1924 Rose Bowl The 1924 Rose Bowl was a post - season American college football bowl game played between the independent Navy Midshipmen and the Washington Huskies of the Pacific Coast Conference ( PCC ) . The game took place on January 1 , 1924 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena , California , and marked the conclusion of the 1923 college football season . The game ended in a 14 - 14 tie , in front of a crowd of approximately 40 , 000 people . The game was the first post - season bowl game for both teams . The 1924 game was the tenth edition of the Rose Bowl game , which had first been played in 1902 but was replaced until 1916 . The stadium had been constructed the year before , making this the second game played in the Rose Bowl . The game selected a team from both the east and west coasts , and asked the University of Washington to represent the west . Washington requested that the Navy Midshipmen be their opponents , and Navy accepted . Both teams had only suffered a single loss during the season , however , Washington had won eight games as opposed to five by Navy , as well as two ties amassed by the Midshipmen . The game kicked off in the afternoon of January 1 , after heavy rainshowers the day before . The first quarter went scorless , but Navy scored on the first play of the second quarter . Washington answered the Midshipmen with a 23 - yard touchdown run the next drive . Near the end of the second quarter , Navy scored on a two yard run , giving them a 14 - 7 halftime lead . The third quarter was a defensive stalemate , with neither team scoring . Navy fumbled the ball on their own ten yard line later in the quarter . Four plays later , the Huskies tied the game on a twelve yard touchdown pass . Navy threw an interception at midfield , and Washington drove down to the Navy 20 - yard line , before attempting a game - winning field goal . The field goal missed , and the game ended shortly afterwards . Team selection . From its inauguration in 1902 until 1947 , the Rose Bowl game hosted a team from the east coast and a team from the west coast . The game was known as the Tournament East - West football game until the construction of the Rose Bowl stadium in 1923 . Because the Pacific Coast Conference ( PCC ) was the only conference with teams located in the Western United States , schools from the conference had been chosen for every Rose Bowl game . The tournament invited the University of Washington Huskies to participate in the 1924 game , and they accepted . Washington was then allowed by the Rose Bowl to select its opponent for the game . This was the first time a team was allowed to do so . The Huskies chose the Navy Midshipmen as their opponents , who accepted the invitation . Navy . The Navy Midshipmen came into the Rose Bowl under coach Bob Folwell , with five wins , one loss , and two ties . ( 5 - 1 - 2 ) . The Midshipmen ' s sole loss in the 1923 season came in the team ' s annual game against Penn State , where they lost by a score of 21 - 3 . All five of Navy ' s wins came against eastern teams , including Colgate and William and Mary . Two of the Midshipmen ' s wins were shutouts , coming against Colgate and Saint Xavier . The midshipmen tied 0 - 0 with Army in the 1923 Army - Navy Game . Their other tie came in a 3 - 3 game against Princeton . The Midshipmen were selected by Washington to participate in the Rose Bowl , although several teams with better records were eligible to be selected . Washington . The Washington Huskies entered the 1924 Rose bowl with a record of eight wins and one loss ( 8 - 1 ) under coach Enoch Bagshaw . The Huskies opened their season with victories over men from the USS Mississippi and the USS New York , however , as these teams were not representing colleges , they were not considered officially part of Washington ' s schedule . The Huskies ' first official game ended with a 34 - 0 shutout of Willamette , which was followed by four straight shutouts . Washington ' s next game was a 26 - 14 victory over PCC opponent Montana , the first points Washington allowed all season . The Huskies next game was their sole loss ; a 9 - 0 shutout by conference opponent California . Washington finished the regular season with two straight wins over conference opponents , including winning the Apple Cup over Washington State . The Huskies were selected by the Pasadena Tournament of Roses to represent the west in the Rose Bowl . The Huskies then asked the Midshipmen to represent the east . Pre - game buildup . The 1924 Rose Bowl was the first meeting between Navy and Washington , and was the first bowl game that either team participated in . The teams for the game were announced on November 30 , 1923 , and the teams arrived for the bowl in mid - December , holding practices up until the evening before the game . It rained heavily the night before the game . Washington coach Enoch Bagshaw was quoted as stating " Wet weather will not bother us " , and Navy coach Bob Folwell stated that " My men will know what to do in the mud and will be there doing it " . Because of the wet conditions , several football critics predicted that Washington would have a slight advantage in the game . It was estimated that approximately 52 , 000 people would attend the game . For the first time , the job of ticket sales had been given to the participating teams , and as a result , only 40 , 000 people actually attended . The game would be the first to be broadcast over radio , being announced on a local Pasadena station . Navy . During the 1923 football season , the Navy Midshipmen outscored their opponents 133 – 43 . This was led by quarterback Ira McKee , who threw several touchdown passes during the course of the season . Navy ' s other offensive strong point was running back Carl Cullen , who ran for several hundred yards during the course of the season . The Navy defense was considered to be weak by football critics , with an average weight ten pounds less than that of Washington . The Midshipmen ' s defense had successfully stopped running plays during the regular season , but had issues with stopping pass plays . Navy ' s special teams were considered by critics to be decent , about even with that of Washington . Washington . The Washington Huskies had outscored their opponents 203 – 37 during the regular season , not including the games against the USS New York and USS Mississippi . Huskies running backs George Wilson and Elmer Tesreau had led the Huskies offense during