Samuel Doyle Nave (July 12, 1915 – December 10, 1990) 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 and coach. He was known for coming off the bench and throwing the game-winning touchdown in the 1939 Rose Bowl. He was drafted 6th overall by the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

but did not play for them. Afterwards he was the head coach of the Hawaii Polar Bears, a minor-league team.

Early life

Doyle Nave was born on July 12, 1915, in

Bedford County, Pennsylvania Bedford County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As of the 2020 census, the population was 47,577. The county seat is Bedford. The county is part of the Southwest region of the commonwealth. History 18th century According to ...

College career

Nave went to college at

USC USC may refer to: Education United States * Universidad del Sagrado Corazón, Santurce, Puerto Rico * University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina ** University of South Carolina System, a state university system of South Carolina * ...

. He played on their freshmen team in 1936. From 1937 to 1939, he was one of their backup quarterbacks.

1939 Rose Bowl

In the 1939 Rose Bowl, he came off the bench with little time left and threw 4 straight completed passes to tight end Al Krueger. His fourth pass was completed for a touchdown with seconds remaining to beat the

Duke Blue Devils The Duke Blue Devils are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Duke University, located in Durham, North Carolina. Duke's athletics department features 27 varsity teams that all compete at the N ...

7–3. It was the only points Duke allowed all season. Nave and Krueger were named MVPs and later were inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame. He later pursued track and high jumping.

Professional career

Detroit Lions

In 1940 Nave was drafted sixth overall by the

but he did not play for them.

Hollywood Bears and Hawaii Polar Bears

After being drafted by the Lions, he became the Head Coach of the Hawaii Polar Bears, a minor league team. He played for them and also played shortly with the Hollywood Bears.

Death

Nave died on December 10, 1990, at the age of 75.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nave, Doyle 1915 births 1990 deaths USC Trojans football players American football quarterbacks Players of American football from Pennsylvania Pacific Coast Professional Football League players Detroit Lions players