This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/eastexaslion on 2024-03-26 17:25:35.
Click here to see the introductory post about this series.
Click here to see previous entries in this series.
Claimed National Championships
Princeton (1-0) National Championship Foundation, Billingsley Report, Parke H. Davis
Bold indicates main national championship selector recognized by NCAA Championship List
Notable Events
- Levi Strauss & Co. begins manufacturing the famous Levi’s brand of jeans.
- Jesse James and the James–Younger Gang pull off the first successful train robbery in the American Old West.
- The Heineken Brewery is founded in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
- Coors Brewing Company begins making beer
- W. C. Handy the “father of the Blues,” and CFB Hall of Famers Sam Thorne, Dave Campbell (No, not that one Texans), and Eddie Robinson were born
- Napoleon III of France dies
- The Ball: Round, rubber Association Football (soccer ball).
- The field is 133 1/3 yds x 75 yds, uprights 25’ apart
- All goals count 1 pt. each
- Each team consists of 20 players
- Holding and carrying the ball is not permitted
- If a defending player catches a ball they are entitled to a free-kick
- *The game’s regulation is separated into two halves, both 45 minutes. If the game is tied at the end of regulation, the next scored goal wins the game.
Italics denote rule change from previous season.
\Not an official rule at the time, but will be used in the playoff.)
Rule Changes
The rule changes from above, like the uprights being extended a foot, and the roster decreasing from 25 to 20 players, come from the first attempt to organize football by the IFA (mentioned later) and are not accepted by some of the teams that are playing (most famously Yale vs Eton which was the first 11-man football game played, and Harvard vs McGill which was played under rugby rules).
The Teams
Of the 10 teams that are available in the matchup tool, only four qualify and are listed by their seeding in the bracket.
- Princeton (1-0); Coach - None
- Columbia (2-1); Coach - None
- Yale (2-1); Coach - None
- Stevens (2-1); Coach - None
- Harvard (1-0-1); Coach - None
Season Breakdown
As much as I’d love to give a breakdown of this season, this article by Zach Bigalke does a much better job than I ever can, but I’ll hit some highlights for those who don’t want to leave the post.
This, and the next season, are some of the weirder seasons of early college football. First off, there are claims that certain schools started playing their first game like Washington & Lee against VMI (or at least that’s what it appears Washington & Lee used to state, but the citation on Wikipedia leads to a dead link now), but there’s no real record I’ve been able to find of it. The season had some teams traveling long distances to play as schools from two countries came to the States to play American schools.
On top of that, the Intercollegiate Football Association (IFA) is founded. This is the first attempt to standardize the rules of the game. Princeton, Rutgers, and Yale gathered to adopt rules, but Harvard refused to attend due to preferring their version of the game.
Week 6 featured Yale hosting Eton College from England. Yes… England. Eton College had a version of the same game that predates the first season of college football by over 100 years known as the Eton wall game. CFB historian/Coach/Championship Selector Parke H. Davis, alleges that Eton invented the game that is being played now. It isn’t clear how or why the game was scheduled, though I have a sneaking suspicion it may have come from connections from the Yale captain from the previous year, David Schaff, and the fact that he attended the Rugby School in England. Though I have no actual source to prove that. Anyway, Yale would win this game two goals to one to finish with a 2-1 record.
Then the most influential of these games occurred. Harvard would play their first game three months after the Eton/Yale game in Cambridge. McGill University from Canada accepted a challenge to play Harvard in two matches—one with the previously mentioned Boston rules, and then one with Rugby rules. Harvard would win the Boston rules game 3-0, and then tie McGill 0-0 under rugby rules. That last game was the most important because Harvard found the rugby rules of the game so fun, that they would be the first team to abandon the soccer-like rules for the rugby rules (this would come back to bite them in the playoffs however as they have to play under the rules we’ve mentioned).
Players of Interest
Isaac Lionberger and Henry Moffat are still with Princeton this season. Yale has two other players joining the roster Eugene V. Baker and Clarence Deming. Deming during this time was a two-sport athlete and captain of the Bulldog’s baseball team, with Baker going to stay with the team for another 5 years after this season. William A Whiting, a sixth-generation Harvard graduate, is on Harvard’s team and will stay with the team until 1876 or 1877. Deming and Baker would go on to both get their doctorates after, with Whiting going on to be an Attorney General under the last king of Hawaii, as well as Supreme Judge in the Republic of Hawaii.
Playoffs
Round 1
No. 4 Stevens Tech beats No. 5 Harvard 1-0 to play Princeton
Final Four
No. 1 seed Princeton hosts No. 4 seed Stevens. Surprisingly Stevens manages to score on Princeton during this match-up, but for the most part, the Tigers dismantle the Stevens Tech defense. The final score is 3-1 and Princeton advances for a chance to win their fourth consecutive championship.
No. 2 seed Yale hosts the No. 3 seed Columbia. Many in attendance are anticipating a close match-up, but Yale makes it anything but that. Yale goes on and starts scoring with four goals by the end of the first half. Yale keeps the ball generally away from Columbia but slips up, turns the ball over, and allows a Columbia goal. For the most part the game finishes without any surprises other than another Yale goal. Yale wins 5-1 and advances to the face Princeton in Brooklyn once again.
The Championship Game at Union Grounds in Brooklyn, NY
A rematch in Brooklyn again, this time at a new site with a sold-out 1500 spectators in the stands, and at least another 1000 lined up around the walls: Union Grounds in Brooklyn, only two miles north of the Capitoline Grounds. The teams come out of the clubhouse near the end of the field with modest applause. The game begins quickly with Yale making the same mistake that cost them the championship last year. A Princeton player catches the ball near Yale’s goal and is able to capitalize. Yale tries to come back from this but turns the ball over in the midfield and Princeton scores again making it 2-0 at the end of the half. Yale comes into the second half dominating possession. However, despite nearly 20 shots, not a single one goes between the posts. As time winds down, the realization comes in that Yale will have to wait at least another year for a chance to win a championship. Princeton wins their fourth consecutive championship.
Champion:
Princeton (1-0) Beats Yale 2-0
Runner-Up:
Yale (2-1) Lost to Princeton 2-0
Third Place Finishes:
Columbia (2-1) Lost to Yale 5-1
Stevens (2-1) Lost to Princeton 3-1
Fifth Place Finishes:
Harvard (1-0-1) Lost to Stevens 1-0
Sources:
Retro Seasons For Stadium Reference
This post that summarizes all changes to football rules over the years
[1873 college football s…
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