Photo courtesy of Cal Athletics
Cal Athletics: The Golden Bears' 10 Toughest Team Records on the Books
Not every record is the product of a single person. Over the past century, Cal has inked a series of impressive team standards across all sports that include everything from single-game performances to stretches of excellence that span nearly three decades.
On the heels of revealing the 10 most imposing Cal individual records, today we unveil our list of Cal’s 10 toughest team records to break.
Don’t hold your breath on seeing many of these eclipsed any time soon. If ever.
CAL’S 10 TOUGHEST SCHOOL RECORDS TO BREAK
Team Records
Coach Andy Smith
Photo courtesy of Cal Athletics
1. Coach Andy Smith’s “Wonder Teams” posted a too-good-to-be-true 46-0-4 record from 1920 through two games into 1925. Maybe at Clemson or Alabama, but never again in Berkeley. Or almost anywhere else, for that matter. The Bears outscored their 50 opponents by a combined margin of 1,646 points to 139 and recorded 33 shutouts. The streak ended on Oct. 10, 1925 with a 15-0 loss to the Olympic Club, its first defeat in nearly six full years.
The late Tel Cary-Sandler was part of three national championship teams
Photo courtesy of Cal Athletics
2. A close second is Cal rugby’s run of 12 consecutive national championships from 1991 through 2002. That was part of a larger stretch where coach Jack Clark’s program won 17 titles in 18 years. Overall, the Bears have won 28 national crowns in traditional 15-man rugby and five more in rugby 7s.
Michael Kim, collegiate golf's national player of the year in 2013
Photo by Brian Spurlock, USA Today
3. The 2012-13 Cal men’s golf team — considered one of the best in collegiate history — set an NCAA record by winning 12 of 14 stroke-play events. That included victories in the Pac-10 and NCAA Regional events. The Bears were voted the nation’s No. 1 team despite being upset by Illinois in match play in the NCAA semifinals. Five Cal golfers were named to All-America first or second teams.
4. The Cal men’s gymnastics team has long been credited with posting 89 straight dual meet victories under coach Hal Frey, a streak that includes perfect records from 1959 through ’66. The streak is referenced in Frey's obituary in 2014 and elsewhere, but isn't mentioned anywhere in Cal’s online gymnastics media guide. And there seems no way to find 89 in a row by adding up the team’s year-by-year win-loss records. But whether the actual mark is 89 or perhaps just 80, it’s an amazing legacy that will be difficult to match.
5. Single-game records are vulnerable because they don’t rely on a season-long run of success. One brilliant day and most any record can fall. But probably not the Cal football team’s 127-0 victory over Saint Mary’s on Oct. 9, 1920. That one seems entirely safe. Even judged against a season where the Bears had point totals of 88, 79 and 63 points, their 127-point outburst stands alone. Consider that Cal erupted for 86 points against Pacific in 1991 - a mind-boggling total - and would have needed six more touchdowns to eclipse its stunning 1920 mark.
6. Coach Pete Newell’s 1960 basketball team could not close the deal on a second straight NCAA title, but that Bears’ team set a standard for defense that seems unlikely to be equaled in the shot-clock era. On the way to a 28-2 record, the Bears allowed just 49.5 points per game and held 22 of 30 opponents under 50. Cal didn’t give up more than 61 points in a game until the Final Four, where it beat Cincinnati 77-69 in the semifinals before losing to Ohio State 75-55 in the title game.
Dave Barr
Photo courtesy of Cal Athletics
7. It didn’t look good for the Cal football team back on Oct. 2, 1993, trailing Oregon 30-0 at halftime at Memorial Coliseum. But Cal roared back for the greatest comeback in school history, rallying for a 42-41 victory. Quarterback Dave Barr passed for 368 yards and three touchdowns — including connections of 46 and 72 yards to Damien Semian, the father of current A’s shortstop Marcus Semien. Barr’s final TD pass of 26 yards to Iheanyi Uweazuoke came with 1:17 left and set up a Barr-to-Mike Caldwell two-point conversion pass, giving the Bears what was then the third biggest comeback in Division I football history.
Valerie Arioto
Photo courtesy of Cal Athletics
8. You want a record that demonstrates impressive staying power? The Cal softball progam landed 28 straight NCAA tournament bids. From 1986 through 2013, the Bears earned a bid every season, the final 26 of them under coach Diane Ninemire. The Bears’ run included 11 trips to the Women’s College World Series and a national championship in 2002.
Ansley Truitt
Photo courtesy of Cal Athletics
9. Some records are anomalies, completely unexpected and well outside the norm. Even against that backdrop, this one is freakish: On Jan. 3, 1972, the Cal basketball team grabbed 86 rebounds in a 127-67 win over Oklahoma City. Led by center Ansley Truitt, the Bears posted a school-record point total in the game but could not have achieved that without a stunning plus-50 rebound margin (86-36). Some further perspective: the Bears’ season-high rebound total this past season was 41.
10. Cal has played 2,653 baseball games since its debut season during the Benjamin Harrison presidency way back in 1892, but in none of them have the Bears matched the 29 runs scored against Arizona State on April 26, 1986. They hit a school-record eight home runs in the game and posted 64 total bases in a 29-6 victory in Tempe, Ariz. Cal beat the Sun Devils 15-2 the day before for a two-day onslaught of 44-8.
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
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