VOLUME 27, ISSUE 2 97
BY ALAN KARPICK
AKarpick@GoldandBlack.com
I
t's funny what the mind remembers.
Through the lens of 50 years, there is little
doubt that the members of the 1966 Rose Bowl
team are flooded with those memories that com-
prise the story of one of the greatest seasons in
Purdue football history. And when they gathered for
their 50-year anniversary celebration in mid-Octo-
ber, those stories came out.
A quick history lesson: The Boilermakers fin-
ished 9-2 in 1966, with their only losses coming
to Notre Dame and Michigan State, who finished No. 1
and No. 2, respectively, in the final rankings that year.
Yes, Purdue benefited from the fact that the Spartans
were not eligible for the Rose Bowl due to the Big Ten's
no-repeat rule — teams couldn't make consecutive trips
to Pasadena until the early 1970s — but this was a team
that finished the season ranked No. 6. That ranking re-
mains the team's best end-of-season ranking since World
War II.
Safety George Catavolos, the hero of the Boilermakers'
14-13 victory in Pasadena after his interception on USC's
last-min-
ute two-point conversion at-
tempt, recalls the fateful play to be sure, but it was how
he was put in position to make such an impactful play
that remains ingrained in his memory.
"A funny story that (All-America quarterback Bob)
Griese and I always talk about is that his freshman year we
had eight quarterbacks and as far as throwing ability, Bob
couldn't match some of those guys," Catavolos recalled.
"So Bob stayed all summer and worked and worked and
worked and got his throwing motion, and sure enough
PRESENTS:
PURDUE'S GREATEST
STORIES, TRADITIONS AND
PEOPLE
Rosey Memories
Stories flow during 50-year anniversary celebration of Rose Bowl team
Tom Campbell