This is an automated archive made by the Lemmit Bot.
The original was posted on /r/cfb by /u/eastexaslion on 2024-03-27 18:56:22.
Click here to see the introductory post about this series.
Click here to see previous entries in this series.
Claimed National Champions
Princeton (2-0) Billingsley Report, Parke H. Davis
Yale (3-0) National Championship Foundation, Parke H. Davis
Bold indicates main national championship selector recognized by NCAA Championship List
- The Philadelphia Zoo opens, the first public zoo in the United States.
- Gold is discovered in the Black Hills.
- Inventor Joseph Glidden patents barbed wire.
- The University of Nevada (est. as State University of Nevada) is established.
- Herbert Hoover, and CFB Hall of Famers George H. Brooke, “Wild Bill” Hickok, and Langdon Lea
- Apache leader Cochise 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
No known major rule changes. However, some schools are using rugby Rules like Harvard and Tufts.
The Teams
- Yale (3-0); Coach - None
- Princeton (2-0); Coach - None
- Stevens (3-1); Coach - None
- Harvard (1-0) Coach - None
Season Breakdown (kinda)
Once again, Zach Bigalke summarizes the 1874 season better than I can. However, I do have to mention there is a game missing from the Harvard record and schedule, And that is Harvard vs Tufts, in which Harvard lost. So why is it left out? Well, verifying early games is REALLY hard. Even with smaller schools, it’s hard to find scores from games over 20 years ago. To find the scores, you really have two places you can depend on to get the game results. Either A) From the school itself or B) From local newspapers, and finding local newspapers online without paying for a subscription service, or working directly with a school’s archives, it’s close to impossible to find them online. Massey Ratings’ is the most complete currently, however, there was once a more complete source called the College Football Data Warehouse. It is now gone after the owner supposedly passed away, and the person who bought the site let it go down in 2020, but you can still find archives of this website on the Wayback Machine.
Players of Interest
Isaac Lionberger and Henry Moffat are still with Princeton during this time. However, this is their last year with the team, as they have to hand off the reigns to two other men. Collins Denny will be the captain of next year’s team. A.J. McCosh is the son of Princeton President James McCosh (who had been president since 1868), and would stay on the team until 1876. Both men seem to have gotten doctorates after graduating, with Denny earning three of them. Yale’s Eugene V. Baker, and Clarence Deming are still with the team, and Harvard’s William Whitting is still active as well
Playoffs
Harvard visits Yale for this match-up. However, it isn’t anything to write about as Yale will score and score and score again. By the end of the match, Yale will win 5-0 to face the winner of the next match.
At Princeton, it is no different. If Yale would score often, Princeton’s shots couldn’t miss. Princeton would win the game 7-0 to face Yale once again in Brooklyn.
The Championship Game at the Capitoline Grounds, Brooklyn, NY
The game is moved back to the Capitoline grounds to accommodate more spectators as upwards of 5,000 show up for the rematch. Despite being the No. 2 team in this match-up, Princeton is expecting an easy win to a fifth straight championship. That is the feel before this game nearly all season, and everyone is expecting an offensive battle after the last two rounds. But it is a back-and-forth defensive slug, with the first half ending with a Princeton 1-0 lead, and Yale coming to tie it up with 10 minutes left in regulation. It takes another 30 minutes after regulation to end the tie. Half the crowd is in an uproar while the other half celebrates as A.J. McCosh kicks a line drive ball toward Eugene Baker and after bobbling it catches it 20 yards away from Princeton’s goal. Baker knows the stories from the older teammates, and he remembers hearing of how Princeton won against his team with the same setup he sees himself with now. He lines up for the free-kick and sets up Deming who shoots and scores the game-winning goal! Yale wins their first championship 2-1.
Champion:
Yale (3-0) Beat Princeton 2-1
Runner-Up:
Princeton (2-0) Lost to Yale 2-1
Third Place Finish:
Harvard (1-0) Lost to Yale 5-0
Stevens (3-1) Lost to Princeton 7-0
Sources:
Retro Seasons For Stadium Reference
This post that summarizes all changes to football rules over the years
1874 College football season - Wikipedia
An irreverent look back at the 1874 college football season - Zach Bigalke
Sources for Ratings:
Massey Ratings for Rankings and Games
Billingsley Report for Rankings