This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/eastexaslion on 2024-03-23 17:49:43.
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National Champions
Princeton (1-1) National Championship Foundation, Billingsley Report, Parke H. Davis
Rutgers (1-1) Parke H. Davis
Bold indicates main national championship selector recognized by NCAA Championship List
Notable Events
- Ulysses S. Grant is sworn in as president
- The first professional baseball team, the Cincinnati Red Stockings, played their first season as a fully professional team
- Campbell Soup Company and Heinz are founded as food companies.
- Rasputin, Mahatma Gandhi, and John Heisman were born
The First Rules
The first rules of the sport are essentially a slightly organized version of mob ball soccer. Each team had 25 players playing on a 120 x 75 yard field and goals were scored by kicking a ball through a goal represented by two posts 24 feet apart. Each goal is counted as one point. The ball is a round soccer ball and there is no time limit in the game. The game ends after 10 goals. Though these are the rules of the first game, they also change depending on who has home-field advantage.
The Teams
Only two teams qualified and are listed by their seed in the bracket.
Season Breakdown
Why the first game was scheduled comes from an account written by one of the players on the Rutgers team, John W. Herbert. He states that the schools are already in close proximity to each other, making a train ride to each school fairly easy. Another reason is that before the game, the Princeton baseball team beat Rutgers 40-2, and Rutgers wanted to exact revenge. Another is that there was already a rivalry between these schools, as student bodies of each school would go on about stealing a Revolutionary War cannon and hiding it from the opposing campus. It finally came to an end as Princeton students would bury the canon beneath feet of concrete.
The first game would occur where the current College Avenue Gymnasium is. Rutgers would use its speed advantage many times to take a lead only for Princeton to use its strength advantage to tie it up. Finally, after Princeton tied it up at 4 goals each, Rutgers would eventually score the last two goals to end the game 6-4. One interesting thing about the game (other than it being the first game) is how the most controversial formation in college football appeared in it, the flying wedge (Explanation of how it would work vs What it likely looked like), most likely to counter Princeton’s strength (however, it appears that Princeton’s strength was also used to break up that formation).
However, you may have noticed, in their second meeting Princeton blew out Rutgers eight goals to none. A big part of this is due to Princeton’s “free kick” rule that was absent from the previous game, where if a player caught the ball, they could kick it from where they stood. This rule seriously mitigated Rutgers’ speed advantage that they had in the prior game.
There was originally supposed to be a third game played between these two teams, but it was called off. No one is sure if it’s because the players on the team agreed to cancel the third game, or if the school administrators from both schools forced the players to stop playing.
Players of Interest
There are not many players that stand out due to stats. In fact, stat-keeping wouldn’t become a staple of football until the early 20th century. We of course mentioned John W. Herbert earlier with his account. The team captains of each team are not just players of interest due to their role on each team, but also who they would end up becoming after school, such as Rutgers’ William J. Leggett who would end up becoming a preacher as well as a leader in the Dutch Reformed Church, and Princeton’s William S. Gummere who would become a judge on New Jersey’s Supreme Court. There are only two players I could find who were renowned for their athletic attributes. Rutgers’ Madison M. Ball was known for his speed (despite being a wounded Civil War veteran), and J.E. “Big Mike” Michael for his strength and being the man who broke Rutgers’ flying wedge formation in the first game.
The Championship Game at The Historic Elysian Fields, Hoboken, NJ
The supposed “birthplace of baseball,” the historic Elysian Fields in Hoboken, NJ, is the site of our first championship game. Roughly 300 fans and locals show up to see the contest about to take place, and when Princeton and Rutgers in their third and final match of the season. The game is fraught with back-and-forth goals from each team as no one gains the upper hand. With the sun starting to set, Rutgers ties it at 5-5 and Princeton decides they need one last push from J.E. “Big Mike” Michael to break through Rutgers’ Flying Wedge formation. With a herculean feat, he breaks through and with open field ahead is able to kick the winning shot to give Princeton the deciding goal. Princeton wins the first Simulated Championship with a 6-5 final score.
Champion: Princeton (1-1) Won Championship 6-5
Runner-Up: Rutgers (1-1)
Sources:
The First Game: Nov 6, 1869, scarletknights.com
Retro Seasons For Stadium Reference
Football’s Original Rivalry by EMPIRE
1869 college football season - Wikipedia
1869 Princeton vs. Rutgers football game - Wikipedia
William Stryker Gummere - Wikipedia
This post that summarizes all college football rule changes over the years
Sources for Ratings:
Massey Ratings for Rankings and Games
Billingsley Report for Rankings