The game featured the second-ranked California Golden Bears of the Pacific Coast Conference (PCC) against the #4 Alabama Crimson Tide of the Southeastern Conference (SEC), two of the top teams from the 1937 college football season.
This game was the fifth trip to Pasadena for the Tide, which had gone without a loss in the previous four.
[1][3][4][5] The game was a Vic Bottari and Sam Chapman show, as the duo combined for all 13 points.
It was Alabama's first loss in the Rose Bowl,[3][4] which prompted former Los Angeles Examiner reporter Maxwell Stiles to write: “The Crimson Tide was at its ebb, Alabama at last had lost a Rose Bowl Game.” California's record in the Rose Bowl improved to 2–1–1, but this remains their most recent victory, with four losses since.
Alabama's record in Pasadena dropped to 3–1–1; their next Rose Bowl was a win in January 1946, the last edition prior to the exclusive agreement with the Big Nine (now Big Ten).