Rose Bowl Trivia
From the first game in 1902, the football games associated with the Tournament of Roses were meant to bring publicity and tourists to Pasadena by matching top Eastern and West Coast teams. Originally known as the Tournament East-West Football Game, the game became known as the “Rose Bowl” moniker after Tournament of Roses Stadium shortly before it opened in the 1920s. Since 1947, the Rose Bowl has typically featured representatives from the Big Ten and Pac 12 conferences.
Questions
1) How many Rose Bowl games were not played in Rose Bowl Stadium? What were the alternate sites?
2) Name the four teams that played in the Rose Bowl that do not currently play FBS (D-1A) or FCS (D-1AA) football.
3) Name the three head coaches who have led more than one school / team in the Rose Bowl.
4) Name the two individuals who were head coaches for Rose Bowl and NFL Championship teams.
5) Which coach had the longest period between their first and last appearance as a Rose Bowl head coach?
6) Name the sixteen Heisman Trophy winners who also played in the Rose Bowl (includes vacated winners).
7) Name the only player who was both the Rose Bowl and Super Bowl MVP.
8) Name the Rose Bowl MVP who won an Olympic medal prior to playing in the Rose Bowl.
9) One Heisman Trophy winner that played in the Rose Bowl had a cousin win an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. What is their shared surname?
10) Name the two players to start in four Rose Bowl games.
11) Which Rose Bowl game featured two teams from the same conference?
12) Which teams from outside the Big Ten and Pac-12 have played in the Rose Bowl in consecutive years?
13) Michigan played in the first Rose Bowl in 1902. Among current Big Ten teams, which three teams were the next to appear in the Rose Bowl?
14) Michigan was the first Eastern team invited to the Rose Bowl. Which Big Ten member was the second team to receive a Rose Bowl invitation?
15) Other than the Big Ten and Pac 12, which conferences have the most Rose Bowl appearances (based on current conference affiliations)?
16) Name the first (and only?) person to play in and officiate a Rose Bowl game.
17) Name the only person to play for two different Rose Bowl teams, neither of which currently play Division I football.
18) Nine U.S. Presidents are graduates of Rose Bowl-winning schools. Name the schools and the associated Presidents.
Bonus Question Unrelated to the Rose Bowl
19) Name the five universities that count among their alumni at least one Super Bowl-winning QB and one U.S. President.
Answers
Q1. Ten. The 1923 Rose Bowl was the first played in Rose Bowl Stadium. Before that, games were played at Pasadena’s Tournament Park (1902, 1916, 1917, 1918, 1919, 1920, 1921, 1922). In the aftermath of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the 1942 game shifted to Duke Stadium (now Wallace Wade Stadium) in Durham, NC. Similarly, the 2021 Rose Bowl moved to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas due to restrictions resulting from Covid-19.
Q2. The 1918 game included the Mare Island Marines versus Camp Lewis. The 1919 game saw the Mare Island Marines return to face the Great Lakes Naval Training Station and the 1922 Rose Bowl featured California versus Washington and Jefferson
Q3. Three coaches led more than one team in the Rose Bowl:
Hugo Bezdek: Oregon (1917), Mare Island Marines (1918), Penn State (1923)
Lone Star Dietz: Washington State (1916), Mare Island (1919)
Wallace Wade: Alabama (1925, 1926, 1930), Duke (1939, 1942)
Q4. Two coaches won a Rose Bowl and the NFL championship:
Earle “Greasy” Neale: Washington & Jefferson (1922) and Philadelphia Eagles (1948, 1949)
Dick Vermeil: UCLA (1976) and St. Louis Rams (2000)
Q5. The coaches with the longest period between their first and last appearance in the Rose Bowl were:
Barry Alvarez: 20 years (1993 – 2013)
Wade Wallace: 17 years (1925 – 1942)
Q6. Heisman Trophy winners that have appeared in the Rose Bowl include:
Vic Janowicz (Ohio State 1950, Heisman 1950)
Alan Ameche (Wisconsin 1953, Heisman 1954)
Howard Cassady (Ohio State 1955, Heisman 1955)
Gary Beban (UCLA 1966, 1967 Heisman)
O.J. Simpson (USC 1969 , 1968 Heisman)
Jim Plunkett (Stanford 1971, Heisman 1970)
Archie Griffin (Ohio State 1973-1976; Heisman 1974, 1975)
Charles White (USC 1977, 1979, 1980; Heisman 1979)
Marcus Allen (USC 1979, 1980, Heisman 1981)
Desmond Howard (Michigan 1998, Heisman 1991)
Charles Woodson (Michigan 1998, Heisman 1997)
Ron Dayne (Wisconsin 1999, 2000; Heisman 1999)
Matt Leinhart (USC 2004, 2006; Heisman 2004)
Reggie Bush (USC 2004, 2006; Heisman 2005)
Marcus Mariota (Oregon 2015, 2014 Heisman)
Baker Mayfield (Oklahoma 2018, Heisman 2017)
Q7. Jim Plunkett of Stanford was the MVP for the 1971 Rose Bowl and Super Bowl XV.
