Lot # 1728: 1906 & 1908 Stanford vs. California Football Program Pair

An age-old rivalry is recalled with these (2) Stanford versus California football programs. Dated Nov. 10, 1906 and Nov. 14, 1908, these antique gameday souvenirs are from an annual late-season match-up known as "The Big Game". Began in 1892, this tradition is the highlight of the season for the two San Francisco area universities. Taking exception to the violence in football, both schools dropped the gridiron game if favor of rugby in 1906. The California Bears started playing football again in 1915, while the Stanford Cardinal team waited until the conclusion of WWI to resume football play in 1919.

Both rugby matches represented by these ancient publications were played at California Field in Berkeley. Stanford emerged victorious in both matches, with a 6-3 in 1906, and a 12-3 win in 1908. The 1906 program has an inconsequential spot of surface paper loss down low on the border, next to the spine. The 1908 program suffers minor loss at the bottom-right corner of the cover and the first few pages. Otherwise, both programs are broadly attractive in showing Vg+ details, with bright colors, sturdy spines and supple pages, which are loaded with classic period photographs.