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Stanford plays in snow game for the first time in 81 years

PULLMAN – For the first time since 1936, snow fell on a football game involving the Stanford Cardinal.

White flurries arrived in Pullman hours before the 12:30 p.m. kickoff between No. 25 Washington State, then ceased once the action began at Martin Stadium. But another deluge came in the second quarter and intermittent snow showers persisted throughout the rest of the Pac-12 North game on the Palouse.

Not in 81 years had Stanford experienced a football game with snow, per Stanford’s media relations department. The Cardinal, then the Stanford Indians, played Columbia at the Polo Grounds in New York City during the 1936 football season. The visitors lost their season finale 7-0.

Temperatures in Pullman dipped below 35 degrees on Saturday afternoon. Not since 1970 had the Cardinal played in a game colder than that. Stanford visited No. 13 Air Force that season for a cold-weather game in Colorado Springs. The Cardinal lost to the Falcons 31-14, but would watch quarterback Jim Plunkett win the Heisman Trophy later that year.