Roots of the Rose Bowl

You can trace its roots back to 1888 when a congregation of outdoors “people” founded the Pasadena Valley Hunt Club for both men and women. In 1900 the first Rose Parade was presented with a myriad of horse and carriages amid a décor of beautiful flowers prancing through downtown PAS. Fans numbering 2,500 viewed chariot races being held in 1904. We were privy to games played in 1913 by Ostriches, and a race between elephants and camels; the big guys won. In 1922 the Rose Bowl was built for the colossal sum of $272,198. The first College Football game held in the Rose Bowl was in 1923 as the Home Team, USC beat Penn State 14-2. Tons of exciting games and events were held ever since, including the score of Rose Bowl Parades we got to see through the years, but it was back on this day in history, 1902 when the First Tournament of Roses game was held between the East and West. The East (Michigan) won that game beating the West (Stanford) by a score of 49-0; there wasn’t another football game in Rose Bowl history played until 1916 when Washington ST. beat Brown 14-0.