the season , each gaining several hundred rushing yards . However , Tesreau was suffering from boil s on one of his knees , and was urged by his coaches to not play in the Rose Bowl . The Washington defense was considered superior to that of Navy , being much larger in size . Washington ' s defense had been very effective during the regular season , holding five teams scoreless , and only once allowing ten or more points to be scored on them . Washington ' s special teams were considered to be average , about even to that of Navy . Game summary . The kickoff for the Rose Bowl was originally planned to be at 2 p . m . on January 1 , 1924 , but a meeting the night before the game held by the Rose Bowl organization moved the kickoff time to 2 : 16 p . m . the same day . The opening ceremonies for the game were the most elaborate at that time , with numerous events displayed . Navy admiral Samuel Shelburne Robison received an admiral ' s salute from Navy ' s band when he took his seat . The National Anthem was performed by the navy band and the color guard of the marines , followed by the marine color guard hoisting the U . S . flag over the field . In addition , both of the teams mascots were walked around the field before the kickoff . The Tournament of Roses predicted that tickets would be sold out by the day of the game . However , only 40 , 000 people were in attendance . First half . The game began at the intended time , with a temperature of and the field still wet from rain the night before . Because of the playing conditions , running plays were ineffective , which caused problems for the Washington offense . Navy instead used passing plays , which the Washington defense was unable to stop . The Midshipmen had driven down to the 22 - yard line of the Huskies when the first quarter ended . The Midshipmen had controlled the first quarter , completing a perfect six of six passes , and holding the Huskies offense to under 100 yards of offense . On their first play of the second quarter , the Midshipmen scored a touchdown on a pass play from Ira McKee to Carl Cullen . McKee kicked the extra point for the Midshipmen . In an attempt to trick Washington , Navy attempted an onside kick the next play , but the Huskies recovered the ball . After two short running plays , Washington quarterback Fred Abel completed a 23 - yard pass to running back Kinsley Dubois , bringing the Huskies inside the 25 - yard line . The next play , running back George Wilson ran the ball 23 yards for a touchdown . Washington ' s kicker completed the extra point . After several drives from each team , the Midshipmen completed a 57 - yard pass down to the Washington 8 - yard line . Two plays later , Ira McKee ran the ball in from two yards out . McKee then completed the extra point . The first half ended with Navy leading by a score of 14 - 7 , having completed all 11 passing plays . Second half . Both teams ' defenses controlled the third quarter , allowing no points to be scored . Navy completed three more pass plays before having their first incompletion , coming on their fourteenth attempt . Washington ' s offense had little success in the third quarter , being held to only a few yards gained and turning the ball over once . In the fourth quarter , after several unsuccessful drives by each team , Navy made a major error . After being stopped on their own 26 - yard line , Navy improperly lined up in a punt formation , and the center snapped the ball over the punter ' s head . The ball was recovered by the Huskies on the Navy ten yard line . Washington lost two yards on three plays , and faced a fourth down from the Navy 12 - yard line . The Huskies stacked their offensive line , allowing their left guard , named Bryan , to become an eligible receiver . Fred Abel passed the ball to Bryan , who caught it just short of the goal line and walk in to the end zone for the touchdown . Washington ' s kicker then completed the extra point , tying the game Navy received the ball from Washington , and began to erratically throw the ball . After gaining several yards , Ira McKee threw an interception near midfield . On the first play , Fred Abel threw a long pass to George Wilson , who was tackled on the Navy 20 - yard line , gaining 30 yards . Washington brought out their placekicker , named Ziel , to kick a 32 - yard field goal , which would win them the game . Ziel kicked the ball about a yard shy of the right upright , giving the ball back to Navy with the game still tied . Time ran out a few plays later . ; the game ended in a 14 - 14 tie . Statistical summary . The game ' s Most Valuable Player ( MVP ) award went to Washington running back Elmer Tesreau , who , although having had little effect on the result of the game , had played with boils covering one of his knees . At the end of the game , it was discovered that his other leg had been broken in two places during play . Navy ' s Ira McKee was statistically the game ' s most important player , completing 16 of 20 passes for 175 yards and rushing for 85 yards . McKee also threw for one touchdown and ran for the other . Navy ' s Ira McKee threw for a perfect eleven of eleven passes during the first half , but just five for nine during the second half , including throwing two interceptions . Washington ' s Fred Abel attempted eight passes during the game , and completed just three of them . McKee threw for 175 yards , out - gaining Abel by 110 yards . Carl Cullen caught ten of McKee ' s sixteen completions , gaining 108 receiving yards and scoring one touchdown . The remaining passes were caught by assorted receivers . On Washington ' s side , Kinsely Dubois caught two of Fred Abel ' s three completions , amassing 53 receiving yards , while the guard Bryan caught the other , the 12 - yard touchdown pass . On the ground , Navy ' s Carl Cullen ran for the most yards , gaining 102 throughout the course of the game . Ira McKee was Navy ' s other big runner , gaining 85 yards in addition to the passing . George Wilson led Washington in rushing yards , gaining 87 over the course of the game , and scoring Washington ' s only rushing touchdown . Kinsley Dubois came next , gaining 30 yards , followed by Fred Abel , with 20 . The rest were amassed by others , including Elmer Tesreau . The game ' s sole field goal was missed , being attempted by Washington . Both teams completed their extra points , but Washington greatly out - gained Navy in punting , which had originally been predicted to be about even .