Hall of Fame
Position: Quarterback
Years: 1931-1933
Place of Birth: Pittsburgh, PA
Date of Birth: Sep 17, 1910
Place of Death: Mineola, NY
Date of Death: Apr 21, 2005
Jersey Number: 33
Height: 5-9
Weight: 167
High School: Brackenridge, PA (Har-Brack Union HS)Saltsburg, PA (Kiski Prep)
It was the 1934 Rose Bowl, and heavily favored Stanford was dominating Columbia despite a scoreless deadlock early in the second period. Cliff Montgomery was about to call the most famous play in Columbia football history a newly-devised option-type play which was known as "KF-79". On two attempts, the play had failed, yet Montgomery decided to "give it one more chance." His Lions took their positions on an unbalanced line, the ball was snapped, Montgomery handed to fleet little halfback Al Barabas - 18 yards - Touchdown! Columbia won, 7-0, and Montgomery was voted the game's Most Outstanding Player. The imaginative Lion quarterback of coach Lou Little's Lions would gain All-America mention. Calls like the KF-79 play of the 1934 Rose Bowl were Montgomery's strength as he displayed a quarterbacking persistence which led Columbia to a 22-3-2 record during his three varsity seasons. Montgomery played a season with the football Brooklyn Dodgers before becoming one of the country's leading football officials. Montgomery enlisted in the U.S. Navy during World War II and rose to the rank of Lieutenant Commander. He was decorated for his participation in the invasion of Okinawa.