Q8. Harold "Brick" Muller won a silver medal in the high jump at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp. He played for California in the 1921 and 1922 Rose Bowls.
Q9. Ameche. Alan Ameche played for Wisconsin in the 1953 Rose Bowl and won the 1954 Heisman Trophy. His cousin, Don Ameche, won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1985 for his role in Cocoon.
Q10. The two players to start for their teams in four Rose Bowls were Archie Griffin (Ohio State, 1973-1976) and Brian Cushing (USC, 2006-2009).
Q11. 1944. Due to WWII travel restrictions, the 4-0 Washington Huskies, who did not play a conference foe during the regular season, met 7-2 USC. Both of USC's losses were to teams representing military bases.
Q12. Teams from outside the Big Ten and Pac-12 that played in the Rose Bowl in consecutive years include:
Mare Island (1918-19)
Alabama (1926-27)
Texas (2005-06)
Q13. Other than Michigan, the first Rose Bowl appearances by current Big Ten members were:
Ohio State (1921)
Penn State (1923)
Nebraska (1941)
Illinois (1947) was the first Big Ten team to play in the Rose Bowl under the partnership with the Pac-12
Q14. Wisconsin received an invitation to the 1903 Rose Bowl, a game that was never played. The story of their invitation can be found here.
Q15. The conferences other than the Big Ten and Pac-12 with the greatest number of Rose Bowl appearances are:
SEC (11): Alabama (1926, 1927, 1931, 1935, 1938, 1946, 2021), Tennessee (1940, 1945), Georgia (1943, 2018)
ACC (9): Pitt (1928, 1930, 1933, 1937), Georgia Tech (1929), Duke (1939, 1942), Miami (2002), Florida State (2015)
Big 12 (5): Oklahoma (2003, 2018), TCU (2001), Texas (2005, 2006)
Ivy (4): Brown (1916), Penn (1917), Harvard (1920), Columbia (1934)
Q16. Ken Bartlett. Bartlett is one of five men to play every minute of three Rose Bowls: Oregon (1917, 1920) and Camp Lewis (1918). He was the Head Linesman for the 1924 Rose Bowl and also placed fifth in the discus at the 1920 Olympics in Antwerp.
Q17. Hal Erickson played for the Great Lakes Naval Training Station in 1919 and for Washington & Jefferson in 1922.
Q18. The U.S. Presidents who are graduates of schools that have won a Rose Bowl include:
Harvard: John Adams, John Quincy Adams, Rutherford B. Hayes, Theodore Roosevelt, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, George W. Bush
Stanford: Herbert Hoover
Michigan: Gerald Ford
Q19. Bonus Question. The schools that count among their alumni a Super Bowl-winning quarterback and a U.S. President are:
Navy: Jimmy Carter (1981-1985) and Roger Staubach (Super Bowls VI and XII)
Stanford: Herbert Hoover (1929-1933) and Jim Plunkett (XV, XVIII), John Elway (XXXII, XXXIII)
Michigan: Gerald Ford (1974-1977) and Tom Brady (XXXVI, XXXVIII, XXXIX, XLIX, LI, LIII)
Miami of Ohio: Benjamin Harrison (1889-1893) and Ben Roethlisberger (XL, XLIII)
Delaware: Joe Biden (2021-TBD) and Joe Flacco (XLVII)