Tonight the Athletic Department held a special event for CMS Club Members in the Field Club; the feature was a documentary film about Joe Roth called "Don't Quit: The Joe Roth Story". The film was truly outstanding; there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Plans are to give it wider distribution later this year, and if you get a chance to see it, you must do so. Mike White was the master of ceremonies, and there were about a dozen teammates of Roth in attendance, some of whom spoke about their recollections of Joe. Also in attendance were Sonny Dykes, Jack Clark, Mike Williams, Sandy Barbour, and Jay John. Dykes said he plans to show the film to the entire football team in the coming weeks; it will certainly be inspirational (and hopefully motivational) for all of them. It was stated by the film's producer that the website "joerothfilm.com" will have information about future distribution of the fillm.

During his comments, Mike White said "Remember....this is Cal, not Berkeley. Berkeley is a city." My thoughts exactly. His comment was met with applause.

Thanks! I look forward to seeing the film. It seems as though we have been anticipating its production for decades.

I walked by Joe Roth dozens of times in 1975, when his class in Wheeler was finishing and mine was beginning. I was also present in Harmon Gym the night that Dave Maggard announced his passing. Talk about no dry eyes in the house...

Go Bears!

Golden One;842332063 said:

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Tonight the Athletic Department held a special event for CMS Club Members in the Field Club; the feature was a documentary film about Joe Roth called "Don't Quit: The Joe Roth Story". The film was truly outstanding; there wasn't a dry eye in the house. Plans are to give it wider distribution later this year, and if you get a chance to see it, you must do so. Mike White was the master of ceremonies, and there were about a dozen teammates of Roth in attendance, some of whom spoke about their recollections of Joe. Also in attendance were Sonny Dykes, Jack Clark, Mike Williams, Sandy Barbour, and Jay John. Dykes said he plans to show the film to the entire football team in the coming weeks; it will certainly be inspirational (and hopefully motivational) for all of them. It was stated by the film's producer that the website "joerothfilm.com" will have information about future distribution of the fillm.

During his comments, Mike White said "Remember....this is Cal, not Berkeley. Berkeley is a city." My thoughts exactly. His comment was met with applause.

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Thanks for the update. I'm really looking forward to seeing this movie, and have been for years.

Can't wait to see it.

Joe Roth is a legend in my family, and I didn't even go to Cal (I would have never got in if I tried). His story is so inspirational to me, though. I'm really looking forward to this. Thanks for posting this bit of info. Cancer sucks!

:gobears:

I had every intention of seeing the film down here several weeks ago, but a scheduling conflict prevented me from being able to attend.

Just the other day I was watching the 1975 football game between Cal and USA. Joe was truly special.......that team was very special. The team played hard. And they played the game without all the "me me me......fist pounding chest.....waving to the crowd" crap that erodes the dignity and respect of the game these days.

I had forgotten just how great a quarterback he was. But I have never forgotten what a great young man he was reputed to be.

"When The Game Stand Tall", the story of the De La Salle High School football winning streak is also scheduled to be released around October. What a great duality of films to come out during the season!

my most valuable (to me) piece of memorabilia-Cal Media guide with Joe on the cover, so I have waited for this for a long time!
It would be great if the Alumni Association got together with the movie makers and had regional viewings of the movie, in concert with the local clubs. I would show this movie to the players the first day the team reported as a whole in the Fall!
In any event, I look forward to it coming East...

I've been eagerly awaiting this film's release for a long while. Joe has been a hero and an inspiration of mine since I was a young boy. mbBear's idea of having regional Alumni Associations coordinate viewing parties is a great one. Go Bears!

I was at Harmon Gym that night. Even the Oregon basketball players were crying.

I was sadden and frustrated not to be able to attend the screening last night. As a member of the core team that helped this movie come to life, I can truly say that working on Joe's documentary was one of the best experiences in my life. Having never met Joe and only being a kid during his time at Cal, it was always a bit of a challenge to truly understand the impact he had on people. The impact instantly became real when during interviews with numerous friends, teammates, coaches, and family members who hadn't talked to each other in years said virtually the same exact words to describe Joe.

When you get the chance to see this documentary--DO. And when you get that opportunity, take a friend, a child, or someone close to you and let them have a chance to learn about Joe's message.

Now go out and have a Joe Roth type day - live your life to the fullest, and just don't quit.

http://www.ibabuzz.com/beartalk/2014/07/10/football-cal-legend-joe-roths-courageous-story-traced-in-new-documentary-dont-quit/

Quote:

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Football: Cal legend Joe Roth’s courageous story traced in new documentary — `Don’t Quit’
Posted on July 10, 2014 by Jeff Faraudo

Former Cal football coach Mike White called it, “the biggest secret in the history of college athletics.”

