Wednesday Duckstory: A mid-week history of Oregon Duck Bowl Game Performances
Coming into this football season, and after such a landmark season culminating in a shot at the BCS National Championship game against Auburn, I thought it could be fun to take a look back at Oregon’s bowl game history. So every Wednesday, until the season opener against LSU, AutzenZoo.com will feature the Ducks past bowl game performances. Before we get started with the first piece of this segment, Oregon’s Rose Bowl appearance in 1917, let’s take a look back at the start of it all…
1893 was the year it all started; Oregon’s program was created in 1893 and 1894 was the year their first game was played against Albany College. The Ducks won 44-2 and they were coached by Cal Young. It was one-and-done for Young at Oregon, leaving the program after their first game. J.A. Church took over the head coaching spot for the rest of that season and the Ducks finished with one win, two losses and a tie. After the first season the Ducks went back and forth with wins and losses, throwing in a few ties here and there. From the first season to 1917, the year of their first bowl game, Oregon went through 16 head coaches. The Ducks weren’t a dominant force in college football, but they had begun, and you have to begin somewhere.
So for this mid-week Oregon football series we start off with the 1917 season ending in a Tournament East-West Football Game (a.k.a. Rose Bowl) in front of an attendance of 27,000 at Tournament Park in Pasadena, CA. Check it out and make sure to come back for each mini Oregon Duck football history lesson.