1869 college football season

Last updated

The 1869 college football season was the first season of intercollegiate football in the United States. While played using improvised rules more closely resembling soccer and rugby than modern gridiron football, it is traditionally considered the inaugural college football season. The 1869 season consisted of only two games, both between Rutgers and (New Jersey) Princeton. The first game was played on November 6 at Rutgers' campus, and the second was played on November 13 at Princeton's campus. Both games were won by the home team.

Contents

The first college football national championship was awarded retroactively to the two teams. Princeton was named the champion by the Billingsley Report and the National Championship Foundation, while college football research historian Parke H. Davis named Rutgers and Princeton co-champions. Various other ratings and retrospectives have rated the teams differently.

The two games were played with rules very different from what is currently understood as American football, and also played under home field rules that differed from each other. In both games there was no running with the ball, each team included 25 players, and the ball was perfectly spherical.

First intercollegiate football game played

The first game
The first game rutgers targum nov 1869.jpg
Birthplace of College football plaque (cropped).jpg
(Left): "The Foot-Ball Match", Chronicle of the first game at The Targum, Nov 1869;
(right): plaque on College Avenue on the New Brunswick campus of Rutgers University identifying the place where the game was played

Modern folklore places the very first game of college football as a contest between teams from Rutgers College and the College of New Jersey, commonly known as Princeton College. [1] [2] Rutgers won the game by a score of 64. [3] This game in reality was more reminiscent of "soccer" than "football" as known today, where each team fields eleven men, the ball could be advanced by picking it up and carrying it, and play is stopped by physically knocking down the ball-carrier.

The first such game of college football in the United States in this format was played between Tufts and Harvard Colleges on June 4, 1875. This was the first football game played under rules that are now called football. Tufts played Harvard on June 4, 1875 at Jarvis Field in Cambridge, Massachusetts as the first game played. In 2004, Tufts gained national recognition for the historical significance of its game against Harvard.

Rematch

A rematch was played at Princeton a week later under Princeton rules. One of the biggest differences in rules was the awarding of a "free kick" to any player that caught the ball on the fly. This rule seriously affected the speed advantage of Rutgers that had allowed them to win the first contest. Princeton won the second game by a score of 8 to 0.

Aftermath

The two schools had originally scheduled to meet three times in 1869, but the third 1869 game never took place, reportedly because of the officials at both programs who complained about more emphasis being put on the contests rather than academics and studying. [4] Other sources claim that it may have been canceled due to disagreement over what set of rules to play under. [5] Due to each team winning one game, the inaugural football season ended with Princeton and Rutgers each tied at 1–1, and therefore each received a partial share of the 1869 college football national championship awarded retroactively.

Rutgers players from the first game were honored 50 years later in a ceremony at their homecoming. The last surviving member of this Rutgers team was George H. Large, who died in 1939. The last surviving member for Princeton was Robert Preston Lane, who died in 1938.

Conference and program changes

TeamFormer conferenceNew conference
Princeton Tigers Program establishedIndependent
Rutgers Queensmen Program establishedIndependent

Conference standings

1869 college football records
ConfOverall
TeamW L TW L T
Princeton   1 1 0
Rutgers   1 1 0

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">College football</span> Collegiate rules version of American/Canadian football, played by colleges and universities

College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football first gained popularity in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rutgers Scarlet Knights</span> Intercollegiate sports teams of Rutgers University

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights are the athletic teams that represent Rutgers University's New Brunswick campus. In sports, Rutgers is famously known for being the "Birthplace of College Football", hosting the first ever intercollegiate football game on November 6, 1869, in which Rutgers defeated a team from the College of New Jersey with a score of 6 runs to 4.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princeton Tigers</span> Athletic teams of Princeton University

The Princeton Tigers are the athletic teams of Princeton University. The school sponsors 35 varsity teams in 20 sports. The school has won several NCAA national championships, including one in men's fencing, three in women's lacrosse, six in men's lacrosse, and eight in men's golf. Princeton's men's and women's crews have also won numerous national rowing championships. The field hockey team made history in 2012 as the first Ivy League team to win the NCAA Division I Championship in field hockey.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princeton Tigers football</span> Football team of Princeton University

The Princeton Tigers football program represents Princeton University and competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level as a member of the Ivy League. Princeton's football program—along with the football program at nearby Rutgers University—began in 1869 with a contest that is often regarded as the beginnings of American football.

The 1870 college football season is regarded as the second United States intercollegiate football season. The season involved only three teams and two known games which took place in November 1870. As in 1869, the season's two games occurred about fifteen miles apart in New Brunswick and in Princeton, New Jersey.

The 1872 college football season is considered to be the third season ever played of intercollegiate football competition, due to no season taking place in 1871. Much like in the first and second years, 1869 and 1870, the rules were still considered in flux, and were decided on in a game-to-game basis. However, the rules used likely did not resemble anything that a modern football observer would recognize, being that of a mix of soccer and rugby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princeton Rugby</span> Rugby team

The Princeton University Rugby Football Club is the college rugby team of Princeton University. The team currently competes in the Ivy Rugby Conference, an annual rugby union competition played among the eight member schools of the Ivy League.

