Rose Bowl Hall of Fame
1938 Rose Bowl Game
1994 Inductee
Vic Bottari was a tenacious football player and consensus All-America who received Player of the Game honors for California’s 13–0 victory over Alabama in the 1938 Rose Bowl Game. The broad-shouldered halfback’s statistics for that game included 137 yards rushing and both of Cal’s touchdowns—ending Alabama’s impressive, previously untarnished (4–0) Rose Bowl Game record.
During his career, Bottari was responsible for the Bears’ signal-calling, 60 percent of their passing yards and 75 percent of their running attack. He ran for 1,535 yards and scored 24 touchdowns.
At the time of his induction into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame, Bottari was still the third-leading scorer in Cal history. Upon graduation in 1939, Bottari coached football and taught Italian and physiology at Marin Junior College. In 1945 he was discharged from the U.S. Navy as a full lieutenant. Bottari died in 2003.
