Roy Riegels (April 4, 1908 – March 26, 1993) was an American college football center who played for the California Golden Bears from 1927 to 1929.

Nicknamed "Wrong Way" due to his infamous wrong-way run in the 1929 Rose Bowl, it is often cited as the worst blunder in the history of college football.

[1][2] That one play overshadowed Riegels' football talents, since he earned first-team All-America honors and served as team captain for the Golden Bears in 1929.

Cal won four Pacific Coast Conference championships and made three trips to the Rose Bowl during this decade, in 1921 (28–0 win over Ohio State), 1922 (0–0 tie with Washington & Jefferson), and 1929 (8–7 loss to Georgia Tech).

[3] Riegels played center on the 1928 California Golden Bears football team, which had a 6–1–2 record going into the Rose Bowl game.

Riegels led the Golden Bears in conference minutes played that season, and he was voted onto the All-Coast team.

He was a good blocker, but his strength was playing "roving center" on defense, similar to present day middle linebacker position.

[6] On January 1, 1929, the Golden Bears faced the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, USA.

Known for his speed, Lom finally caught up with Riegels at California's 3-yard line and tried to turn him around, but he was immediately hit and piled on by a wave of Tech players who tackled and then threw him over the goal-line.

In spite of the loss, the example of how the distraught Riegels was persuaded to pick himself up, return to the field and play so hard during the second half is sometimes used by motivational speakers to illustrate overcoming setbacks.

"[15] Riegels would take his spot as team captain during his senior year, earning All-America honors and he helped the Bears to a 7–1–1 record during the following season.

[18] According to one contemporary article, there were about 4,500 stories totaling an estimated 250,000 column inches written about Riegels' wrong-way run in newspapers across the United States.

[21] In 2011, a picture book written by Dan Gutman was published with title "The Day Roy Riegels Ran the Wrong Way," which provides play-by-play description of this moment in sports history.

"[23] When presented with his membership card into the Georgia Tech Lettermen's Club 42 years later, Riegels quipped, "Believe me, I feel I've earned this.

Riegels wrote in the letter: "For many years I've had to go along and laugh whenever my wrong-way run was brought up, even though I've grown tired listening and reading about it.

[16] In 2003, a panel from the College Football Hall of Fame and CBS Sports chose Riegels' "Wrong way run in the Rose Bowl" one of six "Most Memorable Moments of the Century.

Riegels became a teacher and coached football at California and at the high school and junior college levels where his players often ran the wrong way during practice.

[36][37] He served as an officer in the United States Army Air Corps during World War II and later worked in the agriculture field and as a cannery executive.