Reference material related to the 1986 Rose Bowl Game®
What happened, when it happened, and why it happened
And who did it
“Our goal was to get as many players as we could [sign] and get them to influence the outcome of a game”
Mafia Capo Michael Franzese – Walters’ business partner 1
Harmon testified that he received more than $54,000 (worth $152,000 today) from Walters and Bloom
“You’re a running back, you get the ball, you put it on the ground the first three times”
Mafia Capo Michael Franzese – Walters’ business partner 3
“You had mob money and the ability to blackmail or extort these athletes. It wouldn’t take too much to encourage someone to drop two key passes in a key game.”
“But those fumbles killed us. We got too far behind and couldn’t catch up.”
Post-game interview of Iowa quarterback Chuck Long 5
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think we could do this to Iowa”
“Harmon appeared … in a surprisingly good mood”
Post-game press conference with Iowa’s Ronnie Harmon 7
1st quarter, Iowa’s first possession of the half, first play of the possession, first time Harmon touched the ball on that possession. 8
The ball went directly into the arms of the UCLA defender.
No Iowa players in the area to potentially recover the fumble.
1st quarter, Iowa’s third possession of the half, third play of the possession, first down, first time Harmon touched the ball on that possession. 10
No Iowa players in the area to potentially recover the fumble.
1st quarter, Iowa’s fourth possession of the half, first play of the possession, first down, first time Harmon touched the ball on that possession. 11
No Iowa players in the area to potentially recover the fumble.
2nd quarter, Iowa’s sixth possession of the half, sixth play of the possession, first down, fourth time Harmon touched the ball on that possession. 12
No Iowa players in the area to potentially recover the fumble.
4th quarter, Iowa’s fifth possession of the half, fifth play of the possession, third down, second time Harmon touched the ball on that possession. 13
Perfectly thrown pass that hit him in stride, on the hands.
Q: “Do you feel personally responsible for the defeat?
A: “Maybe I should.
What do you think?”
Footnotes
- The Atlanta Constitution 2/1/1998 ↩︎
- The Chicago Sun Times 3/8/1989 ↩︎
- Michael Franzese interview 4/25/2019 ↩︎
- The Washington Post 3/30/2018 ↩︎
- The Des Moines Register 1/2/1986 ↩︎
- The Des Moines Register 1/2/1986 ↩︎
- UPI 1/1/1986 ↩︎
- The Des Moines Register 1/2/1986 ↩︎
- The Des Moines Register 1/2/1986 ↩︎
- The Des Moines Register 1/2/1986 ↩︎
- The Des Moines Register 1/2/1986 ↩︎
- The Des Moines Register 1/2/1986 ↩︎
- The Des Moines Register 1/2/1986 ↩︎
- The Des Moines Register 1/2/1986 ↩︎