The First Game

Last updated
The First Game
Firstfootballgame.jpg
Artist Arnold Friberg
Year1968
MediumOil on canvas
SubjectFirst American football game
Dimensions95 cm× 150 cm(37.5 in× 60 in)
Designation Chevrolet Division of General Motors
OwnerPrivate collection (unknown) [1]

The First Game is a painting by Arnold Friberg, and was commissioned in 1968 by Chevrolet Motor Division as one of four paintings to commemorate the then-upcoming centennial celebration of college football in the United States. [2] It depicts the famous first game of American intercollegiate football, played by Rutgers College (now Rutgers University) and the visiting College of New Jersey (by then more commonly known as Princeton College) on November 6, 1869, at College Field in New Brunswick, New Jersey. The game was played in front of 100 spectators, who were also depicted in the picture in the background.

Contents

The picture

In The First Game, Friberg extolled the fight and physical strength of the game. His painting shows how bruised players collide each other. Some of them even have blood stains in their uniforms. Rutgers players wear a headscarf that resembles a piracy-style. The ball is small and round, like an association football. The field is covered by dry leaves, as usual in November, when the game was played. Spectators are seen at background, some are sitting on a fence, and others run along the players.

Spectators depicted include a Rutgers professor who is reported to have waved his umbrella at the participants while yelling, "You will come to no Christian end!" [3] Friberg included the man with the umbrella in the painting as a tribute. [1]

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 refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">College soccer</span> Form of soccer

College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. While it is most widespread in the United States, it is also prominent in Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United Kingdom also has a university league. The institutions typically hire full-time professional coaches and staff, although the student athletes are mostly amateur and are not paid. College soccer in the United States is sponsored by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), the sports regulatory body for major universities, and by the governing bodies for smaller universities and colleges. This sport is played on a rectangular field of the dimensions of about 70–75 yards sideline to sideline (width), and 115–120 yards goal line to goal line (length).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SHI Stadium</span> Stadium on the main campus of Rutgers University

SHI Stadium is the football stadium at Rutgers University in Piscataway, New Jersey. Rutgers Scarlet Knights football, Rutgers Scarlet Knights men's lacrosse, and women's lacrosse use the venue for home games. It is located on the Busch Campus at Rutgers, and overlooks the Raritan River to the South. The stadium was opened as Rutgers Stadium on September 3, 1994, when the Rutgers Scarlet Knights hosted the Kent State Golden Flashes. It currently seats 52,454 spectators after a 2009 expansion.

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">College athletics in the United States</span> Component of American higher education

College athletics in the United States or college sports in the United States refers primarily to sports and athletic training and competition organized and funded by institutions of tertiary education.

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

The Columbia University Lions are the collective athletic teams and their members from Columbia University, an Ivy League institution in New York City, United States. The current director of athletics is Peter Pilling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Arnold Friberg</span> American illustrator and painter

Arnold Friberg was an American illustrator and painter noted for his religious and patriotic works. He is perhaps best known for his 1975 painting The Prayer at Valley Forge, a depiction of George Washington praying at Valley Forge. He is also well known for his 15 "pre-visualization" paintings for the Cecil B. DeMille film The Ten Commandments which were used to promote the film worldwide and for which he received an Academy Award nomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rutgers Scarlet Knights football</span> Football team of Rutgers University

The Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team represents Rutgers University in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA). Rutgers competes as a member of the East Division of the Big Ten Conference. Prior to joining the Big Ten, the Scarlet Knights were a member of the American Athletic Conference from 1991 to 2013. Rutgers plays its home games at SHI Stadium, in Piscataway, New Jersey. The team is currently led by head coach Greg Schiano. The Rutgers Scarlet Knights football team is notable for playing in the first ever intercollegiate football game in 1869, in which the Rutgers Scarlet Knights defeated the Princeton Tigers by a score of 6–4.

As one of the first nine colleges founded in the United States of America—founded as Queen's College in 1766 —Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey' has two-and-a-half centuries of tradition and heritage.

<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">Columbia Lions football</span> Football program representing Columbia University

The Columbia Lions football program is the intercollegiate American football team for Columbia University. The team competes in the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) and are members of the Ivy League. The Columbia football team is the third oldest college football program in the United States: Columbia played Rutgers University in the fourth college football game, on November 12, 1870, in New Jersey. It was the first interstate football game. The first three college football games were played between Princeton and Rutgers in 1869 and 1870. Columbia plays its home games at the 17,000-seat Robert K. Kraft Field at Lawrence A. Wien Stadium in Inwood, Manhattan, the northernmost neighborhood on Manhattan island.

<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 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 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.

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.

<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 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 soccer than gridiron football. Moreover, the match was played with a soccer ball. As a result, it is considered the first collegiate soccer match and the birth of soccer 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.

<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>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">1892 VAMC football team</span> American college football season

The 1892 VAMC football team represented Virginia Agricultural and Mechanical College in the 1892 college football season. The team was led by their head coach E. A. Smyth. In what was the inaugural season of Virginia Tech football, the team finished with a record of one win and one loss (1–1).

References

  1. 1 2 Arnold Friberg on Arte e Football.com
  2. Scott, Ricahrd (2008). "Chapter 2". SEC Football: 75 Years of Pride and Passion. p. 42. ISBN   9781616731335.
  3. Hyman, Vicki (October 23, 2010). "How New Jersey Saved Civilization... the first intercollegiate football game". NJ.com. Retrieved 27 December 2017.