Little Rose Bowl: West Branch, Iowa
Nobody will confuse the Little Rose Bowl with the actual Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif. Still, the West Branch, Iowa venue holds a special place in the heart of Iowa football fans.
Photo courtesy of the West Branch Times
Though it's also referred to as Oliphant Street Field, it has been the "Little Rose Bowl" to many generations of football fans in
West Branch (Iowa).
"It was dredged out (in the shape of a bowl) by local residents in the early 1900s by teams of horses and mules," veteran football coach Butch Pedersen related. "We have guardrails and people sit on them. They set out chairs on Wednesday for a Friday night game. They sit on lawn chairs, blankets and the top of their cars. We are surrounded by people. It's a really cool atmosphere. It's the center of our community."
The high school is about a half mile from the field and actually has a nice, much-newer football field, which is used strictly for practice. A move to use the new field for games, however, was strongly voted down because of strong tradition and the windy conditions at the new field, which is on a hill.
Game night is a sight to behold. The players get off the bus and walk down Oliphant Street to the field - all holding hands with cleats clicking on the pavement.
"It's a rush," Pedersen said. "People have come from out of town just to watch the walk. The booster club has painted bear (team mascot) prints in the street. Some people have bear prints on their driveways. It's been a football town since Moses, (maybe not quite that long)."
Pedersen noted that in his 30 years as head coach, the Bears have won 90 percent of their home games and 80 percent overall with three Class A state titles. They once won 62 consecutive regular-season games, the second-longest streak in Iowa history, and had an 81-point game.
During the winter the Little Rose Bowl still is the center of West Branch, because young and old alike sled down the sides of the hill.
More photos of the Little Rose Bowl
