LOS ANGELES (AP) -Eddie Ayers, who played on UCLA’s 1976 Rose Bowl championship team under coach Dick Vermeil, has died. He was 54.
Ayers died Sunday at a hospital in suburban Lakewood after a battle with lupus, an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks itself and can affect various organs, UCLA announced Tuesday.
He was a running back and kick returner for UCLA from 1973-75.
The 1975 team finished tied for first in the Pacific-8 Conference and defeated No. 1 Ohio State in the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day 1976.
Vermeil called Ayers “pound for pound, the best blocker I’ve ever seen.”
Ayers totaled 1,249 yards rushing and scored 13 touchdowns in his three-year varsity career. As a senior in 1975, he totaled 699 yards on 154 carries and scored 10 touchdowns for a team which went 9-2-1 on the season and finished the year ranked fifth in The Associated Press poll.
Ayers’ son, Derek, played for the Bruins from 1993-96.
Funeral services will be Feb. 14 in Ayers’ hometown of Richmond, Calif.
Add A Comment