Rose Bowl Hall of Fame
1969 and 1971 Rose Bowl Games
1991 Inductee
In the 1969 Rose Bowl Game, All-America quarterback Rex Kern and Ohio State took the field against head coach John McKay’s USC Trojans. Kern’s expert skills guided the top-ranked Buckeyes to a 27–16 victory over second-ranked USC. Kern was the Player of the Game, and Ohio State won the national championship.
Kern returned to the Rose Bowl Game in 1971 against Stanford. Despite Kern’s 129 yards rushing, the Buckeyes fell to Stanford and its Heisman-winning quarterback Jim Plunkett, 27–17.
Kern went on to play in the NFL for four seasons before retiring due to medical reasons. He was elected to the Ohio State Varsity “O” Hall of Fame in 1978, selected to the Ohio State All-Century Team in 2000 and inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 2007.
