Going My Way?

The boss couldn't do anything worse than say no. So Edward Breslin, 21, a $45-a-week cub Hearstling on the Detroit Times and a rabid sports fan, screwed up his courage, walked up to the city desk, and asked if he could please go see the Rose Bowl game. City Editor John MacLellan surprised him. Instead of turning him down, the boss proposed a bet: if Breslin wanted to hitchhike out to Pasadena and crash the gate, all on $50 of his own, he could go ahead. If he made it, the Times would pay him back.

At 6 a.m. on Dec. 10, Reporter Breslin stood at the side of U.S. 112 near Willow Run, and stuck out his thumb. He had a $50 bill, a sign that said "Rose Bowl or Bust," a box of his mother's chicken sandwiches, and letters to wirephoto bureaus along the way. At 6:30 p.m., chilled to the bone (and with $47.86 left) he got to Coldwater, Mich., 114 miles from home.

The chicken sandwiches lasted him to Missouri. The Times ran daily dispatches under his byline, datelined St. Louis ("my back is aching"), Kansas City ("tell my mother I'm fine"), Tulsa ("I can hardly wait to crawl into bed") and points west. Hundreds of letters poured in from readers. Some upbraided the Hearst organization as a bunch of cheap skates. City Editor MacLellan, pleased with his cub's performance, grunted: "Why, I didn't realize until this week that the kid has cousins near Pasadena. That'll save him money."

After 14 days and about 40 thumbed rides, Breslin got to the West Coast with $22.16 left. By the time he had promoted a free ride into the Rose Bowl as one of the chauffeurs for the Michigan team, he was almost as big a celebrity back home as Michigan's Bob Chappuis (see SPORT). An eight-column, Page One banner headline in the Times gagged: 89,999 PAYING FANS AND BRESLIN TO SEE ROSE BOWL GAME. At week's end, Breslin and Michigan were both winners. Editor MacLellan, who had had his money's worth, sent Hitchhiker Breslin the money to come home in style, aboard the Super Chief.

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.