They were the football glory days for the college.

It was fall 1958, and the Santa Monica City College football team was undefeated. For the first – and the last – time, the Corsairs were headed for the Rose Bowl.

Never mind that it was the Junior Rose Bowl. The Corsairs faced off against Northeastern Oklahoma A&M before 50,000 fans on Dec. 13, 1958. Their games had filled the campus stadium all season. Huge crowds came to watch the team practice.

In the end, it wasn’t much of a competition. The Corsairs never trailed and they thumped Northeastern Oklahoma 30-12, finishing the season as national champions.

A half century later, SMC is organizing a 50th Anniversary Junior Rose Bowl Championship celebration, to be held this fall, and are seeking assistance to get the word to members of the 1958 squad. Anyone with information is asked to contact the SMC Athletics Department at (310) 434-4311 or visit the website at www.smc.edu/athletics.

“The Junior Rose Bowl championship was an historic and exciting time for the college,” says 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.”

In 1958, the Corsairs were led by head coach Jim Powers, former USC and San Francisco 49er quarterback, and assistant coaches John Joseph (SMC Hall of Famer) and Carl Mulleneaux, former All-Pro with the Green Bay Packers.

The quarterback, Pat Young, went on to teach physical education and coach at his alma mater (which in 1970 dropped the “City” from its name to become simply Santa Monica College). One of the players with the famed team – tackle Marv Marinovich – had a brief career in pro ball with the Oakland Raiders.

Many of the original team members held a reunion in 1995 as part of the inauguration celebration of former SMC President Dr. Piedad F. Robertson.

Other team members included: Larry Longo, Frank Miyoshi, Joe Krolin, Bernie Coffee, Pete Barbarito, Doug Dufey, Dale Simbro, Jack Silas, Lloyd Winston, Jim Van Aken, Bob Fieldhouse, James Epstein, George Pierovich-Jackson, Henry Maxim, Tom Flusty, Ivory Jones, Jay Henry, Jim Meyer, Larry Dinovitz, Mike Arntz, Dick Olson, Larry Phillis, Tom Learnihan, Bill O’Brian, Monte Meyers, Steve Hoy, Al Dellinger, Bob Sweet, Bob Harris, Tom Gutman, Bill Straight, Vince Guercio, Charles Wade, Dave Washington, Dave Wright, Myles Sahlgren, Dave Dillion, Lou Cambra, Gary Engelken, Don Collis, Tony Chickey, Dennis Montoya, Los Cadis, John Franco, Paul Thompson, and Daryl Hall.