Merritt Norvell was sitting in a business meeting in Chicago with a few corporate executives last year making small talk, when conversation shifted to the large Wisconsin Badgers ring positioned on one of his fingers. For five decades, Norvell has worn the ring with great pride despite the result associated with it. Even now, discoveries of his participation in the 1963 Rose Bowl draw stunned looks and excited queries from those with knowledge of the event.
In that room, a question arose that Norvell has heard many times over the years: Was that the game when quarterback Ron Vander Kelen and receiver Pat Richter nearly led the greatest comeback in college football history?