The first post season college football game was held in 1902 as an added attraction to Pasadena’s Tournament of Roses festival. The University of Michigan came out to the west coast and beat home state favorite Stanford 49-0 in three quarters of play. After the third quarter, Stanford was getting schmeered, so they quit and left.
The first Tournament of Roses had nothing to do with football. Twelve years prior to Stanford's hissy fit, the good people of Pasadena decided to show off their paradise to the Easterners and Midwesterners who were buried in frigid winter, so they put together a festival. During the first few years, the events at the festival included ostrich races, bronco busting demonstrations and a race between a camel and an elephant (the elephant won).
That 1902 football massacre caused the committee to avoid football the next year…actually for the next 13 years. In 1903 there polo matches and the crowds stayed away in droves. The replacement was chariot races, held from 1904 to 1915 In 1916, football was back, and Washington State beat Brown in front of 14,000 people.
The contemporary festival features the world famous Rose Parade, and this year is the 120th edition. The Rose Parade will be broadcast on ABC, NBC, Univision, HGTV, Travel Channel, RFD-TV as well as KWHY and KTLA in the Los Angeles area. The Parade is also seen in more than 200 international territories. The photo above is from the 1920 parade. Looks like a major party time...not.
The first Tournament of Roses had nothing to do with football. Twelve years prior to Stanford's hissy fit, the good people of Pasadena decided to show off their paradise to the Easterners and Midwesterners who were buried in frigid winter, so they put together a festival. During the first few years, the events at the festival included ostrich races, bronco busting demonstrations and a race between a camel and an elephant (the elephant won).
That 1902 football massacre caused the committee to avoid football the next year…actually for the next 13 years. In 1903 there polo matches and the crowds stayed away in droves. The replacement was chariot races, held from 1904 to 1915 In 1916, football was back, and Washington State beat Brown in front of 14,000 people.
The contemporary festival features the world famous Rose Parade, and this year is the 120th edition. The Rose Parade will be broadcast on ABC, NBC, Univision, HGTV, Travel Channel, RFD-TV as well as KWHY and KTLA in the Los Angeles area. The Parade is also seen in more than 200 international territories. The photo above is from the 1920 parade. Looks like a major party time...not.
This year's Rose Bowl features Penn State & USC, which provides an excuse to run a picture of the USC cheerleaders.So get a good seat in front of the big screen today and enjoy a unique American spectacle. Happy New Year!
