Non-Rose Bowl Games held at the Stadium

To conclude our 40-day Rose Bowl celebration and get you ready for the game tonight, here are some of the non-Rose Bowl Game events that have occurred at the Rose Bowl Stadium that we celebrate.

Officially opened in October 1922, the stadium is a National Historic Landmark and a California Historic Civil Engineering landmark.

It is currently the 16th largest stadium in the world and the 11th largest in the U.S. (10th largest NCAA). The stadium has been renovated multiple times. Besides the seating additions in the late 1920s to make it a bowl shape, the venue has also been upgraded a few other times in 100 years. 1962 Rose Bowl $356,000 upgrade of an elevator and two rows. The Press Box was refurbished for UCLA's move in 1982 and the 1984 Summer Olympics. In 2011 and 2012, the press box was undergoing renovation as part of the larger renovation initially budgeted at $152 million in 2010.

The 1922 game of Cal and USC was played before the 1923 Rose Bowl game.

Parts of the 1932 Olympic Games, five Super Bowls, the Olympic men's soccer gold-medal game in 1984, and the FIFA Men's and Women's World Cups

1994 FIFA World Cup Final,

1999 FIFA Women's World Cup Final, the U.S. Women's National Team and China. Brandi Chastain celebrating her winning penalty kick in the '99 final then ripping off her jersey.

1984 Olympic Gold Medal Match, making it the only venue in the world to host all three of international soccer's major championship matches.

2002 and 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup Final, and the 1998 MLS Cup. 

Many sports organizations have called the Rose Bowl home over the years:

• Caltech Beavers (NCAA) 1923–1976
• Loyola Lions (NCAA) 1951
• CSULA Diablos 1957–1960, 1963–1969
• Los Angeles Wolves (NASL) 1968
• Pasadena Bowl 1946–1966, 1969–1971
• Los Angeles Aztecs (NASL) 1978–1979
• Los Angeles Galaxy (MLS) 1996–2002UCLA Home games since 1982:
• 2006 USC at UCLA

The No. 2 USC Trojans were poised to go to the BCS Championship game, however, the 6-5 Bruins had something to say about that. With just under six minutes left to play in regulation and down 13-9, quarterback John David Booty marched his team down to UCLA's 19-yard line on a 15-play, 52-yard drive.  

It all came down to a 3rd-and-4 situation for USC. Booty dropped back to pass and threw the ball. Bruin defensive back Eric McNeal tipped the pass to himself, diving for the game-saving interception. UCLA won the game 13-9 and knocked Southern Cal out of title contention.

According to Pasadena Star News website there have been many music related events held at the Rose Bowl Stadium.

Notable Concerts at the Rose Bowl Stadium:

• August 7, 1965 - Herman’s Hermits headlined an afternoon concert, with the Turtles, Lovin’ Spoonful and Bobby Fuller Four
• Sept. 15, 1968 – “An American Music Show” featured The Everly Brothers, Joan Baez, the Byrds, Wilson Pickett, Big Brother and the Holding Company, Junior Wells with Buddy Guy and the Mothers of Invention.
• June 20, 1981 – Merle Haggard, Don Williams, Alabama, Mickey Gilley, Johnny Lee, Rosanne Cash, Larry Gatlin & the Gatlin Brothers Band
• June 6, 1982 - Jackson Browne, Tom Petty, Bob Dylan, Bonnie Raitt, Dan Fogelberg, Stevie Nicks, Graham Nash, Stephen Stills, Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Wonder, Timothy B. Schmit & Don Felder, Joan Baez and Gary U.S. Bonds.
• April 1994 - Pink Floyd had two consecutive nights playing at the Rose Bowl
• October 2009 - U@ drew over 97,000 to make it the largest concert at the venue
• Sept 2014 - One Direction became the first group to play three straight nights
• May 14, 2016 - Beyonce became the first female to headline a show there

A Very Special thanks to information obtained from the following brilliant internet sites: On This Day Sports, the Sports Reference's family of website databases & Stathead.com.

Banner photo is courtesy of Wikimedia Commons of  ROSE BOWL FOOTBALL GAME, VIEW NORTHEAST, 1923 - Rose Bowl Stadium, from Positive Image Photographic Services.

The other photo above is also from Wikimedia Commons and is of the Rose Bowl construction in 1921.After crowds out-grew Pasadena's Tournament Park, architect Myron Hunt drew up plans for the construction of the Rose Bowl stadium in 1920. On January 1, 1923, USC beat Penn State, 14-3, in the first Rose Bowl game. The stadium was enlarged several times, with the south end completed in 1928, taken by an unknown.