New Year's Day is here, which means it's time for college football's most storied annual event: the Rose Bowl. Iowa and Stanford will be facing off in Pasadena, California, this time around, and they'll be wearing this jersey patch:
This is the jersey patch Iowa will wear in the Rose Bowl. @UniWatch @PhilHecken pic.twitter.com/dgN77jkxBm
— Jesse Gavin (@JesseGavin1) December 12, 2015
Jersey patches for bowl games are nothing new, of course. But you might not realize that the Granddaddy of Them All is also the granddaddy of bowl game uniform adornments. For nearly four decades now, Rose Bowl teams have been adding rose imagery to their jerseys, their helmets or both. The tradition appears to have begun in 1978, when Washington wore a single rose on each shoulder:
Roses on shoulder for Rose Bowl apparently pioneered by Washington in 1978 (h/t @Steve_May and @bobtimmermann). pic.twitter.com/NvjsxPV6QA
— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) December 28, 2015
The first Rose Bowl featuring both teams wearing rose patches came in 1982, when Washington and Iowa went with rosy shoulders:
Early example of teams wearing rose patches on their shoulders for the Rose Bowl: Iowa and Washington 1982. pic.twitter.com/e8Pki7f7Dy
— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) December 28, 2015
After that, the practice became fairly common for both Rose Bowl combatants:
Better view of UCLA and Illinois wearing rosy shoulders in 1984 Rose Bowl (h/t @mrmichael21). pic.twitter.com/6CsK8VirHH
— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) December 28, 2015
More rosy shoulders in the Rose Bowl: UCLA and Iowa in 1986. pic.twitter.com/Gew6qsiSmp
— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) December 28, 2015
Michigan and Arizona State wore rosy shoulders in the 1987 Rose Bowl. pic.twitter.com/Nu91kH4clE
— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) December 28, 2015
Michigan State and USC wearing rose patches in 1988 Rose Bowl. pic.twitter.com/npu3Flo1LR
— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) December 28, 2015
Although the rose patches became a fairly standard protocol, there were occasional exceptions. In 1995, for example, Oregon went with rosy shoulders but Penn State, true to its no-frills image, kept its jerseys rose-free. Similarly, Ohio State stuck to its old-school look in 1997 while Arizona State wore rose patches:
1995 Rose Bowl: Oregon wearing rose patches; Penn State staying minimalist with rose-less shoulders. pic.twitter.com/JFyxJ4OC3h
— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) December 28, 2015
@UniWatch 1997 Rose Bowl pic.twitter.com/m1Wfc1FlCV
— Brad Denny (@BDenny29) December 28, 2015
Washington State upped the ante in 1998 by adding a rose to its helmets -- a crown of thorns, so to speak:
1998 Rose Bowl: Washington State wears roses on shoulders and on helmet. pic.twitter.com/EgGI2d6pjE
— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) December 28, 2015
Purdue was the next team to go with rosy headwear, in 2001, and Washington State reprised the look, but with a different helmet logo, in 2003:
2001 Rose Bowl: Purdue adds a rose to its helmet logo. pic.twitter.com/P3R5Gd4UBo
— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) December 28, 2015
2003 Rose Bowl: Wazzou once again adds rose imagery to helmet. pic.twitter.com/p1Ba1khhus
— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) December 28, 2015
The best helmet treatment so far came in 2011, when TCU put a rose in its Horned Frog mascot's mouth:
TCU wore a rose on their helmets in the 2011 Rose Bowl @UniWatch pic.twitter.com/jO463ipyhx
— Phil Hecken (@PhilHecken) December 28, 2015
TCU's opponent in that game was Wisconsin, which just wore its usual "Motion W" helmet logo. But when the Badgers returned to the Rose Bowl a year later, they incorporated a rose pattern into their helmet mark and their uniform numbers:
2012 Rose Bowl: Wisconsin uses rose petals on helmet and uni numbers (h/t @ehowell10 and @trumpetdylan). pic.twitter.com/mrw1wngTEk
— Paul Lukas (@UniWatch) December 28, 2015
As for Iowa and Stanford, there has been no advance word about either of them using rose-themed helmet logos (and neither school has ever used rosy headwear for any of its previous Rose Bowl appearances), but that hasn't stopped fans from coming up with their own concepts, at least for Iowa:
@UniWatch how cool would this be from Iowa?? If only... pic.twitter.com/746KnWndfj
— Nathan Friederich (@fred__rick) December 28, 2015
Would you like to nominate a uniform to be showcased in a future Friday Flashback installment? Send your suggestions here.
Paul Lukas wishes everyone a Happy New Year. If you liked this column, you'll probably like his Uni Watch Blog, plus you can follow him on Twitter and Facebook. Want to learn about his Uni Watch Membership Program, be added to his mailing list so you'll always know when a new column has been posted or just ask him a question? Contact him here.