An annual college football game between the Stanford Cardinals and the Berkeley Golden Bears is known as "The Big Game," and the winner gets to keep the Stanford Axe trophy. The trophy is an axehead set atop a sizable wooden plaque that also reflects the results of previous Big Game scores. In the 2022 game, Cal defeated Stanford 27-20 to take possession of the Axe.
Originally, the "Axe" was a typical 12-inch lumberjack's axe. Its first recorded use occurred on April 13, 1899, at a Stanford demonstration when yell leaders, inspired by Aristophanes' "The Frogs," used it to decapitate a straw figure wearing blue and gold ribbons while screaming the Axe yell.
The Stanford Cardinal football team from Stanford University and the California Golden Bears football team from the University of California, Berkeley, compete in an American college football rivalry game.
The San Francisco Bay Area is home to both universities. It is one of the nation's oldest college rivalries, having been contested since 1892.
Every year, the game is held in late November or early December, and the venues switch between the two colleges. The game is played in Berkeley in even-numbered years and at Stanford in odd-numbered years.
California–Stanford Football Rivalry History
The Big Game is the Western region's oldest college football rivalry. Future US President Herbert Hoover oversaw the football and baseball teams as a student manager while attending Stanford University.
Hoover and Cal manager Herbert Lang were friends, and together they helped plan the first Big Game. For the game, only 10,000 tickets were printed, yet 20,000 people showed up. Hoover and Lang rushed for pots, bowls, and any other possible receptacles to collect the admission fees.
As early as 1900, the game was known as the "Big Game." James D. Phelan, a San Francisco mayor and Berkeley alumnus, bought a casting of Douglas Tilden's bronze sculpture The Football Players in 1898 and offered it as a reward to the school that could win the football game two years running.
After Stanford was barred from Berkeley in 1898 and 1899, the sculpture was placed on campus on May 12, 1900, at a dedication ceremony, atop a stone pedestal etched with the names of the donors and players.
When the 1900 Big Game was being played on Thanksgiving Day in San Francisco at the Recreation Park stadium, a sizable contingent of spectators were watching from the roofs of the Pacific Glass Works and S.F. companies nearby.
A rooftop collapsed, plunging over more than 100 men to the factory floor and over 60 straight onto the enormous, roaring furnace, while between 600 and 1,000 onlookers were on it. Twenty-three men and boys lost their lives and over a hundred suffered serious injuries.
The "Thanksgiving Day Disaster" is still the bloodiest incident to kill fans at a sporting event in the United States.
California–Stanford Football Rivalry Head-to-Head Stats
| Stanford Cardinal Won | 65 |
| California Golden Bears Won | 49 |
| Ties | 11 |
| Total Matches | 125 |
Stanford Axe Trophy Winner Year by Year
| No. | Date | Location | Winner | Score |
| 1 | March 19, 1892 | San Francisco | Stanford | 14–10 |
| 2 | December 17, 1892 | San Francisco | Tie | 10–10 |
| 3 | November 30, 1893 | San Francisco | Tie | 6–6 |
| 4 | November 29, 1894 | San Francisco | Stanford | 6–0 |
| 5 | November 29, 1895 | San Francisco | Tie | 6–6 |
| 6 | November 26, 1896 | San Francisco | Stanford | 20–0 |
| 7 | November 25, 1897 | San Francisco | Stanford | 28–0 |
| 8 | November 24, 1898 | San Francisco | California | 22–0 |
