Two Players, UCLA Coach, Santa Monica Sports Columnist to be Inducted Into Rose Bowl Hall of Fame

PASADENA, CA -- Former USC running back Ricky Ervins and the late UCLA coach Tommy Prothro will be among four men inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame Jan. 1.

Joining Ervins and Prothro in the induction class are former Minnesota defensive lineman Bobby Bell and sports columnist Art Spander.

Ervins was the MVP of the 1990 Rose Bowl Game, running for 126 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries in the Trojans 17-10 victory over Michigan. Ervins also played in the 1988 and 1989 Rose Bowl Games.

Prothro coached the Bruins to their first Rose Bowl Game victory, a 14- 12 upset of Michigan State in 1966. He coached Oregon State in the 1957 and 1965 Rose Bowl Games and was Duke's quarterback in the 1942 Rose Bowl Game, which was shifted to Durham, North Carolina following Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.

Bell anchored the Golden Gophers defense that limited UCLA to 107 yards in Minnesota's 21-3 victory in the 1962 Rose Bowl Game, its only Rose Bowl Game victory. Bell also played for Minnesota in its 17-7 loss to Washington 1961 Rose Bowl Game.

Art Spander has attended 63 consecutive Rose Bowl Games and covered the last 53. The Dorsey High School and UCLA alumnus started his career in United Press International's Los Angeles bureau in 1960. He began covering sports full time in 1963 for the Santa Monica-based Evening Outlook as the beat writer for the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Spander joined the San Francisco Chronicle in 1965, covering golf, football, baseball and basketball. He became the lead sports columnist for the San Francisco Examiner in 1979.

The Rose Bowl Hall of Fame was established in 1989 to honor individuals connected with college football's oldest bowl game. This year's class increases its membership to 121.

The induction ceremony will be held outside the Rose Bowl Stadium. The 2017 Rose Bowl Game will be played Jan. 2, 2017, because of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses "Never on Sunday" policy, which moves the game and parade to Monday when New Year's Day falls on a Sunday.

-- City News Service, photo via Wiki Commons