California

1962 Golden Bears
(Authentic Reproduction)

With Pete Elliott bolting for Illinois  Marv Levy was named the new coach for 1960. Fans and alumni were disappointed that Navy’s Eddie Erdelatz and Wyoming’s Bob Devaney, realizing that the chances for immediately winning at Cal were slim, had refused the job. They were shocked at the hiring of Levy, referred to as their new “Egghead Coach.” A Phi Beta Kappa Society graduate of Coe College in Iowa where he starred in football, track, and basketball, and the Harvard graduate school, he brought the Wing-T Offense with him. He had success as New Mexico's head coach in 1958 and '59, posting a 14-6 mark and in both seasons was Skyline Conference Coach Of The Year. Levy had an obvious eye for talent as he hired high school coach Bill Walsh to join his staff as an offensive assistant. Unfortunately, what was a talented staff ran head on into stringent academic standards and an absence of affirmative action admissions allowances that most other universities had in place, making it difficult to bring in the same level of talent present at the other PAC schools. As Levy stated in his autobiography “The one quality we did not lack at Cal was-slow! Our running backs at Cal were big, lumbering, willing lads who had the reactions of lava.” Levy returned to the all navy blue helmet, last worn in 1953 for his 1960 debut and discovered that QB Wayne Crow had passed on his final year of eligibility to join the new Oakland Raiders. Soph QB Randy Gold was handed the keys to the new attack and he threw for 696 yards with FB George Pierovich providing the power. The 2-7-1 was actually a step up compared to Elliott's squad due to Levy's shortage of material. The offense scored only seventy-two points before finding itself in the finale against Stanford and winning 21-10. The addition of a few effective linebackers and tackles would have aided 1961’s 1-8-1 record as the lack of success was laid at the feet of the defense and one of the nation's toughest schedules. Every opponent scored double-digits and the entire line was short on depth. QB Gold again led the attack with Pierovich the workhorse back. Excitement surrounded the freshmen team that finished undefeated behind QB Craig Morton. Some of those frosh would be needed in '62 on both sides of the football.

For the 1962 season, Coach Levy added a three-inch athletic gold identifying number to each side of the helmet and some uniform observers noted that many on the squad used the white plastic Adams face mask. The five team conference went to six as Washington State rejoined the league but things went from very bad to worse, the 1-9 mark resulting in a shake-up of the defensive staff at the end of the season. Practice sessions were at times interrupted by the burgeoning radical student movement which found Cal as the center of the nation’s youth unrest. Soph QB Craig Morton missed the first five games with a knee injury but returned to throw nine TD's. HB Tom Blanchfield was a reliable weapon and tackle Ron Calegari stepped up well. Despite the presence of a few good sophomores and an excellent staff that included Mike White, and Dick Stanfil as well as Bill Walsh, all who became head coaches, recruiting remained a problem. Compounding this was an administrative change that made athletics financially independent and a de-emphasis in the support of all sports at Cal. In ’63, Levy returned to the navy blue helmet without any adornment and Morton led the conference in total offense and passing, from an attack that was altered to utilize his running ability as well as his fine passing arm. With end Jack Schraub, Morton's high school battery-mate snaring thirty passes and HB Blanchfield as the loop's top scorer, assistant coach Bill Walsh had the offense well-tuned. Calegari again led the line but with captain Jim Anderson at 215 pounds and Tom Brown at 225 as the Bears’ largest linemen, a lack of size and a spotty defense remained their downfall. The 4-5-1 record was not enough to keep the wolves from the door and Levy was out having won but eight games in four seasons. He cited the difficulty in getting African-American athletes into Cal and readily admitted that he had but one primary weapon on the squad in the person of Morton. Of course he would have the last laugh. With former Cal head coach Pappy Waldorf as his neighbor and friend, it took only one phone call from the old coach to propel Levy to William And Mary where he was two-time Southern Conference Coach Of The Year and then into professional football. As an assistant in the NFL he earned respect, won two Grey Cups in the CFL in five years as head coach at Montreal and was '74's CFL Coach Of The Year. He returned to US soil as the KC Chiefs head coach in 1978 and stayed five years before semi-retiring and then heading the USFL Chicago Blitz. In 1986 he took the helm of the Buffalo Bills and won six division titles with his "no huddle" offensive juggernaut that eventually took him to four consecutive Super Bowl appearances. As three times NFL Coach Of The Year and a member of The Pro Football Hall Of Fame, it seemed that it was only at Cal that Levy could not find success.

If interested in any of these Cal helmets please click on the photos below.

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