The Axe and Other Big Game Trivia

The Axe

The Bears and the Cardinal play for the Stanford Axe, which was actually unveiled on the eve of an 1899 baseball game between the schools. Stanford students used the Axe on a straw man dressed in blue and gold at a pre-game pep rally. During the game, blue and gold ribbons were cut into pieces with the Axe, and the Axe was used to chop wood, signifying a good play by the then-Stanford Indians. When Cal rallied for a dramatic win, a frenzied group of Bears grabbed the Axe and transported it via ferry to Berkeley and placed it in the safe of a Berkeley bank. It was removed once a year for the Axe Rally. By 1933, each side decided the Axe was a fitting Big Game trophy. It is mounted on a plaque that lists the game’s scores.

Trivia Question

1. Name the four quarterbacks who won Big Games as starters and also were starting quarterbacks in Super Bowls.

Cal’s Joe Kapp, Stanford’s Jim Plunkett, Cal’s Vince Ferragamo, and Stanford’s John Elway. (Cal’s Craig Morton didn’t win a Big Game).

KJ