2025 Fall/Winter Cover Key

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1. California Victory Cannon. First introduced in the 1963 Big Game, and mounted on Tightwad Hill since 1971, the cannon (not the one pictured) fires at the beginning of each home game, after every Cal score, and every Bears victory. The blast is known as “Oski’s mighty thunder.” (© BrokenSphere/Wikimedia Commons)

2. Tyrrell’s trombone. In the chaos of what will always be remembered as The Play, Stanford Band trombonist Gary Tyrrell was bowled over by Cal player Kevin Moen ’83 (see No. 3) in the end zone. The actual trombone (not the one pictured) is on display in the College Football Hall of Fame. (iStock)

3. Statue of Kevin Moen. Unveiled in 2022, the statue outside Memorial Stadium immortalizes The Play, Cal’s five-lateral walk-off touchdown in the 1982 Big Game. The statue also features Gary Tyrrell’s trombone. (See No. 2)

4. Early Oski. Oski has evolved a bit over the years, as evidenced by this early design of the rambunctious bear’s mask. If you’re interested in the origins of the Cal mascot, don’t miss our story in the Fall/Winter 2025 issue. (UC Berkeley)

5. Cal drum. Part of our homage to the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, this drum bears the Cal logo and, around the outer rim, all the adjectives that astounded commentator Joe Starkey (see No. 41) used to describe The Play. (iStock)

6. Bears flowers. Another nod to Sgt. Pepper’s. On the 1967 album cover, the flowers spell out “Beatles.” Respectfully, no one goes around saying, “Go Beatles!”

7. Pappy Waldorf Lynn Osbert “Pappy” Waldorf was Cal football’s head coach from 1947 to 1956, during which time he led the Bears to three straight Rose Bowl appearances. Beloved by fans and players alike, the latter formed a long-running group known as Pappy’s Boys. (Cal Athletics)

8. Marshawn Lynch. Shown here riding the Beast Mode Ripper in Memorial Stadium, the Oakland native played for Cal from 2004 to 2006, when he was named Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Year. As a pro, he is remembered for his “Beast Quake” run in Seattle as well as for stiff-arming the press. Famous quote: “I’m just here so I don’t get fined.”  (Catharyn Hayne/KLC fotos)

9. Alex Mack ’08, who played center for the Golden Bears and later in the NFL, was the first Cal player to win the Draddy Trophy, a.k.a the “academic Heisman.” (Mitchell Layton/Getty Images)

10. Les Richter ’52 was the valedictorian of his class at Berkeley while also earning consensus All-American honors twice. Richter went on to play in the NFL and, after retiring from football, became a motor racing executive. (Cal Athletics)

11. Russell White ’93. Cal’s all-time leading rusher, White ran for 3,367 yards and scored 35 touchdowns in his career with the Bears. Considered an “academic risk,” he nonetheless graduated in four years with a bachelor’s in social welfare. (Bernstein Associates/Getty Images)

12. Nnamdi Asomugha ’06. A standout free safety with the Bears, Asomugha went on to an impressive professional career, starting in four Pro Bowls and retiring as an Oakland Raider in 2013. Since then he has forged a successful acting career, with a breakout role in Crown Heights. (ZUMA/Alamy)

13. Harry “Chuck” Muncie ’75, known for the thick-framed eyeglasses he wore under his helmet, was a Heisman runner-up in his senior year. The running back’s pro career was cut short by cocaine addiction, which he eventually overcame to found a nonprofit that, among other things, supported tattoo removal for ex-gang members. (Cal Athletics)

14. Joe Kapp ’59. Known as “The Toughest Chicano” (his mother was Mexican-American), Kapp was the last quarterback to lead Cal to the Rose Bowl. In 1972, he singlehandedly sued the NFL on antitrust grounds and later won, but never played again. After a brief acting career, he returned to coach at Cal. The 1982 season, his first as head coach, culminated in The Play against Stanford. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma)

15. Joe Roth. A “Golden Boy” of the Golden Bears, Roth was starting quarterback and a Heisman candidate in the 1976 season, which he played knowing that he had terminal cancer. He died in February 1977 at age 21, before realizing his dream of earning a Berkeley degree. His number,12, was retired, and his memory is honored at the annual Joe Roth game. (Cal Athletics)

16. Ron Rivera ’89. A former college All-American and NFL linebacker, Rivera was head coach of the Carolina Panthers and Washington Commanders before recently returning to his alma mater to become Cal football’s first-ever general manager. (Catharyn Hayne/KLC fotos)

