After the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in December of 1941, hysteria reigned on the west coast. If Japan could make it to Hawaii, what would stop it from hitting a far more attractive target- California?
As a result, the knee-jerk reaction was to cancel all large scale events taking place on the west coast. The Rose Bowl was the first victim, its January 1st, 1942 event getting canceled by the US War Department. Eager to see the event still take place, it was moved for one year- to Durham, North Carolina.
Cooler heads would prevail and the game, which was intended to promote tourism to Southern California, would return to its rightful home the very next year.
