By MICHAEL MIDDLEHURST-SCHWARTZ Special to the Daily Press
SMC It may have been called the Junior Rose Bowl, but there was nothing diminutive about the game to Santa Monica College.
In 1958, the Corsairs had completed their first undefeated season and were bound for Pasadena for the lone time in school history. Facing Northeastern Oklahoma A&M for the Junior College National Championship, SMC — then called Santa Monica City College — cruised to a 30-12 victory in front of 50,000 fans on Dec. 13 of that year.
The Corsair program reached an unparalleled level of popularity that year. Packs of fans came just to see the team practice for the Junior Rose Bowl.
Fifty years later, the school is looking to relive its glory days.
SMC will host a 50-year reunion in the fall for the school’s only national championship team and is on the search for alumni from that team.
“The Junior Rose Bowl championship was an historic and exciting time for the college,” said SMC Athletics Director Rhonda Hyatt. “We want to celebrate this milestone in our history and hope to reach as many players on that extraordinary team as we can.”
Several members of the Junior Rose Bowl championship team found success as coaches or professional players.
Head coach Jim Powers played quarterback for the University of Southern California and San Francisco 49ers. Assistant coach Carl Mulleneaux was an All-Pro for the Green Bay Packers while assistant coach John Joseph was inducted into the SMC hall of fame.
Marv Marinovich — a tackle with the 1958 Corsair team and father of quarterback Todd Marinovich — went on to play for USC and the Oakland Raiders. Quarterback Pat Young later coached the Corsairs’ football team.
SMC is in the beginning stages of its search for former players and has not announced a date for the reunion.
Members of the team interested in attending the reunion have been asked to call the SMC athletics department at (310) 434-4311.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 17, 2008. Read the original PDF.