Professional Football Researchers Association Forum

It is only a link, but it is a link that will live forever in football history.

Bukich threw the touchdown pass for the 7-0 USC 1953 Rose Bowl win versus the University of Wisconsin.
The guy who caught the pass was Al Carmichael - a Boston boy.

Carmichael had a 6-year NFL career with Green Bay which ended after the 1958 season.
He scored only 3 TDs while with the Packers.

In 1959, he surfaced in the AFL with the Denver Broncos.
The Broncos defeated the Boston Patriots in the first game in AFL history.
Al Carmichael scored the first TD catching a pass from Frank Tripucka againt his old home town team.

Rose Bowl records will live forever.
The AFL touchdown record will live forever.

Carmichael will have those records forever
He will be the link between Rudy Bukich and Frank Tripuka as long football records are kept.

Al Carmichael will be 88 in November.
Frank Tripuka left us in 2013.
As JWL announced, Rudy Bukich died yesterday.
Requiescat in pace

Just to clarify...Carmichael caught just three td passes with the Packers, but he also scored twice on rushes and twice on kickoff returns. One of those kick returns was for 106 yards and was the NFL record for nearly 50 years IIRC. 106 Yards was also the title of his self published autobiography that is filled with great photos both from his football career and his career as a movie extra/stunt man.

He did indeed, John, and his book belies the claim of those who belittle self-published works.

The focus, however, was simply to show the link between Rudy Bukich and football immortality.
Another interesting tidbit is that Bukich was not the starting QB for USC but he sure ended his collegiate career
in grand fashion.