A History of Rose Bowl Tickets (1902-1944)

The Rose Bowl will soon kick off for the 110th time. The oldest and proudest of bowl games, the Rose Bowl is no longer special. It is just another playoff game, unique only for its venue and history. However, because of its long history and past meaning, the Rose Bowl provides a unique opportunity to review football’s past by examining the history of its tickets.

The Romans used coin-like disks rather than the paper or electronic tickets we use today. Still, after the world switched to paper tickets, people began putting them away in scrapbooks, shoeboxes, and other locations, so tickets from long-ago games remain available for review. Part of the fun of reviewing old tickets is that they reflect the artistic styles, technologies, currency values, and social issues surrounding the events. With that said, let’s look at selected Rose Bowl tickets over the years.

Paper tickets were issued for the first Rose Bowl in 1902, though I’ve never seen an image of one. The images below show tickets issued for the second Rose Bowl played in 1916 and the 1921 editions. Both are relatively plain except for the Art Nouveau appeal of the Tournament Park logo. (The 1902-1922 games occurred at Tournament Park in Pasadena. Tournament of Roses Stadium, aka the Rose Bowl, opened in 1922.)