored University of Southern California Trojans, Lom set up for a punt and ran the ball back for an 85-yard touchdown after a USC player trying to block the kick was blocked and two USC players were avoided near the line of scrimmage. Cal beat USC 15–7, and Lom's performance led the United Press to write:
"Standing out above all the others in the California lineup were Benny Lom, the slight Jewish halfback, and Roy Riegels .... If there ever was any doubt that Lom was a great back he proved it to-day. His long punts continually offset advantages Southern California gained through hard running plays. His passing was deadly. He ripped off long gains with disturbing frequency and finally took the game out of the disputed class by running eighty-five vards through the entire
Trojan team to a touchdown, the second for the Bears."
In 1929, Lom was selected for the All-Pacific Coast first team and was selected as a third-team All-American by the Associated Press and a second-team All-American by the Newspaper Editors Association and the North American Newspaper Alliance, He was also received honorable mentions from Grantland Rice
Grantland Rice
Grantland Rice was an early 20th century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose. His writing was published in newspapers around the country and broadcast on the radio.-Biography:...
and United Press.
International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
Lom was one of ten athletes inducted in 1995 into the International Jewish Sports Hall of FameInternational Jewish Sports Hall of Fame
The International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame was opened July 7, 1981, in Netanya, Israel. It honors Jewish athletes and their accomplishments from anywhere around the world....
.