Our good friend, Al Loidl, died early Saturday morning in Portland. His service is pending as his wife, Mary Lou, is in the hospital in San Antonio. I took Al on many trips to the doctor in Corpus Christi. He was an interesting fellow to talk with.
Al was a two-time all-state football player in high school at Bloomington, Indiana. After his senior year in 1939 he was recruited by Duke University in Durham. In his sophomore year Duke had an incredible season. They were undefeated and untied at 9-0. The Blue Devils were ranked #2 in the nation. A Rose Bowl invitation came to them to play Oregon State. On December 7 the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor and war was declared. The government ordered large public gatherings along the west coast to be prohibited.
Duke University invited the game there. An additional 20,000 stadium bleachers were moved in so 70,000 could watch the game. On a cold January 1, 1942, the two teams met for the Rose Bowl game in Durham. They played the game in the rain. Duke lost 20-16. Duke's quarterback was Tommy Prothro who would later coach at Oregon state and UCLA. He would also coach the San Diego Chargers of the NFL.
Three Duke players would be killed in World War II. One from Oregon State would die. Gene Gray of Oregon State, who would catch the winning touchdown, would lose both his arms. Charlie Haynes, Duke's back-up quarterback, would be found by Frank Parker, a tackle for Oregon State during a battle when he was seriously wounded, and would save his life.
Al was a member of that historic team. I do not know the position he played. I think he was a reserve, but it was one of the most historic football games ever played.
