The Stanford Cardinal football program represents Stanford University in college football at the NCAA Division I FBS level and is a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference. The team is known as the Cardinal, adopted prior to the 1982 season. Stanford was known as the "Cardinal" for its first two decades of athletic competition, then more commonly as the "Cardinals" until 1930. The name was changed to the "Indians" from 1930 to January 1972, and back to the "Cardinals" from 1972 through 1981. A student vote in December 1975 to change the nickname to "Robber Barons" was not approved by administrators.
The Stanford team of 1892, that would play the first Big Game ever
Warner called Ernie Nevers (pictured) his greatest player.
Bobby Grayson, one of the "Vow Boys"
John Elway played quarterback at Stanford from 1979 to 1982
Big Game is the name given to the California–Stanford football rivalry. It’s an American college football rivalry game played by the California Golden Bears football team of the University of California, Berkeley and the Stanford Cardinal football team of Stanford University. Both institutions are located in the San Francisco Bay Area. First played in 1892, it remains one of the oldest college rivalries in the United States. The game is usually played in late November or early December and its location alternates between the two universities every year. In even-numbered years, the game is played in Berkeley while odd-numbered years are played at Stanford.
First Cal team of 1892
The 1905 Big Game played at Stanford
From 1906 to 1914, the Big Game was played under the rules of rugby union. The 1912 edition would be nicknamed the mud game