Roy Riegels
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| California Golden Bears No. 11 | |
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| Position | Center |
| Career history | |
| College | California (1927–1929) |
| Bowl games | |
| Personal information | |
| Date of birth | April 4, 1908 |
| Place of birth | Oakland, California |
| Date of death | March 26, 1993 (aged 84) |
| Place of death | Woodland, California |
| Weight | 165 lb (75 kg) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
 Running towards sports history
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Diagram of the play
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With his teammates
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After the play
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Riegels' Yearbook Photo
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Roy "Wrong Way" Riegels (April 4, 1908 – March 26, 1993) played for the University of California, Berkeley football team from 1927 to 1929. His wrong-way run in the 1929 Rose Bowl is often cited as the worst blunder in the history of college football. That one play overshadowed Riegels' football talents, since he earned first team All-America honors and served as team captain for the Bears in 1929. Riegels' notability has been shared by motivational speakers who use his life as an example of overcoming setbacks.
The 1920s saw the first golden age of California football, as the Golden Bears went 50 straight games without a defeat from 1920 to 1925, with a record of 46 wins and 4 ties. As of 2010, this is the 3rd longest unbeaten (not to be confused with winning) streak in NCAA history. The 1920–1924 squads were so dominant that they were nicknamed "The Wonder Teams," and were coached by Andy Smith. One of the stars during this era was Brick Muller and the University later established a freshman leadership group called the Brick Muller Society. Cal won four Pacific Coast Conference championships and made three trips to the Rose Bowl during this decade, in 1921 (28–0 win over Ohio State), 1922 (0–0 tie with Washington & Jefferson), and 1929 (8–7 loss to Georgia Tech).
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