17. Walter Gordon (1918, J.D. 1922) was Cal’s first All-American in football and the first Black All-American on the West Coast as well as the first Black graduate of Boalt Hall. He joined the Berkeley Police Department in 1919 and walked a beat while earning his law degree. Gordon also served as an assistant coach to the legendary Andy Smith (see No. 29). (Cal Athletics) 

18. Aaron Rodgers. One of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, Rodgers led the Bears to a 10–1 record and top 5 ranking in 2004. He went on to lead the Green Bay Packers to a Super Bowl championship in 2011 and was named MVP. (AP Photo/Chris Carlson)

19. Tony Gonzalez played both basketball and football at Cal (1994–96) and chose to pursue a career in the NFL over the NBA, ultimately becoming one of the greatest tight ends of all-time, with 14 Pro Bowl selections. (Cal Athletics)

20. Jeff Tedford. Cal’s winningest head coach, with 82 victories, Tedford led the Bears from 2002 to 2012. In that time, Cal was ranked as high as No. 2 in the nation, and Tedford was twice named Pac-10 Coach of the Year. (AP Photo/Francis Specker)

21. Jackie Jensen ’48. The original “Golden Boy” of Cal Athletics, Jensen was a star on both the gridiron (as fullback) and the baseball diamond, where he helped the Bears win the inaugural College World Series. He went on to play professionally for the Red Sox, becoming American League MVP in 1958. (Cal Athletics)

22. Ed White ’69. “Big Ed,” possibly the nicest man in football, was a consensus All-American at Cal, part of the “Bear Minimum” defense. As a pro, first with the Minnesota Vikings, and later with the San Diego Chargers, he started as an offensive lineman in 210 games, including four Super Bowls, across 17 years in the league. 

23. Steve Bartkowski led the nation in passing as a senior, and was later picked first in the NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons. The first client of Cal alum and superagent Leigh Steinberg ’70, J.D. ’73, Bartkowski signed what was, at that time, the most lucrative rookie contract ever. (David Madison/Getty Images)

24. Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele. Better known as JKS, Cal’s true freshman quarterback led the Bears to impressive victories in 2025 against top-ranked teams including Louisville and SMU. Keeping the Hawaii-born quarterback in Berkeley will be a challenge for GM Ron Rivera. (Al Sermeno/KLC fotos)

25. Justin Wilcox. As Cal’s head coach for the last nine seasons, Wilcox logged a 48–55 record, punctuated by three straight victories against Cal archrival Stanford. He was fired in November after a particularly disappointing loss in the Big Game. (Al Sermeno/KLC fotos)                            

26. Jared Goff. A highly sought-after recruit, Goff became Cal’s starting quarterback as a freshman and proceeded to set 26 school records, including total passing yards, with 12,220. A number one overall draft pick, Goff led the Los Angeles Rams to the Super Bowl and is now with the Detroit Lions. (AP Photo/Eric Risberg)

27. Craig Morton. A three-sport standout at Cal (basketball, baseball, and football), Morton is unusual in having led two separate teams, the Dallas Cowboys and Denver Broncos, to Super Bowls (1970 and 1972). (Jim Edelen/MediaNews Group/Oakland Tribune via Getty Images)

28. The 1920 Wonder Team. The 1920 University of California squad, led by Andy Smith, went undefeated, kicking off an era of dominance, including four national championships and a 50-game winning streak. (Public domain)                             

29. Andy Smith. The coach of the legendary Wonder Teams, Smith logged a record of 74–16–7 at California. When he died in 1926, an army biplane spread his ashes over the field at Memorial Stadium, which is sometimes called “The House That Andy Built.” (Cal Athletics)

30. Harold “Brick” Muller (1924). Nicknamed Brick for his red hair, Muller was a standout on the Wonder Teams and received All-American honors in 1921 and 1922. A track and field star as well, he took silver in the high jump at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp. He went on to become an orthopedic surgeon. (Public domain)

31. Rich Lyons ’82 is Berkeley’s 12th chancellor and the first undergraduate alum to have the role. A longtime Cal football fan, he was previously dean of the Haas School of Business and the campus’s first-ever chief innovation and entrepreneurship officer.  (Catharyn Hayne/KLC fotos)

32. Glenn Seaborg, Ph.D. ’37. A Nobel Prize–winning chemist and discoverer of ten transuranic elements, Seaborg became Berkeley’s second chancellor. A sports fan, his term saw Cal basketball win a national championship and Cal football make it to the Rose Bowl. His name is an anagram for “Go Bears.” (Underwood Archives/Alamy)

33. The Stanford Axe is, since 1933, the official trophy of the annual Big Game between Cal and archrival Stanford. How that came to be is a long story. (UC Rally Committee)

34. The Cal cheerleaders have long bolstered the Go Bears spirit. Among the more illustrious cheer veterans is 2025 Alum of the Year and former CEO of the Dallas Mavericks, Cynt Marshall ’81 (not pictured). (Catharyn Hayne/KLC fotos)

35. Paul McCartney, shown here in Sgt. Pepper’s regalia, played a sold-out Memorial Stadium for two nights in 1990. Included in the soundcheck was a Berkeley favorite, “Midnight Special.”

