On January 1, 1890, members of the Valley Hunt Club paraded their flower-festooned horse-and-buggies through the streets of Pasadena, California, and spent the afternoon competing in foot races and tug-of-war contests. In the years following that first Tournament of Roses parade, the post-procession athletic contests evolved to include polo matches and even greased-pig catching. In 1901, however, the newly appointed president of the Pasadena Tournament of Roses sought to stage a sporting event even more popular than porcine wrangling to publicize their little village’s floral festival, and he latched onto one of the country’s up-and-coming pastimes: college football.
Festival organizers staged a matchup between two of the best teams from the East and the West, and on January 1, 1902, players from Michigan and Stanford battled before 8,000 fans on Tournament Park’s dusty gridiron.
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