First Rose Bowl Played: College Football Tradition Born
Michigan beat Stanford 49-0 in the first Rose Bowl, and Stanford's captain asked to end the game with eight minutes left. It was that bad. Tournament organizers were so embarrassed they replaced football with chariot racing the following year. Chariot racing lasted until 1916, when football came back. The original game drew about 8,000 spectators to Tournament Park in Pasadena. Today the Rose Bowl seats 90,000 and the parade draws 700,000 people to the streets. College bowl games nearly died in infancy because one team forgot to show up ready.
January 1, 1902
124 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on January 1
Roman consuls began their year in office on January 1 for the first time in 153 BC. Before that, they'd taken power on March 15. The change happened because Rom…
The Julian calendar takes effect as the civil calendar of the Roman Empire, establishing January 1 as the new date of the new year. That was -45.
The Roman Senate posthumously deifies Julius Caesar. That was -42.
The Roman legions in Germania Superior refuse to swear loyalty to Galba. They rebel and proclaim Vitellius as emperor. That was 69.
January 1, 153. Roman consuls begin their year in office.
The Senate chooses Pertinax against his will to succeed Commodus as Roman emperor. That was 193.
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