History of the Rose Bowl Game – Back in 1901, organizers of the Tournament of Roses© strove to attract people to New Year’s Day activities. James Wagner, then President of the Tournament, floated the idea of a postseason football game to attract the much-desired attendance.
Fielding Yost, the coach of the undefeated Michigan football team challenged the University of California. California refused, but Stanford stepped up to meet Michigan’s challenge. The Michigan team devastated Stanford with a score of 49-0 in front of 8,000 people.
The football game made a profit. However, due to the one-sided win, the organizers thought that the spectators would not show up for another football game and replaced the postseason football game with chariot races. However, the chariot race was plagued with problems. Non-professional car racers would run into each other. Soon after, the organizers sought out professional runners, but afterward, spectators assumed the races were rigged. Later, the organizers decided to return to the postseason football game.
In 1916, the second Roses© football tournament was held where Washington State defeated Brown 14-0. The Rose Bowl game has been nicknamed the “Grandaddy of Them All®” and has been out of print since 1947.
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