On Feb. 20, 1892, California’s varsity football team had just suffered a disappointing 6-0 loss to the rival San Francisco Olympic Club. Despite the defeat, California was still 4-1 on the season and, until that loss, had dominated its opponents. But these opponents were mostly prep and high school teams, because those were the only teams available to play.
After the loss against the Olympic Club, the University of California, which had been an active ball club since 1880, decided to send a challenge to Stanford University to set up a game. Although Stanford was just in the early process of forming a team, the school from across the bay accepted.