Even White didn’t know during the fall of 1976 that Joe Roth, his All-America quarterback, was playing out his senior season while battling an aggressive strain of malignant melanoma. By February 1977, just 21 years old, Roth was dead.

Roth’s remarkable tale — the way he lived and the way he died — unfolds in “Don’t Quit: The Joe Roth Story,” a documentary film five years in the making by Cal grads Phil Schaaf and Bob Rider.

The 85-minute film, which made its debut in April at the Newport Film Festival, had its first Bay Area showing Wednesday night in front of about 300 Cal fans at Memorial Stadium.

The home crowd — including his former coach and a handful of ex-teammates — watched as Roth arrived in Berkeley from Grossmont junior college, became almost an overnight star who won friends with his low-key charm, then silently labored through his final painful months.

“In the end it has nothing to do with the sport,” Schaaf said. “Instead, it’s about humam elegance in the face of unfathomable adversity. In Joe’s case, it’s against this backdrop of athletic greatness.”

Schaaf, director of “Don’t Quit,” interviewed dozens of people for the film and got a consistent picture. No one had a bad word to say about Roth. “The great thing about this project,” he said, “is if you left Joe’s name on a voicemail, people called right back.”

Two weeks into his senior season, Roth got word from doctors that the cancer he fought off two years before had returned. Roth deflected questions from his teammates, telling them he was fine.

Fred Besana, who lost his starting quarterback position to Roth the year before, could see the difference. Roth had passed for 663 yards in Cal’s first two games in ’76 before the disease took hold. “It was never the same,” Besana said.

Roth’s cancer didn’t become public news until after the season, but he still planned to play in three all-star games for which he’d accepted invitations. At the Hula Bowl in Hawaii, he met Minnesota quarterback Tony Dungy, who would go on to become a Super Bowl-winning coach.

Roth’s physical decline was evident, but Dungy was captured by Roth’s grace.

“You can live a long time and not impact people the way Joe Roth impacted people,” Dungy is quoted saying on the film’s website. “I was only around him for three and a half weeks and I still use him as an example 30 years later. That’s someone special.”

Lena Roth, who wrote a book about her son in 1984, said Joe just wanted to be like everyone else. “But he was different,” she said.

Perhaps especially at the end, when he kept smiling for his teammates, never complaining, never wanting them to feel sorry for him.

“He made everybody feel better about him dying,” Besana said. “It was a gift.”

*****

Schaaf said he expects “Don’t Quit” to be released in the fall during football season, although the filmmakers still are negotiating with various outlets. For updates on distribution plans, go to www.JoeRothfilm.com.

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JeffCalFan;842332132 said:

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I was at Harmon Gym that night. Even the Oregon basketball players were crying.

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Cal played UW that night.
I happened to see UW Center James Edward's knees buckle at the announcement by Dave Maggard when he announced to the crowd that Joe had passed away, just before or after player introductions.
I spoke to James about that night a few years ago at the Pac 12 tournament in Los Angeles (he was there all week participating in the festivities of being inducted into the Pac 12 Basketball "Ring of Honor"), and he sadly remembered it too well...

You're right. It was Washington. I was confusing the 5 OT game with Oregon.

I had the rare pleasure of playing with Joe on a few occasions at Underhill Field, I'm guessing the winter of '75, during pick up games. Caught more than a few passes, some for TDs.....I was 16 and a junior at BHS.

Didn't know of the showing. Will see the film when it's available.

run2win;842332148 said:

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I was sadden and frustrated not to be able to attend the screening last night. As a member of the core team that helped this movie come to life, I can truly say that working on Joe's documentary was one of the best experiences in my life. Having never met Joe and only being a kid during his time at Cal, it was always a bit of a challenge to truly understand the impact he had on people. The impact instantly became real when during interviews with numerous friends, teammates, coaches, and family members who hadn't talked to each other in years said virtually the same exact words to describe Joe.

When you get the chance to see this documentary--DO. And when you get that opportunity, take a friend, a child, or someone close to you and let them have a chance to learn about Joe's message.

Now go out and have a Joe Roth type day - live your life to the fullest, and just don't quit.

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Steve,

With you buddy. I guess I am a little "hurt" to have been the one behind getting Lena's book reprinted and to not be considered as someone in the "inner circle." I am okay with it. Have my Lena autographed copy of the book, a copy of the DVD and the memories of "our Joe." Living every day to the best of my ability.