The Yale Bulldogs men's soccer program represents Yale University in all NCAA Division I men's college soccer competitions. Founded in 1908, the Bulldogs compete in the Ivy League.

The 1869 Princeton vs. Rutgers football game was played between Princeton and Rutgers on November 6, 1869. The rules governing play were based on the London Football Association's 1863 rules that disallowed carrying or throwing the ball. Therefore, the game more closely resembled association football| than gridiron football. Moreover, the match was played with a regular football . As a result, it is considered the first collegiate american football match and the birth of football in the United States.

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's soccer team is a varsity intercollegiate athletic team of Rutgers University–New Brunswick in New Brunswick, New Jersey, United States. The team is a member of the Big Ten Conference, which is part of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Division I. Rutgers's first varsity's men's soccer team was fielded in 1938, although organized soccer has been played at the university since at least 1869. The team plays its home games at Yurcak Field in New Brunswick. The Knights are coached by Jim McElderry.

The 1869 Princeton Tigers football team represented the College of New Jersey, more commonly known as Princeton College, in the 1869 college football season. The team finished with a 1–1 record and was retroactively named national champions by the Billingsley Report and National Championship Foundation, and as the co-national champions by Parke H. Davis. Princeton's first captain was William S. Gummere, who was 17 during the season.

The 1881 Princeton Tigers football team represented the College of New Jersey, then more commonly known as Princeton College, in the 1881 college football season. The team finished with a 7–0–2 record and was retroactively named national champion by the Billingsley Report and as co-national champion by Parke H. Davis. This season marked Princeton's 11th national championship in a 13-year period between 1869 and 1881. P. T. Bryan was the captain of the team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1893 Princeton Tigers football team</span> American college football season

The 1893 Princeton Tigers football team represented Princeton University in the 1893 college football season. The team finished with an 11–0 record and was retroactively named as the national champion by the Billingsley Report, Helms Athletic Foundation, Houlgate System, and National Championship Foundation. They outscored their opponents 270 to 14.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1875 Yale Bulldogs football team</span> American college football season

The 1875 Yale Bulldogs football team represented Yale University in the 1875 college football season. The Bulldogs finished with a 2–2 record. The team won games against Rutgers and Wesleyan and lost to Harvard and Columbia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1874 Harvard vs. McGill football game</span> Football game

The 1874 Harvard vs. McGill football game was a two-game series between the Harvard Crimson and the McGill Redmen held in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on May 14 and 15, 1874.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Early history of American football</span> Aspect of sports history

The early history of American football can be traced to early versions of rugby football and association football. Both games have their origin in varieties of football played in Britain in the mid–19th century, in which a football is kicked at a goal or run over a line, which in turn were based on the varieties of English public school football games.

The Intercollegiate Football Association (IFA), also known as the American Intercollegiate Football Association, was one of the earliest college football rules-making and scheduling organizations in existence; it was active from the 1873 to 1893 seasons. The IFA teams, Columbia, Harvard, Princeton, and Yale, are now members of the Ivy League.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Princeton–Rutgers rivalry</span> American college sports rivalry

The Princeton–Rutgers rivalry is a college rivalry in athletics between the Tigers of Princeton University and Scarlet Knights of Rutgers University – New Brunswick, both of which are located in New Jersey. The rivalry dates back to the first college football game in history in 1869. Although the football series ended in 1980 due to the two schools going in different directions with their football programs, the rivalry has continued in other sports, primarily in men's basketball.

The 1869–70 college soccer season was the fourth season of intercollegiate soccer in the United States. While played using improvised rules resembling American football and rugby, it is also considered one of the first ever college soccer seasons. The 1869 season consisted of only two total games, both of which occurred between Rutgers University and Princeton University; The first was played on November 6 at Rutgers' campus, and the second was played on November 13 at Princeton's campus. The games itself are also considered the first ever college football games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston game</span>

The Boston game, also known as the Boston rules, was an early code of football developed by the Oneida Football Club, formed in 1862 and considered by some historians as the first formal "football" club in the United States. Rules allowed carrying and kicking and is considered the first step to the codification of rules for association football, rugby football, or American football. After Oneida disbanded, former members established the Harvard University Football Club, which continued to play football under those rules.

References

  1. "Reference at www.historyoffootball.net".
  2. "1800s". Rutgers Through The Years. Rutgers University. Archived from the original on January 20, 2007. Retrieved May 16, 2007.
  3. DeLassus, David. "Princeton Yearly Results (1869)". College Football Data Warehouse. Archived from the original on February 13, 2010. Retrieved April 4, 2011.
  4. ""Rutgers - The Birthplace of College Football: The First Intercollegiate Game - November 6, 1869"". Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014. at scarletknights.com, published by the Rutgers University Athletic Department. Retrieved 2014-10-4.
  5. ""NO CHRISTIAN END! The Beginnings of Football in America"" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on June 11, 2014. Retrieved October 4, 2014. published by the Professional Football Research Association (no further authorship information available). Retrieved 2014-10-4.