| 9 | November 30, 1899 | San Francisco | California | 30–0 |
| 10 | November 29, 1900 | San Francisco | Stanford | 5–0 |
| 11 | November 9, 1901 | San Francisco | California | 2–0 |
| 12 | November 8, 1902 | San Francisco | California | 16–0 |
| 13 | November 14, 1903 | San Francisco | Tie | 6–6 |
| 14 | November 12, 1904 | Berkeley | Stanford | 18–0 |
| 15 | November 11, 1905 | Stanford | Stanford | 12–5 |
| 16 | November 10, 1906 | Berkeley | Stanford | 6–3 |
| 17 | November 9, 1907 | Stanford | Stanford | 21–11 |
| 18 | November 14, 1908 | Berkeley | Stanford | 12–3 |
| 19 | November 13, 1909 | Stanford | California | 19–13 |
| 20 | November 12, 1910 | Berkeley | California | 25–6 |
| 21 | November 11, 1911 | Stanford | California | 21–3 |
| 22 | November 11, 1912 | Berkeley | Tie | 3–3 |
| 23 | November 8, 1913 | Stanford | Stanford | 13–8 |
| 24 | November 14, 1914 | Berkeley | Stanford | 26–8 |
| 25 | November 22, 1919 | Stanford | California | 14–10 |
| 26 | November 20, 1920 | Berkeley | California | 38–0 |
| 27 | November 19, 1921 | Stanford | California | 42–7 |
| 28 | November 25, 1922 | Stanford | California | 28–0 |
| 29 | November 24, 1923 | Berkeley | California | 9–0 |
| 30 | November 22, 1924 | Berkeley | Tie | 20–20 |
| 31 | November 21, 1925 | Stanford | Stanford | 27–14 |
| 32 | November 20, 1926 | Berkeley | Stanford | 41–6 |
| 33 | November 19, 1927 | Stanford | Stanford | 13–6 |
| 34 | November 24, 1928 | Berkeley | Tie | 13–13 |
| 35 | November 23, 1929 | Stanford | Stanford | 21–6 |
| 36 | November 22, 1930 | Berkeley | Stanford | 41–0 |
| 37 | November 21, 1931 | Stanford | California | 6–0 |
| 38 | November 19, 1932 | Berkeley | Tie | 0–0 |
| 39 | November 25, 1933 | Stanford | Stanford | 7–3 |
| 40 | November 24, 1934 | Berkeley | Stanford | 9–7 |
| 41 | November 23, 1935 | Stanford | Stanford | 13–0 |
| 42 | November 21, 1936 | Berkeley | California | 20–0 |
| 43 | November 20, 1937 | Stanford | California | 13–0 |
| 44 | November 19, 1938 | Berkeley | California | 6–0 |
| 45 | November 25, 1939 | Stanford | California | 32–14 |
| 46 | November 30, 1940 | Berkeley | Stanford | 13–7 |
| 47 | November 29, 1941 | Stanford | California | 16–0 |
| 48 | November 21, 1942 | Berkeley | Stanford | 26–7 |
| 49 | November 23, 1946 | Berkeley | Stanford | 25–6 |
| 50 | November 22, 1947 | Stanford | California | 21–18 |
| 51 | November 20, 1948 | Berkeley | California | 7–6 |
| 52 | November 19, 1949 | Stanford | California | 33–14 |
| 53 | November 25, 1950 | Berkeley | Tie | 7–7 |
| 54 | November 24, 1951 | Stanford | California | 20–7 |
| 55 | November 22, 1952 | Berkeley | California | 26–0 |
| 56 | November 21, 1953 | Stanford | Tie | 21–21 |
| 57 | November 20, 1954 | Berkeley | California | 28–20 |
| 58 | November 19, 1955 | Stanford | Stanford | 19–0 |
| 59 | November 24, 1956 | Berkeley | California | 20–18 |
| 60 | November 23, 1957 | Stanford | Stanford | 14–12 |
| 61 | November 22, 1958 | Berkeley | California | 16–15 |
| 62 | November 21, 1959 | Stanford | California | 20–17 |
| 63 | November 19, 1960 | Berkeley | California | 21–10 |
| 64 | November 25, 1961 | Stanford | Stanford | 20–7 |
| 65 | November 24, 1962 | Berkeley | Stanford | 30–13 |
| 66 | November 30, 1963 | Stanford | Stanford | 28–17 |
| 67 | November 21, 1964 | Berkeley | Stanford | 21–3 |
| 68 | November 20, 1965 | Stanford | Stanford | 9–7 |
| 69 | November 19, 1966 | Berkeley | Stanford | 13–7 |
| 70 | November 18, 1967 | Stanford | California | 26–3 |
| 71 | November 23, 1968 | Berkeley | Stanford | 20–0 |
| 72 | November 22, 1969 | Stanford | Stanford | 29–28 |
