Top 50 Cal Sports Moments -- No. 13: Streak Ends, 1986

New basketball coach Lou Campanelli promised fans the Bears would end their 52-game losing streak to UCLA, and he delivered

Eddie Javius celebrates Cal's win / Photo courtesy of Cal Athletics

As the Pac-12 Conference era comes to a close after more than a century, we count down the Top 50 moments involving Cal athletics.

THE MOMENT: In April 1985 at a news conference introducing him as Cal’s new basketball coach, Lou Campanelli was asked if he expected the Bears could end their embarrassing 52-game losing streak to UCLA. "I looked at that guy,” Campanelli told the San Francisco Chronicle years later, “and said, 'That streak will end the first time we play ‘em.  And the place erupted.” Nine months later, Campanell delivered on his vow.

THE STORY: By the time Campanelli arrived at Berkeley from James Madison University, Cal had not beaten UCLA since Feb. 24, 1961. After Campanelli promised fans the drought would end, athletic director Dave Maggard pressed Campanelli on whether it was wise to go out on a limb before even coaching a game. “What the hell did you hire me for?” Campanelli responded.

A lot transpired in that quarter-century between Cal victories: John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. were assassinated. The Beatles played on Ed Sullivan. Neil Armstrong took a giant leap for mankind. Apple introduced its first personal computer.

On the basketball court, the fortunes of Cal and UCLA exchanged places. The Bears won the 1959 NCAA title under Pete Newell and returned to the Final Four a year later. In a span of 12 seasons starting in 1964, John Wooden’s Bruins won 10 national championships.

And the Bears never beat them. Cal was 0-6 against UCLA teams featuring Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, although they got to overtime in one of those. They were also winless in six tries against Bill Walton’s squads, losing by an average of more than 26 points.

But in the lead-up to their meeting on Jan. 25, 1986, it seemed evident the Bears were good enough to beat the Bruins. UCLA had a young Reggie Miller, but otherwise Cal was a better team, led by future NBA all-star Kevin Johnson.

Before an overflow crowd at old Harmon Gym, the Bears led most of the afternoon. They played with a confident edge instilled by Campanelli, whose James Madison teams upset Georgetown and Ohio State in the NCAA tournament and lost just 52-50 to a North Carolina team armed with Michael Jordan, James Worthy and Sam Perkins.  

"It was the oddest feeling. I never had a feeling like that in any game, that I knew we were going to win,” forward Dave Butler, who had 23 points and 10 rebounds, told the Chronicle. “I never had any doubt.”

When the Bears closed out the 75-67 victory, pandemonium overtook the building. Fans cheered deliriously, a few even cried. Reserve forward Eddie Javius sat on the basket at one end of the court, surveying the scene below him. 

Campanelli, decked out in his “lucky” black velour jacket, was lifted onto the shoulder of Maggard, who once threw the shot put at the Olympics. “Dave, please don't drop me,” Campanelli implored his boss. “Coach, you're not going anywhere,” Maggard said.

The final line of the official play-by-play sheet perfectly summed up what so many Old Blues felt that day: “Now we can all die happy.”

* Top 50 Moment No. 14: Jensen's Impact

* Top 50 Moment No. 15: Rose Tackle

Only specific acts that occurred while the team or athlete was at Cal were considered for the Top 50 list, and accomplishments spanning a season or a career were not included. 

Leslie Mitchell of the Cal Bears History Twitter site aided in the selection of the top 50 moments.

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo