Rose Bowl Hall of Fame
1942, 1957, 1965 and 1966 Rose Bowl Games
2016 Inductee
Tommy Prothro’s connection to the Rose Bowl Game is both as athlete and coach. He played quarterback for Duke in the 1942 Rose Bowl Game and served as head coach for Oregon State in the 1957 and 1965 Rose Bowl Games, and for UCLA in the 1966 Rose Bowl Game. The 1942 Rose Bowl Game, which was played in Durham, North Carolina, following the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, is the only game to have been played outside of Pasadena.
In the 1966 Rose Bowl Game, Prothro guided UCLA to a 14–12 upset of undefeated and top-ranked Michigan State. Prothro’s overall record as a college coach was 104–55–5. In 1971, he became head coach of the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams. Later, he coached the San Diego Chargers. Prothro, who passed away in 1995 after a three-year battle with cancer, is a member of the College Football Hall of Fame.
