Today's Tidbit… Herb Dana and the Associated Football Question Box

Dana, third from the left in the front row, played end for the Cornhuskers. (1921 Nebraska Cornhusker)

Frank Birch, who invented the penalty signals referees perform during football games, was scheduled to referee the 1929 Rose Bowl but tore a knee ligament two weeks before the game and had to step aside. Herb Dana replaced him in that role, resulting in Dana being the one who spotted the ball following the infamous run by Wrong Way Reigels. (California's Roy Riegels had picked up Georgia running back Stumpy Thomason's fumble, got turned around, and ran the ball toward his own end zone before being stopped by teammates inside the one-yard line.)