College football refers to American or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States.
Knowlton Lyman "Snake" Ames was an American football player and coach. He played for Princeton University from 1886 to 1889, and the Chicago Athletic Association, in 1892. Playing for the Princeton Tigers, Ames was selected to the 1889 College Football All-America Team as a fullback. In 1891 and 1892, he was the head football coach at Purdue University. He is also credited as the first head football coach at Northwestern University.
Hector William "Hec" Cowan was an American football player and coach, and an ordained Presbyterian minister. He played college football at Princeton University from 1885 to 1889. He was team captain for Princeton and selected to the first College Football All-America Team in 1889. Cowan served as the head football coach at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill for two games during the 1888 season and at the University of Kansas from 1894 to 1896, compiling a career coaching record of 18–8–1. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame as a player in 1951.
The Yale Bulldogs football program represents Yale University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision. Yale's football program is one of the oldest in the world, having begun competing in the sport in 1872. The Bulldogs have a legacy that includes 27 national championships, two of the first three Heisman Trophy winners, 100 consensus All-Americans, 28 College Football Hall of Fame inductees, including the "Father of American Football" Walter Camp, the first professional football player Pudge Heffelfinger, and coaching giants Amos Alonzo Stagg, Howard Jones, Tad Jones and Carmen Cozza. With over 900 wins, Yale ranks in the top ten for most wins in college football history.
Matthew Henry McClung Jr., sometimes referred to as Dibby McClung, was an American college football player, coach, and official. Born into a powerful southern family, McClung was raised in Memphis, Tennessee until he was accepted into Lehigh University. Immediately establishing himself as a skilled sportsman, McClung participated on both the school's football and baseball teams. He served as captain of the former in 1892 and is credited with turning it into one of the school's best ever football squads. McClung graduated from Lehigh in 1893 with degrees in metallurgy and mining engineering.
The 1890 College Football All-America team was the second College Football All-America Team. The team was selected by Caspar Whitney and published in This Week's Sports.
The 1889 College Football All-America team was the first College Football All-America Team. The team was selected by Caspar Whitney and published in This Week's Sports.
The 1906 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans by various organizations and writers that chose College Football All-America Teams for the 1906 college football season. The organizations that chose the teams included Walter Camp for Collier's Weekly, Caspar Whitney for Outing Magazine, the New York World, the New York Sun, The New York Times, the New York Mail, and Charles Chadwick.
The 1894 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans for the 1894 college football season, as selected by Caspar Whitney for Harper's Weekly and the Walter Camp Football Foundation. Whitney began publishing his All-America Team in 1889, and his list, which was considered the official All-America Team, was published in Harper's Weekly from 1891 to 1896.
The 1893 College Football All-America team is composed of college football players who were selected as All-Americans for the 1893 college football season, as selected by Caspar Whitney for Harper's Weekly and the Walter Camp Football Foundation. Whitney began publishing his All-America Team in 1889, and his list, which was considered the official All-America Team, was published in Harper's Weekly from 1891 to 1896. Harvard Law School student and football center William H. Lewis became the first African-American to be selected as an All-American in 1892, an honor he received again in 1893.
Ralph Herbert Warren was an All-American football player. He played end for Princeton University from 1889 to 1891 and was selected to the 1890 College Football All-America Team. Warren was the subject of intense press coverage in January 1892 when he disappeared for several days, showing up at his parents' home days later. Warren was said to have been "temporarily out of his mind" following an injury sustained in a football game.
William Castle Rhodes was American football player and coach. Rhodes played tackle at Yale University from 1887 to 1890 and was selected for the 1890 College Football All-America Team. After playing for the Cleveland Athletic Club and coaching at Western Reserve in 1891, Rhodes return to his alma mater to served head coach for the Yale Bulldogs football team in 1893 and 1894, compiling a record of 26–1. Rhodes' 1894 team won all 16 of its games and was later recognized as a national champion by a number of selectors.
John Samuel Cranston was an American football player and coach. He played for Harvard University from 1888 to 1890. He was selected as an All-American in 1889 and 1890—the first years in which College Football All-America Teams were selected. He was also the first football player to wear protective "nose armor", which was invented by a Harvard teammate to protect his "weak nose". He later served as a football coach at Harvard from 1893 to 1903. During the 1905 football reform movement, Cranston was part of the reformist camp and proposed the abolition of professional coaches.
The 1895 college football season was the season of American football played among colleges and universities in the United States during the 1895–96 academic year.
The 1889 college football season was the season of American football played among colleges and universities in the United States during the 1889–90 academic year.
The 1893 college football season was the season of American football played among colleges and universities in the United States during the 1893–94 academic year.
The Poe brothers were six American football players who played football at Princeton University from 1882 until 1901. They were sons of John P. Poe Sr., an 1854 Princeton graduate and the Attorney General of Maryland from 1891 until 1895. They were also second cousins, twice removed, of the poet and short story writer Edgar Allan Poe, who died in 1849.
The 1886 Yale Bulldogs football team was an American football team that represented Yale University as a member of the Intercollegiate Football Association (IFA) during the 1886 college football season. The team finished with a 9–0–1 record, shut out nine of ten opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 687 to 4. Robert Corwin was the team captain.
The 1889 Yale Bulldogs football team represented Yale University in the 1889 college football season. In their second season under head coach Walter Camp, Yale compiled a 15–1 record, held opponents scoreless in 12 games, and outscored all opponents by a total of 664 to 31. Its only loss was in the final game of the season against rival Princeton by a 10–0 score.
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.
