On the subject of the uniforms that the UCLA Bruins football team unveiled to begin its landmark 1939 NCAA season, the above International News Photo shows soon to be All-America left halfback KENNY WASHINGTON (# 13) modeling the ‘new’ threads in the midst of his 35-yard touchdown run against the intra-state rival University of California Golden Bears during the Pacific Coast Conference clash at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on November 4th. Looking on in the background of the picture is fellow UCLA senior WOODY STRODE (# 27), the soon to be All-PCC end whose 22-yard touchdown reception from Washington in the third quarter hammered the final nail in Big Brother’s 20-7 coffin. Interestingly enough, towards the bottom center of the photo lies an unidentified Bruins blocker whose helmet has been separated from his head — according the the rules of the collegiate gridiron game enforced nowadays, any player losing his helmet on the field for any reason whatsoever must sit out for at least one play although application of that very same standard during the late 1930s would have been especially punitive given the existing regulations at that time regarding ‘limited’ substitution.
Tom Sawyer’s unique “Southern Branch” blog on UCLA football has done (and continues to do) all the heavy academic lifting with respect to the relationship between the University of California at Berkeley and the University of California at Los Angeles. Suffice to say, the legislative connection between the two schools directly translated into an on-field rivalry that was fierce, if originally one-sided, right from the outset. The Golden Bears refusal to meet the Bruins on the gridiron until 1933 – seven full seasons after all UCLA athletic teams had formally joined its Big Brother as members of the Pacific Coast Conference – certainly did not do much to tamp down the overt intensity.
With this in mind, in it is most thought-provoking to note that, of the three Pacific Coast Conference member institutions located in the State of California, Bruins star left halfback Kenny Washington had the most career rushing yards in NCAA games against the historically strong Golden Bears than the perhaps oftentimes more highly regarded USC Trojans. This despite the fact that Cal posted back to back ten-win seasons and registered an overall record that was very comparable to that of Southern Cal during the exact same period spanning from 1937 through 1939. As it was, for whatever reason, “Kenny the Kingfish” actually piled up more yardage on the ground in three games against the Golden Bears than he did in a combined six games against both the Trojans as well as the Stanford Indians, easily the least successful of the three California-based PCC teams during that specific era in question here :
- California Golden Bears …….. 53 att … 258 yards … 5.38 avg … 2 tds
- Stanford Indians ……………….. 56 att … 132 yards … 2.36 avg … 0 tds
- Southern Cal Trojans …………. 49 att ….. 91 yards … 1.86 avg … 0 tds
As for the UCLA vs California contest that was played on the 4th of November in 1939, this particular Bruins vs Golden Bears tilt turned out to be one of the most productive NCAA games of Kenny Washington’s entire three-year varsity career in Westwood. Aside from 141 yards and one touchdown rushing, “General Washington” also had a key 27-yard pass reception on a fake punt which directly led to another score. On top of that, the UCLA star left halfback also threw two touchdown passes and was a tireless force on the defensive side of the football just for good measure.
Washington’s combined total of 168 yards from scrimmage via runs and pass receptions was his career best on behalf of the UCLA Bruins, a scant four more yards than what had been accumulated (entirely on the ground) against the Montana Grizzlies only two short weeks earlier.
Classic UCLA Bruins Rediscovered 