There's something special, for both the collector and the historian, about pre-ww1 rugby played in California, culminating every year between 1906 and 1914 in the "Big Game" played between Stanford and University of California - the "other" Varisty match...
I received recently a beautiful ticket of this Big Game 1911... which led me to open my drawers where press clippings from the San Francisco Chronicles were gently sleeping, as well as to "google" again this topic!
Here're a few findings, with no particular order...
A fantastic video footage of the Big Game 1912 was buried deep into YouTube archives. Renamed "the Mud Game", it shows one of the most awful rugby ground I've ever witnessed!! No mystery final score was a disapointing 3-3...
A trophy was meant to be presented for the first time to the winning team that year... yet could not be offered because of this draw... This magnifiscient (says the press...) "Lathrop Intercollegiate Rugby Trophy", named after UC Treasurer Charles Lathrop who had financed it, was planned to be definitively held by the first university able to secure 3 victories... A project that must have been seriously jeopardized by the return of American rules after 1914. Would someone know if this trophy is still "alive" ?
Searching for who was Charles Lathrop, I was pleased to realize that "Stanford Daily" (i.e. the newspaper serving Stanford university) archives were freely available online - cf my press clip dated Nov 12, 1912 -
A search for "rugby" brings back 6247 results, starting in 1894... let's bookmark that resource for future rainy days...
By the way, the next Big Game on Nov.18, 2017 will be the 120th - 111 played under American rules + 9 played under rugby rules
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Game_(American_football)
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