Cal Golden Bears History

About the University of California

The University of California is one of the world's leading academic institutions. The school, known throughout the world as "Cal," is truly a prototype of a contemporary university. It attracts what many consider the finest applicant pool in the country, generates an ethnically and culturally diverse student population on campus, and provides one of the finest learning experiences in the world today.

How they got the name Golden Bears

In 1895, the University of California track & field team was the dominant power on the West Coast and decided to challenge several of the top teams in the Midwest and East on an eight-meet tour that is now credited by many historians as putting Cal athletics onto the national scene. As a symbol of the University, Regent Arthur Rodgers, class of 1872, commissioned a blue silk banner emblazoned with a golden grizzly bear, the symbol of the state of California. The banner was carried by the team on its successful tour, which saw Cal win five of the eight competitions. Cal athletic fans were so ecstatic over the team’s performance that Professor Charles Mills Gayley was inspired to write the song “The Golden Bear.” Cal’s athletic teams have been known as the Golden Bears ever since.

Blue and Gold

The official colors of the University of California were established at Berkeley in 1868. The colors were chosen by the University’s founders, who were mostly Yale men who had come West. They selected gold as a color representing the “Golden State” of California. The blue was selected from Yale blue. Cal teams have donned the blue and gold since the beginning of intercollegiate athletic competition in 1882.

The Big "C"

The Big “C” is located on Charter Hill above Memorial Stadium and was constructed in 1905 by the classes of 1907 and ’08. The road up to the Big “C” was built on February 29, 1916 by the male members of the Cal student body in three-and-a-half hours, using 2,000 picks and shovels that were donated by the Southern Pacific Railroad. The Rally Committee became the custodians and guardians of the Big “C” some time after 1952. Since then, the Committee has been in charge of painting the “C”.

California Victory Cannon

The California Victory Cannon was presented to the Rally Committee in time for the 1963 Big Game by the class of 1964. It is shot off at the beginning of each home football game, after each Cal score and after each victory for the Golden Bears. Only once, against Pacific on September 7, 1991, did the Bears score too many times for the cannon, racking up 12 touchdowns before the cannon ran out of ammunition. The cannon, which was originally kept on the sidelines, has been mounted on Tightwad Hill above Memorial Stadium since 1971.