| 73 | November 21, 1970 | Berkeley | California | 22–14 |
| 74 | November 20, 1971 | Stanford | Stanford | 14–0 |
| 75 | November 18, 1972 | Berkeley | California | 24–21 |
| 76 | November 24, 1973 | Stanford | Stanford | 26–17 |
| 77 | November 23, 1974 | Berkeley | Stanford | 22–20 |
| 78 | November 22, 1975 | Stanford | California | 48–15 |
| 79 | November 20, 1976 | Berkeley | Stanford | 27–24 |
| 80 | November 19, 1977 | Stanford | Stanford | 21–3 |
| 81 | November 18, 1978 | Berkeley | Stanford | 30–10 |
| 82 | November 17, 1979 | Stanford | California | 21–14 |
| 83 | November 22, 1980 | Berkeley | California | 28–23 |
| 84 | November 21, 1981 | Stanford | Stanford | 42–21 |
| 85 | November 20, 1982 | Berkeley | California | 25–20 |
| 86 | November 19, 1983 | Stanford | California | 27–18 |
| 87 | November 17, 1984 | Berkeley | Stanford | 27–10 |
| 88 | November 23, 1985 | Stanford | Stanford | 24–22 |
| 89 | November 22, 1986 | Berkeley | California | 17–11 |
| 90 | November 21, 1987 | Stanford | Stanford | 31–7 |
| 91 | November 19, 1988 | Berkeley | Tie | 19–19 |
| 92 | November 18, 1989 | Stanford | Stanford | 24–17 |
| 93 | November 17, 1990 | Berkeley | Stanford | 27–25 |
| 94 | November 23, 1991 | Stanford | Stanford | 38–21 |
| 95 | November 21, 1992 | Berkeley | Stanford | 41–21 |
| 96 | November 20, 1993 | Stanford | California | 46–17 |
| 97 | November 19, 1994 | Berkeley | California | 24–23 |
| 98 | November 18, 1995 | Stanford | Stanford | 29–24 |
| 99 | November 23, 1996 | Berkeley | Stanford | 42–21 |
| 100 | November 22, 1997 | Stanford | Stanford | 21–20 |
| 101 | November 21, 1998 | Berkeley | Stanford | 10–3 |
| 102 | November 20, 1999 | Stanford | Stanford | 31–13 |
| 103 | November 18, 2000 | Berkeley | Stanford | 36–30 |
| 104 | November 17, 2001 | Stanford | Stanford | 35–28 |
| 105 | November 23, 2002 | Berkeley | California | 30–7 |
| 106 | November 22, 2003 | Stanford | California | 28–16 |
| 107 | November 20, 2004 | Berkeley | California | 41–6 |
| 108 | November 19, 2005 | Stanford | California | 27–3 |
| 109 | December 2, 2006 | Berkeley | California | 26–17 |
| 110 | December 1, 2007 | Stanford | Stanford | 20–13 |
| 111 | November 22, 2008 | Berkeley | California | 37–16 |
| 112 | November 21, 2009 | Stanford | California | 34–28 |
| 113 | November 20, 2010 | Berkeley | Stanford | 48–14 |
| 114 | November 19, 2011 | Stanford | Stanford | 31–28 |
| 115 | October 20, 2012 | Berkeley | Stanford | 21–3 |
| 116 | November 23, 2013 | Stanford | Stanford | 63–13 |
| 117 | November 22, 2014 | Berkeley | Stanford | 38–17 |
| 118 | November 21, 2015 | Stanford | Stanford | 35–22 |
| 119 | November 19, 2016 | Berkeley | Stanford | 45–31 |
| 120 | November 18, 2017 | Stanford | Stanford | 17–14 |
| 121 | December 1, 2018 | Berkeley | Stanford | 23–13 |
| 122 | November 23, 2019 | Stanford | California | 24–20 |
| 123 | November 27, 2020 | Berkeley | Stanford | 24–23 |
| 124 | November 20, 2021 | Stanford | California | 41–11 |
| 125 | November 19, 2022 | Berkeley | California | 27–20 |
| 126 | November 18, 2023 | Stanford |
FAQs
The Big Game is a yearly football match between Stanford and Cal, and the winner keeps the Stanford Axe trophy.
The Stanford Axe Trophy is an axe on a plaque. Students used an axe to cut a straw figure in 1899.
The Stanford-Cal football rivalry started in 1892 and is one of the oldest college rivalries in the U.S.
They take turns: even-numbered years in Berkeley and odd-numbered years at Stanford.
A rooftop collapsed, hurting and killing many fans, making it the deadliest U.S. sports event.
