The stadium's name has given rise to the phrase "bowl game" for playoff football games played in a bowl-shaped or "bowl"-named stadium. Because it is the oldest bowl game, the Rose Bowl Game is sometimes referred to as "The Granddaddy of Them All."
The first annual Rose Bowl was played on January 1, 1902, with Stanford defeating Chicago College (now Northwestern University) by a score of 6-3. The game was played at Westwood Park in Pasadena, California. It was originally known as the Tournament of Roses Game until it was assumed by the Rose Bowl Committee that would organize and manage the event. The tournament's president at the time, David Rose, wanted something that would be unique and special for the new game so he came up with the idea of having a national college football championship be played annually in the game. He also hoped that the prestige of playing in the Rose Bowl would help attract more fans to the sport.
Stanford went on to win its first six games before losing to undefeated Harvard 10-6 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Chicago College then defeated Stanford 14-7 in what is currently the only meeting between these two schools in the Rose Bowl.
The Rose Bowl Championship Game has been held every year since 1902 except for World War I when it was not played because of the war.
The Rose Bowl Game is known as "The Granddaddy of Them All" since it is the oldest bowl game still in operation. The "Tournament East-West Football Game" was first played in 1902, and it has been held yearly since 1916. It has been the most attended college football bowl game since 1945. An estimated 80 to 100 million people across five continents watch some form of the Rose Bowl Game each year.
The Rose Bowl is part of the College Football Playoff system and has been one of four games that have decided who plays in the CFP Championship. The other three games are the SEC Championship, Big Ten Championship, and ACC Championship.
It's a grand old stadium, and you'll want to see it while you can still visit all its glory. The Rose Bowl is located in Pasadena, California, and it measures about 70,000 square feet with seating for up to 90,000 people. It's been called America's Festival Field because of all the great events that have taken place there over the years including the Rose Bowl Rivalry between USC and UCLA. The first game was also seen as an inauguration ceremony for William Howard Taft who became the 12th President of the United States.
The Rose Bowl is where it all started for the University of Southern California (USC). In fact, the first NCAA championship game was played here in 1926 when USC defeated Texas A&M by a score of 6 goals to 4.
The Rose Bowl Football Game Because it is the oldest bowl game in America, it is also known as the "Granddaddy of Them All." The football games began more than ten years after the procession itself. The original goal of the Rose Bowl game was to collect cash for the parade. As time went on, this idea was dropped and now the players compete purely for bragging rights.
The first Rose Bowl game was played on January 1, 1902, at Chicago's South Park district. It was a match-up between Stanford University and the University of Chicago. Stanford won that first game 7-0.
Stanford returned the next year, but this time they were defeated by the university from Philadelphia 8-0. It wasn't until 1905 that Stanford finally managed to beat Chicago, this time by a score of 3-0. From then on, Stanford would go on to win most every season except one in 1909 when they fell to Pittsburgh 0-11.
In 1910, the game was moved to Pasadena where it has remained since then. Originally, the plan was to have just one game each year with the winner being allowed to play in the Pacific Coast Conference (now Pac-12) championship game. But because of its growing popularity, the second game was added in 1914. In 1919, the game started being broadcast on radio which hasn't stopped since then.