As the Pac-12 Conference era comes to an end after more than a century, we count down the top 50 moments in University of California sports.
moment: It wasn’t a problem finding an iconic Joe Ross moment; it was a challenge to limit the search to one moment in looking back at the University of California quarterback’s heroic final season: His decision to retire with dignity on his own terms.
story: Amazingly, the legend of Joe Roth is now nearly half a century old, and it survives because it’s true and inspiring.
Ross, as most UC fans know, came to Berkeley from junior college and led the Bears to an 8-3 record and a Pac-8 co-championship in 1975. Before his senior year in ’76, Ross was considered a Heisman Trophy candidate and a possible No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.
But during the Bears’ road trip to play Arizona State, Ross received devastating news from team physician Dr. Jerome Patmont: The melanoma he thought he’d eradicated two years earlier had returned.
Ross wanted to keep the news a secret. His family, his coaches, his roommate, backup quarterback Fred Besana, and his girlfriend all knew. But none of his teammates knew he was dying. The public was in the dark.
What began as spots on his lungs quickly spread, his weight dropped from 205 to 179 pounds and his performance began to decline, but Ross continued to play and was invited to three post-season All-Star games.
The news was finally made public the week of the Hula Bowl All-Star Game, and Ross’ teammates were heartbroken. “There was just shock and sadness,” Besana told The Berkeley News in an interview in 2018. “For a bunch of 18- to 22-year-olds, this is just shocking. You would never think that this could happen to that guy.”
Ross did his best to downplay the situation. “Really, just think of me as a normal guy,” he told United Press International. “What if someone sitting on the street corner got cancer? Would everyone make a big fuss?”
In his final All-Star appearance, the Japan Bowl, Ross completed five of six passes. But time was running out. He immediately returned to the hospital, where doctors told him he would need to have one of his legs amputated. When they told him he would need to have both legs amputated, Ross refused.
But in mid-February 1977, Ross was ready to go home. His teammates carried him up three flights of stairs to his apartment. The next day, on February 19, surrounded by family and friends, 21-year-old Joe Ross died.
* Top 50 Moments No. 17: Stadium debut
* Top 50 Moments No. 18: Discus Genius
The Top 50 list only considers specific acts that occurred while a team or athlete was enrolled at UC and does not include season-long or career-long accomplishments.
Leslie Mitchell of the California Bears History Twitter site helped select the Top 50 moments.
Follow Cal Sports Report’s Jeff Faraudo on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
