Here are some fun facts to get you pumped and ready for the 114th Big Game!
1. Stanford leads the all-time series : 56–46–11
2. The term “Big Game” was first used in 1900, when it was played on Thanksgiving Day in San Francisco. During that game, a large group of spectators observing from the roof of the nearby S.F. and Pacific Glass Works fell into the fiery interior of the building when the roof collapsed, resulting in 13 people dying and 78 people injured.
3. Future U.S. President Herbert Hoover was the Stanford team manager for the first Big Game, held in 1892.
4. In 1906, citing concerns about the violence in football, both schools dropped football in favor of rugby, which was played for the Big Games of 1906 to 1914
5. The first incidence of card stunts was performed by Cal fans at the halftime of the 1910 Big Game
6. From 1915–1917, California’s “Big Game” was their game against Washington, while Stanford played Santa Clara as their rugby “Big Game”
7. Scenes for the Harold Lloyd silent classic The Freshman were filmed at California Memorial Stadium during halftime of the 1924 Big Game.
More Big Game fun facts to come later in the week…