36. Chang-Lin Tien. Chancellor from 1990 to1997, Tien was considered one of Berkeley’s best loved and most charismatic administrators. The Taiwanese mechanical engineer was also a sports lover who sometimes ran onto the field with the football team and often led chants of “Go Bears!” (UC Berkeley)

37. ESPN’s College GameDay set. The popular program came to Berkeley for the first time on October 5, 2024, as Cal prepared to take on Miami. Bears fans swarmed Memorial Glade, where engineering student Daniel Villasenor memorably kicked a $100,000 field goal while wearing Vans. (Al Sermeno/KLC fotos)

38. Kate Scott ’05. As a Berkeley student, sportscaster Kate Scott was Cal’s first female Mic Man (see No. 42). Currently the voice of the Philadelphia 76ers, Scott established many firsts in what is generally considered a male field. (Courtesy Kate Scott)

39. The Cal Dance Team. A popular presence at Cal football and basketball games and pep rallies. (Al Sermeno/KLC fotos)

40. Adam Duritz. The Counting Crows frontman and a Cal superfan, Duritz attended his first Cal game—the inaugural Joe Roth game—in 1977, at age 12. “In the memorial game for the guy who died of cancer, we didn’t let ’em beat us. I thought that was really cool.” (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

41. Joe Starkey. The play-by-play announcer for the Golden Bears on KGO Radio from 1975 to 2022, Starkey famously called The Play in the 1982 Big Game, breathlessly declaring it “the most amazing, sensational, dramatic, heartrending, exciting, thrilling finish in the history of college football!” (Michael Macor/San Francisco Chronicle via AP)

42. Mic Man. Known for their blue and gold ties, blue shirts, and khakis, the Mic Men are the consummate hype machines, there to fire up Cal crowds at every major sporting event. (Catharyn Hayne/KLC fotos)

43. Drum Major. According to the Cal Band webpage, “the Drum Major and their Stunt Committee are responsible for charting full Band performances including Pregame, Halftime, and Postgame field performances.” Sort of like Sgt. Pepper himself, one imagines. (Catharyn Hayne/KLC fotos)

44. The Cal Band. Known as “The Pride of California,” the high-stepping Cal Band has been student-run since 1923. Such independence is a rarity among collegiate marching bands. (Icon Sportswire/Getty Images)

45. Grizzly bear. For many years, Cal used real bears (not like this AI-generated one) as mascots before turning to a tamer alternative in Oski. Sadly, California grizzlies have been extinct since the 1920s. (AI generated, Whisk and ImageFX)

46. Oski made his debut in September 1941. The costume was created by student William “Rocky” Rockwell with an assist from Daily Cal cartoonist Warrington Colescott, who drew a strip that same year about a bear named Oskie. (TFV Media via AP)

47. Referee It’s not easy being a Division I football ref. Just ask the crew who officiated the 1982 Big Game. (iStock)

48. Cal flag. The Cal script is the main logo of Cal Athletics. (UC Rally Committee)

49. Tightwad Hill. Also known as Charter Hill, where the “Big C” resides, Tightwad Hill, just east of Memorial Stadium, affords fans a free view of the football field. (© BrokenSphere/Wikimedia Commons)

50. The Campanile. More properly called Sather Tower, the Campanile was erected in 1914, almost ten years before Memorial Stadium. It has been the campus cynosure ever since.

51. F-15 flyover. In 2024, an administrator at Auburn tweeted that Cal fans weren’t familiar with military flyovers. To the contrary, they are fairly common, having taken place as recently as September 2025 before Cal’s opening game against Texas Southern. (iStock)

52. Falcons. Peregrine falcons were first spotted nesting atop the Campanile in 2016. They quickly became beloved campus residents, with fledglings given quintessential Cal names like Fiat and Lux. Sadly, the tower has lately been bereft of the raptors, which experts suspect have succumbed to avian flu. (Frank Hildebrand/iStock)