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2022 Royal Court members Jeannine Briggs, Abigail Griffith, Jaeda Walden, Nadia Chung, Swetha Somasundaram, Ava Feldman, and McKenzie Street celebrate the Rose Bowl's 99th birthday on October 28, 2021
Craig Washington (Tournament of Roses Board Member), Bob Miller (Tournament of Roses President), and Terry Madigan (Tournament of Roses Vice President) celebrate the Rose Bowl's 99th birthday on October 28, 2021
Mark Baratta, Janet Moore, and Mayor Victor Gordo celebrate the Rose Bowl's 99th birthday on October 28, 2021
Fire Department Officer Anthony James and Fire Chief Chad Augustin celebrate the Rose Bowl's 99th birthday on October 28, 2021
Mayor Victor Gordo speaks about the Rose Bowl's history and his memories of selling stuffed footballs to fans at the Rose Bowl's 99th birthday on October 28, 2021
Bob Miller (Tournament of Roses President) receives recognition at the Rose Bowl's 99th birthday on October 28, 2021
Rose Queen Nadia Chung and Royal Court members receive recognition at the Rose Bowl's 99th birthday on October 28, 2021
Panel with moderator John Lewin (sportscaster) and guest athletes Brandi Christian, Cobi Jones, and Vince Young at the Rose Bowl's 99th birthday on October 28, 2021
Rose Bowl centennial celebration signage on display at the Rose Bowl's 99th birthday on October 28, 2021
Josh Lewin (sportscaster) moderates a panel of athletes at the Rose Bowl's 99th birthday on October 28, 2021
Josh Lewin and Brandi Christian during a panel at the Rose Bowl's 99th birthday on October 28, 2021
Josh Lewin, Brandi Christian, Cobi Jones, and Vince Young during the panel at the Rose Bowl's 99th birthday on October 28, 2021
Brandi Christian, Cobi Jones, and Vince Young during the panel at the Rose Bowl's 99th birthday on October 28, 2021
Cobi Jones and Vince Young during the panel at the Rose Bowl's 99th birthday on October 28, 2021
Vince Young during the panel at the Rose Bowl's 99th birthday on October 28, 2021
Athlete panel featuring Brandi Christian, Cobi Jones, and Vince Young, and moderated by Josh Lewin at the Rose Bowl's 99th birthday on October 28, 2021
Terry Madigan (Vice President) (right) and other Tournament of Roses representatives at the Rose Bowl's 99th birthday on October 28, 2021
Guests at the Rose Bowl's 99th birthday on October 28, 2021
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Brandi Christian (left) holds an Olympic torch handed to her by Barry Levy (right), Ceremonies Staff Member of the Olympics 1984 in Los Angeles
Two-time Olympic gold medalist Brandi Christian holds an Olympic torch handed to her by Barry Levy at the Rose Bowl's 99th birthday on October 28, 2021
Close up of Olympic torch owned by Barry Levy, Ceremonies Staff Member of the Olympics 1984 in Los Angeles, at the Rose Bowl's 99th birthday on October 28, 2021
Cobi Jones and Brandi Christian chat with the 2022 Royal Court at the Rose Bowl's 99th birthday on October 28, 2021
Brandi Christian chats with the 2022 Royal Court at the Rose Bowl's 99th birthday on October 28, 2021
Guests enjoy catered food at the Rose Bowl's 99th birthday on October 28, 2021
On October 23, 1922, the USC Trojans took on the Cal Bears in a battle of undefeated teams. Cal beat the Trojans, but wasn’t all that interested in returning to play again in the “Tournament of Roses Bowl,” as the stadium was then called.
So USC stepped up into the “Rose Bowl” game on Jan. 1, 1923, and beat the Penn State Nittany Lions by a score of 14-3.
That was 99 years ago Thursday, and the Rose Bowl stadium has flourished ever since, garnering the moniker, “‘America’s Stadium.”
To honor the date, Rose Bowl officials held a recognition presentation Thursday to recognize the stadium’s vaunted history, and some of its stars, assisted by 2022 Rose Queen Nadia Chung, and the 2022 Rose Parade Royal Court. Mayor Victor Gordo and Pasadena Councilmember Steve Madison attended the event, which also featured a screening of “Remember the Titans,” starring Denzel Washington.
U.S. women’s soccer team star Brandi Chastain, U.S. men’s soccer team star Cobi Jones, and 2006 Rose Bowl star Vince Young, whose Texas Longhorns beat USC in a memorable 2006 Rose Bowl performance, took part and recalled their own memories of the field.
“I still dream of that field,” joked Chastain, “and in those dreams, fortunately, the ball always goes in, because sometimes now when I watch that video, I think, ‘What if the ball doesn’t go in?’”
Jones stressed the importance of playing on a team and how the experience helps develop character and maturity for all of its participants.
In the beginning, the structure’s name was alternatively “Tournament of Roses Stadium” or “Tournament of Roses Bowl,” until becoming the “Rose Bowl” before the 1923 Rose Bowl Game.
Since then, the stadium, with its southern end closed in 1928, has been the site of numerous historic sporting and entertainment events, among them five Super Bowls, numerous college football championship games, and a number of soccer matches and championships, including the 1994 FIFA World Cup Final, the 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup Final, and the 1984 Olympic Soccer Gold Medal Match, as well as numerous CONCACAF and United States Soccer Federation matches.
Entertainers from Beyonce to Michael Jackson to the Rolling Stones have also performed there.
Today, the stadium, with a seating capacity of 92,542, is recognized as a National Historic Landmark and a California Historic Civil Engineering Landmark. The Rose Bowl is also the 16th-largest stadium in the world, the 11th-largest stadium in the United States, and the 10th-largest NCAA stadium.
And it’s going to be 100 in 2022.
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