WolverinesPedia™ - The Wolverines Encyclopedia

A polo match as the sporting highlight of the Tournament of Roses
Parade in Pasadena had been satisfactory, but something more dramatic was needed in 1902. “Why not a football game?’’ offered one member of the committee, and immediately Tournament President James Wagner started a series of correspondence with the “best team in the West’’—Fielding H.
Yost’s Michigan team.

Michigan was invited to play on January 1, 1902, against Stanford, champion of the “Pacific Coast Universities.’’ The Wolverines left Ann Arbor on Dec. 17 with temperatures
below freezing and six inches of snow on the ground. Eight days later, Michigan arrived in Los Angeles and
was greeted by 80-plus degrees and newspaper reports listing several reasons why Stanford should win.

New Year’s morning found the Michigan team outfitted in new uniforms with colorful Michigan banners, riding a large carriage in the Rose Parade. Thousands jammed the parade route, and following the parade Pasadena experienced its largest traffic
snarl ever as fans headed for the football grounds.

The city was a riot of color—mostly blue and gold, for by a strange coincidence, blue and gold were adopted as the year’s official colors of the Tournament. The color combination so closely resembled Michigan’s colors that some of the Stanford faithful, a bit miffed by what they thought was a show of support for their opponents, began to tear down the banners and streamers.

The crowd of 8,000 stormed Tournament Park, and the first 2,500 who arrived ran for the highest priced reserved seats. The rest, even those holding tickets to the reserved section, were forced to stand on the dusty sidelines throughout the contest.

The game opened with a blistering sun moving the temperatures into the mid-80’s. The teams lined up at 2:57 p.m., and with Michigan defending the south goal, the Wolverines’ Everett
Sweeley kicked off to open the first bowl game.

Stanford appeared every bit as capable as the papers reported, turning Bowl Game Summaries back the powerful Michigan offense, time and again, early in the contest. In fact, the game’s first score did not come until 23 minutes into the first
half. After a series of short gains moved the ball to the Stanford 30, halfback Willie Heston broke loose on a naked bootleg and picked up 21 yards on the first “big’’ play in Rose Bowl history. Three plays later, fullback Neil Snow bulled through the tiring
Stanford line from the six. Bruce Shorts added the PAT to give
Michigan a 6-0 lead.

Soon after Sweeley booted a 20- yard field goal, Michigan’s Chris Redden returned a weak Stanford punt 25 yards for a TD, giving the Wolverines a 17-0 halftime lead.

Under the sheer power of the Michigan 11, Stanford’s valiant
defense began to crumble in the second half. The Wolverines proved relentless, scoring on nearly every possession.
With eight minutes remaining in the game, Stanford captain Ralph
Fisher approached the Wolverine bench and offered to concede;
Michigan consented.

The 49-0 victory capped one of the most unbelievable seasons in college football history, Michigan had outscored its opponents, 550-0, winning 11 straight games. Willie Heston, too, made believers out of his West Coast critics. He gained 170 yards on
18 carries as the Wolverines recorded 527 yards on the ground.

The tournament association, though realizing a profit of $3,161.86, thought the wide difference in the score would make an annual game unappealing to spectators. The following year they replaced the football game with a chariot race, and it would be 14 years
before the Rose Bowl would again feature a post-parade football game.