Today's Tidbit... Harvard's 1936 Rose Bowl Invitation

Harvard played Oregon in the 1920 Rose Bowl and was not expecting an invitation to play in the 1936 game. After all, the Crimson had won three and lost six that season, beating only Springfield, Brown, and New Hampshire. They played Yale close but failed to score on Holy Cross, Army, and Princeton, so an invitation to spend the holidays in Pasadena was a surprise.

In those days, the Tournament of Roses chose a West Coast team to play in the Rose Bowl game, and that team selected and invited their opponent. Stanford, UCLA, and Cal tied for the Pacific Coast Conference title in 1935, with the Tournament choosing Stanford as the representative based on their shutting out Cal in the last game of the season. So, it was Stanford's invitation to give.