1902: The First Rose Bowl and Its Revolutionary Impact on College Football's Postseason

[@bryanvogt3371]

Thanks again. Yost actually wanted to play TWO post-season games on the West Coast, and was negotiating for this during the 1901 season (he did not lack for confidence). If you aren't familiar with John Behee's "Fielding Yost's Legacy to the University of Michigan", it is available for free online, and worth a read.

[@azul93gt38]

It a terrible how ESPN's pernicious influence has diminished the grandaddy of them all.

[@Doc_mccoy]

These videos are incredible thank you so much for taking the time to do the research and compile this history

[@royveteto4134]

tyler texas is known for roses and tyler has a rose parade and a queen and they used to host games in tyler

[@goodmaro]

One fact to keep in mind is that "football season" was still a loose thing as of 1902, so a game on January 1 was not quite the anomaly it might seem. Football had sort-of settled as a fall sport, but there were games pretty much around the calendar. Also, the Mummer's Parade celebrating the New Year started in 1901 in Philadelphia, so it's not like the occurrence of a parade meant, "Folks are enjoying warm weather outdoor events there!"

[@MichaelSmith-xb5cp]

Michigan has a long history of swiping Stanford coaches. In 1902 Michagan probably had 4 times the undergrad population to draw from. At the turn of the 20th century the west coast was still sparsely populated. In California there was really only Stanford and Cal and a bunch of athletic clubs, yet the 1st interstate rivalry of west coast had already begun, Stanford vs Washington, imagine that commute? A 19th century interstate rivalry with statistical parity unrivaled in all college football to this day. 44-46-4

[@huskerchuck9212]

What an opportunity missed. Had they thought a little bigger back in 1902, and instead of an East/West contest, making it an invitational de facto national championship game. Invite the #1 and #2 teams (choose how you may), if one says no, invite #3, and so on. The locals get two visiting team's revenue instead of one, and think of the number of disputed national championships that could have been settled on the field (assuming both teams were willing to play). Oh well, a guy can dream. Great job, Jon!!

[@scottdebrestian9875]

In the 1900s few fans would actually make a trip all the way to California via multi-day train to see a game. It was probably better as advertisement for people to come out for longer visits. Most of the fans would be Californians, and they would want to see local boys play.

[@huskerchuck9212]

@@scottdebrestian9875 that is probably true. For Nebraska, there were train day-trips to shorter distances in the '00s, such as Minnesota and Kansas. Regular season games vs east coast teams were difficult due to travel times. By 1940, bowl game train trips including hotel and game tickets were sold. A large contingent travelled to see Nebraska play in the '41 Rose Bowl. Nebraska was outdrawing most teams back then so perhaps other teams might not have sent as many fans.

[@goodmaro]

Back then most of the football powers were in the Northeast and Midwest, a few in the Southeast, and it would've been easy enough for them if they were contending for recognition as national champions in the fall to wait for the weather to warm up and meet in the spring. A lot of college football schedules were very full and long in extent, not being limited to the fall as now. So there were ways to do it that would've been more lucrative for them than traveling to Pasadena. Even Florida would've been more attractive. You can read about the (much later) single time there was a national high school football championship game held, in Miami. These days the state of Florida hosts annual national championship tournaments for at least two children's football organizations: Pop Warner and American Youth Football.

[@mikebronicki8264]

There was no push for a national champion in 1902. The first AP poll did not appear until 1936 and the final AP polls prior to the 1968 season were always in December, before any bowl game. The earliest attempt at a mythical championship seems to be the Rissman Trophy with 1924 as it's earliest entry.

[@goodmaro]

@@mikebronicki8264 No, the earliest national championships were the IFA's starting in the 1870s.

[@dustyhills8911]

I absolutely love these videos, Jon! THANK YOU for your hard work and research! I have been researching my hometown's (West branch, Ia) football history and the general history of football off and on for years and it uncovered some fascinating stories. I'm also a Michigan Wolverines fan, a musician and aspiring screenwriter. My interest in football history has sparked an idea for a project and your videos helped fuel the fire to actually start writing this project. Hopefully I can have it produced someday and I will give you a shout out credit. Keep up the great work!

[@CollegeFootballHistory]

Thank you!

[@procopiusaugustus6231]

Interesting. I have some memorabilia from my uncle’s trip to the 1926 Rose Bowl when Alabama defeated Washington 20-19. Roll Tide.

[@christopherTYJ]

Excellent stuff! I'm really enjoying your videos and look forward to more. Folks in the early part of the 20th century might be shocked at the state of the game today. Didn't most people want the game to be an amateur thing that was done for your school and not as a preparation for a pro career? They might not approve of all the money and cheerleaders and hype, which we accept as part of the entertainment. Before we judge Stanford in 1902 as not deserving a "bowl game", let's note that today bowl invitations sometimes go teams with .500 or worse records. My Minnesota Golden Gophers were 5-7 and got a bid. GO GOPHERS!

[@Johnadams20760]

the NFL didn't exist until the 1930s so there wsa no pro footall for quite some time at this opint

[@goodmaro]

I'm sure some folks from then might be shocked, but they'd be shocked at a lot of things, and that attitude has been common for a lot of amateur sports. Mainly people looked at how draining football was then and probably didn't think a professional career could be sustained for long enough to make it worthwhile. It's still a vain hope for the great majority of players. Not like baseball where you could make a little money playing as a minor leaguer for many years, let alone what a tennis or golf pro might be capable of. It was more like boxing, where you could compete at a high level only for a short time.

[@christopherTYJ]

@@Johnadams20760 The NFL got it's start in 1920, but your point is taken.

[@kepperMN]

Thanks!

[@CollegeFootballHistory]

Thank you!!!!!!!

[@Johnadams20760]

the grand daddy of them all

[@yidiandianpang]

Go blue!