Ron Medved's Two-Way Husky Game to Remember
Ron Medved is just now catching his breath and getting his pulse back at a resting position after one of the most memorable and exhaustive two-way performances in Washington football history.
On October 19, 1963, the Huskies' multitalented sophomore back from Tacoma came up with a game for the ages. He was everywhere. At all times.
In order, Medved snapped off an 88-yard touchdown run late in the first quarter, intercepted passes in the second and fourth quarters, and knocked down yet another pass at the goal line in the closing moments to ensure a 19-11 victory over Stanford at Husky Stadium.
Keeping him humble, Medved also fumbled the ball away early in the contest, missed two of three extra-point kicks and got beat for a touchdown pass that was nullified by penalty.
His positive moments, of course, overshadowed any momentary slip-ups.
"It wasn't a perfect game," he said. "It never is."
Medved was just five games into his collegiate career when he took a handoff from quarterback Bill Douglas, ran through a gaping hole over the right side largely provided by lineman Jerry Knoll, picked up a downfield block from fellow running back Dave Kopay at the Stanford 40 and went in untouched from those 88 yards out.
"There was no jumbotron," he said. "It would have been nice to see if anyone was getting close."
Medved's scoring run ranks as the sixth-longest in UW annals, following, in order, Sterling Hill, 94 yards in 1894; Dean Derby, 92 yards, 1956; Napoleon Kaufman, 91 yards, 1994; Hugh McElhenny, 91 yards, 1950; and Salvon Ahmed, 89 yards, 2019.
"The play almost didn't happen," Medved said.
At their 12, the Huskies had tried to sub in their Gold team, the backups, to begin the series. They were reminded that the new rules didn't permit a mass substitution on a change of possession. So Medved and the starters, the Purples, had to run at least one more play before resting, and they did it well.
Actually the most difficult thing about Medved's heroic sprint came after he completed it. He had to get the attention of someone on the sideline to toss out his kicking shoe so he could put it on quickly and attempt the extra point.
"I rushed the kick and squibbed it," he said with a wince.
Early in the second quarter, Medved alertly intercepted a Stanford pass that led to the Huskies' second score, a 38-yard TD pass from Douglas to tight end Jake Kupp, the grandfather of the Los Angeles Rams' Cooper Kupp. The senior Kupp caught two scoring passes in this game.
In the fourth quarter, Medved stole another pass at the goal line to blunt a late Stanford drive.
"The interceptions I had were cool," he said. "They made a difference."
These days, Medved attends one Husky game per year and he was in the stands last fall when Salvon Ahmed got loose on an 89-yard TD run against USC. It took the tireless Husky a moment to realize what just happened -- his rushing TD went from fifth- to sixth-longest in UW annals.
"His run was fantastic," Medved said. "He broke into the open at the same point of the field as I did."
Yes, but how many interceptions did Ahmed have that day?