1934: Columbia, 7 vs. Stanford, 0

“A few hours before the New Year’s Day game of 1934 the Rose Bowl was under eighteen inches of water,” wrote Maxwell Stiles, author of The Rose Bowl, to start his chapter on the 1934 Rose Bowl Game, which Columbia won over Stanford, 7-0. “A few minutes after the game the field was under eighteen inches of Stanford’s tears.”

For three days before the 1934 Rose Bowl Game, the sunshine that perpetually blankets Southern California was replaced by storm clouds that dumped seemingly Biblical torrents of rain on the Southland. The normally arid Arroyo Seco in which the Rose Bowl sits was transformed from a dry football field to what looked like the stage for a reenactment of a famous naval battle.

“The gushing waters from surrounding foothills coursed uncontrollably into the Arroyo and were parted by the stadium itself,” wrote former Pasadena Star-New” columnist Rube Samuelson. “The Bowl’s drainpipes either were broken or stopped up by debris, causing the rising tide to enter the huge saucer, cover its playing floor, and rise to the level of the lower box seats.”

A few hours before the game, the rain stopped, but the water remained. The Pasadena Fire Department used every ounce of man- and machine-power to pump out 2.5 million gallons of water in order to avoid the game’s first-ever postponement. In fact, the field drained so well, the players didn’t even need to use mud cleats – it was a New Year’s miracle.

Columbia must have believed miracles come in pairs, for theirs was a story Hollywood dreams are made of.

There was no reason they should have won this game. They were outmatched by Stanford, even though the “Vow Boys,” named for their vow to never lose to USC again after a loss to the frosh team in 1932, were mostly sophomores. And the nation’s sportswriters – as they tend to be – were quick to point this out. The headline across the top of Page 1 of sports in the Jan. 1, 1934, Los Angeles Times read:
“STANFORD HEAVY FAVORITE TO WALLOP LIONS.”

But the Lions bit back, opening – and closing – the scoring on a hidden-ball play from 17 yards out in the second quarter.

Apart from that drive, which was Columbia’s only real scoring opportunity of the day, Stanford spent most of the game slaughtering the Lions. Bobby Grayson alone rushed for a Rose Bowl Game-record 152 yards on 28 carries. That was more than Columbia gained as a team: 107 total yards. Stanford had 16 first downs to Columbia’s five and 235 rushing yards to Columbia’s 78. But eight Stanford fumbles – five recovered for a loss and three lost to Columbia – and Columbia’s repeated goal-line stands ultimately shut out the supposedly superior Stanford team.

Wrote Bill Henry in the Los Angeles Times: “The only guy who could think of the right words (to describe the loss), was Mr. Claude (Tiny) Thornhill, mastermind of the Stanfords, and Tiny’s words wouldn’t go through the mails.”

Attendance
35,000

Weather
Rain and muddy

Scoring
Second Quarter
Col – Barabas, 17-yard run (Wilder kick good)

Coaches
Stan: Claude E. “Tiny” Thornhill
Col: Lou Little

Fun Fact
This game was the first of three consecutive Rose Bowl Game appearances for the Stanford “Vow Boys.” They lost the next before finally winning their senior year in 1936.

Individual Stats
Rushing
Stan: Grayson 28-152