Rose Bowl Hall of Fame
1942 Rose Bowl Game
1998 Inductee
It was a dark and rainy day in 1942. Football fans, yearning for sanctuary from the turmoil brought on by World War II, turned their attention to Durham, North Carolina for the only Rose Bowl Game ever played outside the warm confines of Pasadena.
Don Durdan’s Oregon State Beavers entered the game 4–1, underdogs to what was considered the finest Duke team in history. Durdan, a halfback equally adept at running, passing and kicking, captivated the Durham crowd with his triple-threat skills. He led his team through the mud to a 20–16 victory over the highly touted Blue Devils and earned Player of the Game honors.
Durdan played in the NFL for the better part of two years after college, followed by two years of professional basketball in the Pacific Coast Professional League, where he led the Portland Indians to a championship in the league’s final year of existence in 1948.
He was inducted into the Oregon Sports Hall of Fame and Oregon State University Sports Hall of Fame. Durdan passed away in 1971.
