Hall of Fame
They called them the California "Wonder Teams", those
Golden Bear elevens which went undefeated for an incredible
five-season span, running up a record of 44-0-2! The master
architect of these magnificent conquerors was Andrew L.
Smith, a raw-boned man who had been an All-America
fullback on the great Penn team of 1904 which went unbeaten
in 12 games. Smith actually began his coaching career at Penn
(1909-1912), where he logged a record of 30-10-3. From
Penn, Smith moved to Purdue for the 1913 through 1915
seasons, lifting the Boilermakers to a 12-6-3 record. Then, in
1916, Smith came to California and began molding Golden
Bear fortunes for an upward surge. The famous Wonder
Teams began with the 9-0-0 club of 1920, a team that crushed
Washington State (49-0), Stanford (38-0) and Ohio State
(28-0) in its final three games. In 1921, the Bears won
another nine games before Washington & Jefferson managed a
scoreless tie in the Rose Bowl. It was 9-0-0 again in 1922,
then 9-0-1 the next year, when Cal allowed only seven points
all year long. Finally, the last of the Wonder Teams, the 1924
club, finished 8-0-2. Cal won its first two games of the 1925
campaign before losing to the Olympic Club, 15-0 - snapping
a string of 50 consecutive games without a loss.
