Cliff Montgomery (September 17, 1910 – April 21, 2005) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

player who served as the captain of the

Columbia Lions football The Columbia Lions are the college football team representing Columbia University. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) as a member of the Ivy League. Columbia's is the third oldest college football ...

team that won the

1934 Rose Bowl The 1934 Rose Bowl, played on January 1, 1934, was an American football bowl game. It was the 20th Rose Bowl Game. The Columbia Lions defeated the Stanford Indians (now Cardinal) 7-0. Cliff Montgomery, the Columbia quarterback, was named the ...

Game. Montgomery, the quarterback, called a hidden-ball trick play known as KF-79 that led to Columbia's 7–0 upset over

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. It was widely regarded as one of the greatest athletic upsets of the twentieth century, and Montgomery was named the game's

most valuable player In team sports, a most valuable player (MVP) award is an honor typically bestowed upon an individual (or individuals, in the instance of a tie) whose individual performance is the greatest in an entire league, for a particular competition, or ...

. Montgomery went on to play for one season with the

Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1883 as the Brooklyn Grays. In 1884, it became a member of the American Association as the Brooklyn Atlantics before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brook ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL), seeing action in 11 games and starting 3 times. Montgomery served with the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. He earned the

Silver Star The Silver Star Medal (SSM) is the United States Armed Forces' third-highest military decoration for valor in combat. The Silver Star Medal is awarded primarily to members of the United States Armed Forces for gallantry in action against a ...

during the 1945 invasion of

Okinawa most commonly refers to: * Okinawa Prefecture, Japan's southernmost prefecture * Okinawa Island, the largest island of Okinawa Prefecture * Okinawa Islands, an island group including Okinawa itself * Okinawa (city), the second largest city in th ...

, credited with saving the lives of 400 sailors on April 6, 1945, when he navigated his

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

alongside a burning

destroyer In naval terminology, a destroyer is a fast, maneuverable, long-endurance warship intended to escort larger vessels in a fleet, convoy, or carrier battle group and defend them against a wide range of general threats. They were conceived i ...

in rough seas. An executive at

McGraw Hill McGraw Hill is an American education science company that provides educational content, software, and services for students and educators across various levels—from K-12 to higher education and professional settings. They produce textbooks, ...

, Montgomery spent 25 years as a college football official and earned a spot in the

College Football Hall of Fame The College Football Hall of Fame is a hall of fame and interactive Tourist attraction, attraction devoted to college football, college American football. The National Football Foundation (NFF) founded the Hall in 1951 to immortalize the players ...

References

External links

*
Columbia University obituary for Cliff Montgomery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery, Cliff 1910 births 2005 deaths American football halfbacks American football quarterbacks Brooklyn Dodgers (NFL) players Columbia Lions football players United States Navy officers United States Navy personnel of World War II College Football Hall of Fame inductees Recipients of the Silver Star Players of American football from Pittsburgh Military personnel from Pittsburgh Burials at the Cemetery of the Holy Rood

See also

References

Further reading

External links