Rose Bowl Brings Fieg Family Hero to Mind

As the No. 10-ranked Wisconsin Badgers, champions of the Big Ten Conference, and the No. 5-ranked Oregon Ducks, Pac-12 Conference champions, prepare to square off in the 98th Annual Rose Bowl Game on January 2, 2012 at the Rose Bowl Stadium in Pasadena, CA, the Rose Bowl heroics of Fieg cousin Bob Stiles once again come to mind.

Lee Majors

It was more than 40 years ago that Bob, step-grandson of the late Max Fieg and nephew of Doris Fieg Holm, was named the most valuable player in the 1966 tilt between the UCLA Bruins and the No. 1 ranked Michigan Wolverines in the 1967 Rose Bowl.  Bob's performance forever positioned him among the pantheon of Rose Bowl standouts,  though it is hard to imagine a more unlikely gridiron hero than the slightly-built extended Fieg family member, who looked not altogether unlike a boy playing among men.

Bob's performance was the talk of the town that year and led to his appearance four years later, playing the role of himself, in a 1970 episode of the Emmy-winning "Bracken's World" starring Lee Majors.

In the 56th Annual Rose Bowl, Bob is remembered as a key component of the diminutive California upstarts who snatched victory from the jaws of defeat before more than 100,000 New Year's Day football fans as Bob was credited with saving the game after he literally knocked himself unconscious to prevent a game-breaking score as the final seconds ticked off.

 A story in The Los Angeles Times written in 2000 said, "The game film shows (Bob) Apisa, a 212-pound (Michigan) sophomore fullback from Honolulu, running parallel to the line of scrimmage, fighting off defenders Dallas Grider and Jim Colletto, then getting tackled by a flying Stiles, a 5-foot-8, 175-pound junior, who slams into Apisa's upper body and brings him down."

According to Wikipedia, "Michigan State was a two touchdown favorite and the consensus No. 1-ranked team, but the undersized Bruins held their own through a scoreless first quarter.

"In the second quarter, UCLA recovered a muffed punt inside the Michigan State five-yard line; QB Gary Beban eventually took it in from one yard out to give the Bruins a surprising lead over the stunned Spartans. UCLA coach Tommy Prothro went into his bag of tricks and called for an onside kick. Kicker Kurt Zimmerman executed it perfecty and Dallas Grider fell on the ball.

"UCLA QB Gary Beban then threaded a pass between 3 Spartan defenders to Kurt Altenberg, who made a great catch that put UCLA on the one-yard line. Beban scored on a short run to make it 14-0. UCLA's small-scale defense continued to play well, but the larger Spartans were beginning to wear them down and began picking up bigger and bigger chunks of yardage on the ground. Midway through the 4th quarter, Michigan State finally broke through for a touchdown, but failed on the try for a two-point conversion and UCLA led 14-6.

"Michigan State got the ball back and began to march down field in the waning moments. With under a minute to play the Spartans scored again and, trailing 14-12, lined up for a two-point conversion attempt. They pitched out to their large Samoan fullback, Apisa, and as he turned the corner, it appeared he would fall into the end zone to tie the game. But UCLA defensive back Bob Stiles ran full speed and threw himself into Apisa, keeping Apisa out of the end zone and knocking himself out in the process."


Bob today is the proprietor of the Hana Sushi Restaurant on Wilshire Blvd. in Los Angeles and in Ketchum, ID.