1902 Rose Bowl

NCAAFootballSingleGameHeader
Name=Tournament East-West football game
Date=January 1, 1902
Year=1901
Visitor School=University of Michigan
Visitor Name Short=Michigan
Visitor Nickname=Wolverines
Visitor Record=10-0
Visitor Coach=Fielding Yost
Visitor1=0
Visitor2=17
Visitor3=32
Visitor4=0
Visitor Total=49
Home School=Stanford University
Home Name Short=Stanford
Home Nickname=Cardinal
Home Record=3-1-2
Home Coach=C.M. Fickert
Home1=0
Home2=0
Home3=0
Home4=0
Home Total=0
Type=bg
Stadium=Tournament Park
City=Pasadena, California
Attendance=8,000 (estimated, see article) [ [http://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/bowls/1902rose.htm 1902 Rose Bowl] - University of Michigan] [University of Michigan football media guide - PDF copy available at mgoblue.com]
MVP=Neil Snow
US Network=
US Announcers=
Anthem=
Halftime= Originally titled the "Tournament East-West football game," what is now known as the Rose Bowl game was first played on January 1, 1902, starting the tradition of New Year's Day bowl games.

The inaugural game featured Fielding Yost's dominating 1901 Michigan Wolverines football team, representing the East, who crushed a previously 3-1-2 team from Stanford University, representing the West, by a score of 49-0 after Stanford captain Ralph Fisher requested to quit with eight minutes remaining. Michigan finished the season 11-0-0 and was considered the national champion. Yost had been Stanford's coach the previous year.

Organization of the game

The Tournament of Roses Parade began in 1890 as a New Years' Day tradition in the City of Pasadena. The city boosters were exploring a way to bring in tourism and money to the area. The Tournament of Roses Association president, James Wagner, guaranteed $3,500 to cover the expenses of bringing the football teams of the University of Michigan and Stanford University to Pasadena to play. The admission price was 50 cents to $1 to see the game. An additional $1 would be charged to admit a family's horse and buggy to the grounds. The game would be played in Tournament Park, where temporary stands would be built.

Tournament Park

Before the Rose Bowl stadium was built for the 1923 Rose Bowl Game, games were played in Pasadena's Tournament Park, approximately three miles southeast of the current stadium.

Tournament Park is now a private park maintained by the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, California. It was simply known as the "town lot" before being renamed Tournament Park in 1900 [cite web
title = Tournament of Roses History
url = http://www.tournamentofroses.com/history/
accessdate = 2007-01-01 ] .

Teams

Stanford had played the Olympic Club and Reliance Club twice, beating and tying each. They beat Nevada 12-0, then lost to Cal in the eleventh Big Game 0-2.

The 1901 Michigan Wolverines football team was nicknamed the "Point-a-minute team" when they came to Pasadena to play the game. The Wolverines had racked up 555 points while allowing their opponents no points at all.

Game summary

*The playing field was 110 yards long
*Touchdowns counted five points, field goals five, and conversions one
*The game was divided into two thirty minute halves
*A team had to make five yards in three downs
*Forward passes were not allowed
*Substitutions were used infrequently, as 11 men usually played the entire game
*The game ended with eight minutes remaining on the clock upon request of Stanford captain Ralph Fisher and by agreement with Michigan team captain Hugh White.

coring

First half

*Michigan – Neil Snow 5-yard run (Bruce Shorts kick) 6-0
*Michigan – Everett Sweeley 20-yard field goal 11-0
*Michigan – Chris Redden 25-yard punt return (Shorts kicks) 17-0

econd half

*Michigan – Snow 2-yard run (kick failed) 22-0
*Michigan – Redden 25-yard fumble recovery (Shorts kick) 28-0
*Michigan – Snow 8-yard run (kick failed) 33-0
*Michigan – Snow 17-yard run (kick failed) 38-0
*Michigan – Snow 4-yard run (Shorts kick) 44-0
*Michigan – Albert E. Herrnstein 21-yd field goal (kick failed) 49-0

Aftermath

The game was so lopsided that for the next 15 years, the Tournament of Roses officials ran chariot races, ostrich races, and other various events instead of football.Bowl Games: College Football's Greatest Tradition, by Robert Ours, 2004, pgs. 3-4] But, on New Year's Day 1916 football returned to stay as Washington State University defeated Brown University in the first annual Tournament of Roses football game. At Stanford, rugby replaced football from the 1906 season through the 1917 season. [Stanford football media guide - PDF copy available at [http://gostanford.com gostanford.com] ]

In record keeping, Neil Snow's five touchdowns are noted along with the "modern" Rose Bowl record of four touchdowns held by Eric Ball, Sam Cunningham, and Ron Dayne. Snow was named the Most Valuable Player of the game when the award was created in 1953 and selections were made retroactively. [http://www.bowlprograms.com/rosebowl/?pg=182 2008 Rose Bowl Program] , 2008 Rose Bowl. Accessed January 26, 2008.]

The initial attendance has varied according to different sources. The ESPN BCS article lists the attendance as 8,500. [Dan O'Sullivan - [http://espn.go.com/abcsports/bcs/rose/s/1902.html Bowl Championship Series - 1902 - Michigan 49, Stanford 0] . ESPN.com/BCSfootball.com. December 13, 2002] The Michigan football media guide, and Michigan articles list the attendance as 8,000. [ [http://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/bowls/1902rose.htm 1902 Rose Bowl] - University of Michigan] [University of Michigan football media guide - PDF copy available at mgoblue.com] The Official 2007 NCAA Division I football records book lists the attendance at 8,000. [Official 2007 NCAA Division I football records book - PDF copy available at NCAA.org]

Tournament park would be the site for the second to eighth Rose Bowl Games from 1916 to 1922 before the Rose Bowl stadium opened for the 1923 Rose Bowl.

External links

* [http://www.rosebowlhistory.org/rose-bowl-1902.php Summary at Rosebowlhistory.org]
* [http://www.tournamentofroses.com/rosebowlgame/ Rose Bowl Game official site]
* Dan O'Sullivan - [http://espn.go.com/abcsports/bcs/rose/s/1902.html Bowl Championship Series - 1902 - Michigan 49, Stanford 0] . ESPN.com/BCSfootball.com. December 13, 2002
* [http://www.facilitiesmanagement.caltech.edu/tournament_park.html Tournament Park] — California Institute of Technology, Facilities Management Department
* [http://bentley.umich.edu/athdept/football/bowls/1902rose.htm 1902 Rose Bowl] - University of Michigan

References

ee also

*Rose Bowl Game
*1901 Michigan Wolverines football team

Books

*Maxwell Stiles - "The Rose Bowl: A Complete Action and Pictorial Exposition of Rose Bowl Football", Sportsmaster Publications (1946), ASIN: B0007FBNU4
*Stanford Football Media guide (PDF copy available at www.gostanford.com)
*Michigan Football Media guide (PDF copy available at www.mgoblue.com)
*America's New Year Celebration (The Rose Parade & Rose Bowl Game). Albion Publishing Group Santa Barbara, CA 1999. ISBN: 1880352621
*The Rose Bowl Game by Rube Samuelsen. Doubleday Company and Inc. 1951. ASIN: B0007DZXFC