1943 Rose Bowl
The 1943 Rose Bowl game was the 29th edition of the college football bowl game, played at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, on Friday, January 1. The second-ranked Georgia Bulldogs of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) defeated the #13 UCLA Bruins of the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC), 9–0.
| 1943 Rose Bowl | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29th Rose Bowl Game | |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||
| Date | January 1, 1943 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Season | 1942 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Stadium | Rose Bowl | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | Pasadena, California | ||||||||||||||||||
| MVP | Charley Trippi, Georgia | ||||||||||||||||||
| Favorite | Georgia: 13 to 5 odds | ||||||||||||||||||
| National anthem | UCLA Band | ||||||||||||||||||
| Referee | Orian Landreth (Pacific Coast; split crew: Pacific Coast, SEC) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Halftime show | UCLA Band, Pasadena City College band | ||||||||||||||||||
| Attendance | 93,000 | ||||||||||||||||||
The game returned to the Rose Bowl in Pasadena after being played in North Carolina at Duke Stadium in Durham the year before. Charley Trippi of Georgia was named the Player of the Game when the award was created in 1953 and selections were made retroactively.
After the 1942 Allied victory in the Battle of Midway and the end of the Japanese offensives in the Pacific Theater during 1942, it was deemed that the West Coast was no longer vulnerable to attack, and the Rose Bowl game returned to southern California. On October 10, 1942, the decision was announced that the game would be played, pending approval of the Army, however, the parade still would not be held. By November 5, 1942, it was announced that the East-West Game could occur in San Francisco. On November 18, the Rose Bowl was permitted by the Western Defense Command.
Few Georgia fans were able to make the trip because of travel restrictions, and there were many military servicemen in attendance. The Tournament of Roses parade itself still was not held due to the war. Due to the number of American servicemen stationed in Australia, the game was broadcast live on Australian radio.