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‘Home of the Rose Bowl Game’ marker. | Courtesy photo
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Earlier this month, the Rose Bowl Stadium honored one of its key tenants, the Pasadena Tournament of Roses with a historical marker celebrating the “Home of the Rose Bowl Game.”
Made possible by a generous gift from Reynolds Crutchfield to the Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation, the historical marker honors the home of the annual Rose Bowl Game and is located outside of the iconic Rose Bowl Stadium at Gate A.
The Rose Bowl Game, which celebrated its 100th game in 2014, remains one of the most celebrated college football games each year due to its high-profile, traditional match-up between the Big Ten and Pac-12. Known as “The Granddaddy of them All,” the Rose Bowl Game is currently the oldest bowl game in operation and has been a contractual sellout since 1947.
The donation from Crutchfield, who has attended 78-consecutive Rose Bowl Games, also supports the core of Legacy Foundation’s mission, which is to preserve, protect and enhance the Rose Bowl Stadium as a National Historic Landmark.
“Just being there is the emotional part. Sitting there and looking at the San Gabriel Mountains…the setting is so wonderful. I look forward to coming back every year,” said Crutchfield.
The Rose Bowl Game has been the occasion of many firsts. It was the first local radio broadcast of an East-West bowl game in 1926, the first transcontinental radio broadcast of a sporting event in 1927, the first local telecast of a college football game in 1948, the first national telecast of a college football game in 1952, the first coast-to-coast color telecast of a college football game in 1962 and the first College Football Playoff Semifinal in 2015.
With significant help throughout the years, in its planning from Pasadena Heritage, the Legacy Foundation began raising funds to place historical markers around the venue to highlight some of its key moments. The “Home of the Rose Bowl Game” historical marker is the third on property following historical markers for Peyton Manning and Stadium Architect, Myron Hunt.
The Legacy Foundation hopes to add more historical markers to educate its visitors about past events and contributors to the stadium’s sports and entertainment timeline. Some markers include UCLA’s “Gutty Little Bruins,” UCLA’s 1982 move to the Rose Bowl Stadium, Michigan coach Bo Schembechler, Grambling coach Eddie Robinson, the Ivy League, Brown University star Fritz Pollard, Notre Dame’s Knute Rockne, Stanford’s Pop Warner and several more.
“The Rose Bowl Stadium would not be here today without the vision from the Pasadena Tournament of Roses nearly 100 years ago to create a stadium large enough to host the annual Rose Bowl Game and now so much more,” said Chief Development Officer Dedan Brozino. “The addition of this historical marker to our grounds will help provide additional education for all who visit America’s Stadium long into the future.”
