The 1952 College All-Star Game
In
perhaps one of the closest victories up to that date, the Los Angeles
Rams barely defeated the College All-Stars of 1952. The collegians had
held the lead throughout the game with the quarterbacking of Vito “Babe”
Parilli and running of Ohio State’s Heisman Trophy winner Vic
Janowicz.
Among other outstanding All-Stars that year were Frank Gifford of
Southern California, defensive back Ollie Matson of San Francisco and
fullback Ed Modzelewski from Maryland. Bobby Dodd of Georgia Tech
coached the All-Stars in the nineteenth annual classic played August 15,
1952 before a crowd of 88,316 at Soldier Field.
The scoring didn’t begin until the second quarter
when Gifford of USC intercepted a Bob Waterfield pass and the All-Stars
began a 69-yard drive. The drive included a scampering 40-yard run by
Parilli that helped set up a 4-yard TD plunge by Jancowicz of Ohio
State. Janowicz also kicked the extra point. It was Parilli’s
quarterbacking that kept the Rams guessing throughout the contest while
the defense held them scoreless through the third period. In the fourth
quarter, the Rams’ Norm Van Brocklin completed a pass to Volney Quinlan
deep in All-Star territory. The Stars were called for interference on
the controversial play. From there, after two running attempts, Van
Brocklin passed to Tank Younger for the touchdown. Waterfield kicked the
extra point and then sealed the fate of the All-Stars by kicking a field
goal from the 24-yard line midway through the fourth period. The score
ended 10-7 in favor of the professionals.