After 64 Years, Has the Blush Faded From the Cougar Rose?

If Washington State plays in the Rose Bowl game on Jan. 2 for the first time since 1931, the Cougars should take a history lesson and not alter their uniforms.

In 1931, Coach Babe Hollingberry came up with the psychological stunt of trying to outdo the Crimson Tide of Alabama, dressing his team in red from head to toe, according to Joe Hendrickson, author of the “Tournament of Roses” book.

“By dusk, only their faces were red,” Hendrickson wrote. Alabama won, 24-0.

Trivia time: What was unusual about USC’s football games with Washington State in 1936 and 1937?

Flatbush fee: The Brooklyn Dodgers are going back to New York after 37 years--but only as a large blue B in a circle logo on a state license plate.

The New York Department of Motor Vehicles is cashing in on the ghosts of Ebbets Field. A fee of $68 is charged for the logo and your choice of plate number, or $39.50 for the logo and a government-issued number.

Cashing in: Since stories circulated about how San Diego Charger Coach Bobby Ross paid $5 to park at Jack Murphy Stadium because the attendant didn’t know him, Ross has received about 100 parking passes from fans.

“I think it’s funny,” he said.

At a recent meeting of the Charger Backers, he was presented $5--in change.

Don’t remind me: Chuck Noll, former coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, vividly recalls his biggest mistake in the draft, according to Dave Ailes of the Tribune Review of Greensburg, Pa.

In 1983, Noll passed over Dan Marino and selected Gabe Rivera, a defensive tackle from Texas Tech in the first round. Noll thought Terry Bradshaw would play another six years, but he retired after the 1983 season.

Rivera’s career ended before it started when he was injured in a traffic accident.

Overlooked: Doug Flutie, the 5-foot-9 quarterback who has had a successful career in the Canadian Football League, on his brief career in the NFL:

“I was winning, but I wasn’t flashy enough for them, or big enough. In the NFL, it’s, you know, ‘Let’s put in a guy who is 6-4. We’ll lose, but we’ll look good losing.’ ”

No pun intended: Dan Issel, Denver Nugget coach, on whether former USC guard Robert Pack will start: “I don’t know if I can say right now, but he’s ahead of the pack.”

Looking back: On this day in 1978, Oakland’s John Madden became the 13th coach to win 100 games in the NFL as the Raiders beat the Kansas City Chiefs, 20-10.

FYI: On Oct. 22, 1939, the Brooklyn Dodgers and Philadelphia Eagles played in the first televised pro football game at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn.

Trivia answer: They were scoreless ties. The 1937 game was played in a dense fog in Pullman, Wash., before a crowd of only 8,700.

Quotebook: Bob Kravitz in the Rocky Mountain News: “You get the feeling if the Home Shopping Network said it would show a WAC game nationally if they started at midnight, the schools would jump at the chance.”