Rose Bowl Hall of Fame
1947 Rose Bowl Game
1999 Inductee
The 1947 Rose Bowl Game did not go the way undefeated UCLA would have liked, as the
Bruins lost to Illinois 45–14.
One of the few highlights for UCLA came in the final moments of the first half, when Al Hoisch received a kickoff following an Illinois touchdown. Hoisch took the kickoff back 103 yards for a touchdown, the longest kick return in the 33 years of the Rose Bowl Game, a record that still stands today.
Hoisch was drafted by the Chicago Rockets of the All-America Football Conference, but never played in the league. He was a decorated WWII veteran and received three Air Medals, four Distinguished Flying Crosses and a medal from the Chinese government. He died in 2015.
