California

1985 Golden Bears
(Authentic Reproduction)

For the 1985 season, the helmet decal again underwent a slight alteration with the athletic gold bear claw now bordered in both white and navy. With QB Gale Gilbert gone, Kapp went to a run-oriented attack and sent assistants to the Denver Broncos to get some pointers for his defense. It helped as the Bears improved to 4-7 and had obvious talent. Soph RB Marc Hicks reminded many of Chuck Muncie and Kapp had both a running QB in Brian Bedford and a passing QB in Kevin Brown. OT Doug Riesenberg bounced back. Noseguard Majett Whiteside was a Freshman All American and LB Hardy Nickerson again won honors. It appeared that Cal was ready to challenge for a conference title. Perhaps hoping to recapture the spirit when he first returned to campus, for the 1986 season, Coach Kapp returned the bear claw helmet design to the simpler look used in ’83, with the navy blue script “CAL” inside of the athletic gold bear claw. However, 1986 brought the crushing disappointment of Kapp's second 2-9 season in a three year span and an offensive "low light" of scoring but 145 points sealed the former Golden Bear and Viking star's fate. RB Hicks transferred out to Ohio State and the inconsistent offense which at one point in the season scored only twelve points in thee consecutive games never found its groove. Riesenberg became a valued member of some of the Giants better teams, playing nine years in New York and one in Tampa Bay. The defense was better with All American LB Nickerson becoming a five time Pro Bowl player in a sixteen year pro career played primarily with the Buccaneers. Ken Harvey a future Pro Bowl performer with the Cardinals and Redskins shined at the other LB spot. Harvey has become a well-known author of children's books since his retirement from the NFL. NG Whiteside again played well and earned second team All Conference honors but the program needed an overhaul and Bruce Snyder, an assistant with the LA Rams, was hired at the conclusion of the '86 season to clean house. Kapp became the GM of the CFL British Columbia Lions and then returned to California. Snyder brought the Cal program back to respectability, showing improvement until his teams peaked with a 10-2 record in 1991 at which point he left to take the head coaching job at Arizona State. A succession of head coaches, Keith Gilbertson, Steve Mariucci, and Tom Holmoe all brought good credentials to the job but produced mixed and inconsistent results. Jeff Tedford took the helm in 2002 and has been viewed as one of the nation's most creative offensive coaches, churning out a number of excellent quarterbacks. While Cal has not yet regained the glory of its previous successive Rose Bowl seasons, Tedford has the program on a positive and exciting course with regular bowl appearances and national ranking.

If interested in any of these Cal helmets please click on the photos below.

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