69 days to go ...
The birthday: College football is born when Rutgers and Princeton play the first game ever game in 1869. Rutgers would win the game 6-4. The same teams would play a week later with Princeton earning an 8-0 win.
Rutgers University and its neighbor, Princeton, played the first game of intercollegiate football on Nov. 6, 1869, on a plot of ground where the present-day Rutgers gymnasium now stands in New Brunswick, N.J. Rutgers won that first game, 6-4.
The game was played with two teams of 25 men each under rugby-like rules, but like modern football, it was “replete with surprise, strategy, prodigies of determination, and physical prowess,” to use the words of one of the Rutgers players.
William J. Leggett, captain of the Rutgers team who later became a distinguished clergyman of the Dutch Reformed Church, suggested that rules for the contest be adopted from those of the London Football Association. Leggett's proposal was accepted by Captain William Gunmere of Princeton, who later became Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey.
At 3 p.m. on that memorable afternoon, the 50 combatants and about 100 spectators gathered on the field. Most of the assemblage sat on a low wooden fence and watched the athletes doff hats, coats and vests and use suspenders as belts. To distinguish themselves from the bareheaded visitors, 50 Rutgers students, including players,
donned scarlet-colored scarfs which they converted into turbans.
The teams lined up with two members of each team remaining more or less stationary near the opponent’s goal in the hopes of being able to slip over and score from unguarded positions. Thus, the present day “sleeper” was conceived. The remaining 23 players were divided into groups of 11 and 12. While the 11 “fielders” lined up in their own territory as defenders, the 12 “bulldogs” carried the battle.
Each score counted as a “game” and 10 games completed the contest. Following each score, the teams changed direction. The ball could be advanced only by kicking or batting it with the feet, hands, heads or sides.
Events leading up to the game were described by John W. Herbert, Rutgers ’72, who was one of the players: “To appreciate this game to the full you must know something of its background,” Herbert wrote in 1933. “The two colleges were, and still are, of course, about 20 miles apart. The rivalry between them was intense. For years each had striven for possession of an old Revolutionary cannon, making night forays and lugging it back and forth time and again. Not long before the first football game, the canny Princetonians had settled this competition in their own favor by ignominiously sinking the gun in several feet of concrete. In addition to this, I regret to report, Princeton had beaten Rutgers in baseball by the harrowing score of 40-2. Rutgers longed for a chance to square things.”
A challenge for the game was issued by Rutgers. Three games were to be played that year. The first played at New Brunswick and won by Rutgers. Princeton won the second game, but
cries of “over-emphasis” prevented the third game in football's first year when faculties of both institutions protested on the grounds that the games were interfering with student studies.
Herbert gave this detailed account of the play in the first game: “Though smaller on the average, the Rutgers players, as it developed, had ample speed and fine football sense. Receiving the ball, our men formed a perfect interference around it and with short, skillful kicks and dribbles drove it down the field. Taken by surprise, the Princeton men fought valiantly, but in five minutes we had gotten the ball through to our captains on the enemy's goal and S.G. Gano, ’71 and G.R. Dixon, ’73, neatly kicked it over. None thought of it, so far as I know, but we had without previous plan or thought evolved the play that became famous a few years later as ‘the flying wedge’.”
Herbert then related that his teammates failed to note a conference the Princeton's captain was holding with the giant of the Tiger team, J.E. Michael, ’71, known to his mates as “Big Mike.”
“Next period Rutgers bucked, or received the ball, hoping to repeat the flying wedge,” Herbert's account continues. “But the first time we formed it Big Mike came charging full upon us. It was our turn for surprise. The Princeton battering ram made no attempt to reach the ball but, forerunner of the interference-breaking ends of today, threw himself into our mass play, bursting us apart, and bowing us over. Time and again Rutgers formed the wedge and charged; as often Big Mike broke it up. And finally on one of these incredible break-ups a Princeton bulldog with a long accurate, perhaps lucky kick, sent the ball between the posts for the second score.
“The flying wedge thus checkmated, Rutgers might have been in a bad spot had not Madison Ball, ’73, come through. He had a trick of kicking the ball with his heel. All the game he had been a puzzle to the Princetonians. The ball would be rolling toward the Rutgers goal, and, running ahead of it instead of taking time to turn, he would heel it back. He made several such plays, greatly encouraging his team. Then he capped all this by one tremendous lucky backward drive directly to Dixon, standing squarely before Princeton's goal...Dixon easily scored, giving us a one-goal lead. Big Mike again rose, however, in a berserk endeavor, and, getting the ball, he called the Princeton men into a flying wedge of their own and straight-away they took the ball right down the field and put it over.”
It was at this point that a Rutgers professor could stand it no longer.
Waving his umbrella at the participants, he shrieked, “you will come to no Christian end!”
Herbert’s account of the game continues: “The fifth and sixth goals went to Rutgers. The stars of the latter period of play, in the memory of the players after the lapse of many years, were “Big Mike” and Large (former State Senator George H. Large of Flemington, another Princeton player). Someone by a random kick had driven the ball to one side, where it rolled against the fence and stopped. Large led the pursuit for the ball closely followed by Michael. They reached the fence on which students were perched, and unable to check their momentum, in a tremendous impact they struck it. The fence then gave way with a crash and over went the band of yelling students to the ground.
“Every college probably has the humorous tradition of some player who has scored against his own team. This tradition at Rutgers dated from this first game, for one of her players, whose identity is unknown, in the sixth period started to kick the ball between his own goal posts. The kick was blocked, but Princeton took advantage of the opportunity and soon made the goal. This turn of the game apparently disorganized Rutgers, for Princeton also scored the next goal after a few minutes of play, thus bringing the total up to four all.”
At this point Leggett introduced strategy to turn the tide in favor of Rutgers. Noticing that Princeton obtained a great advantage from its taller players, Leggett ordered his men to keep the ball close to the ground. Following this strategy, Rutgers kicked the ninth and tenth goals, thus winning the match.
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| November 1869 issue of The Targum |
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An analytical account of the game appeared in the November, 1869 issue of the Targum, Rutgers’ undergraduate newspaper.
“To describe the varying fortunes of the match, game by game, would be a waste of labor for every game was like the one before,” wrote the student re-porter. “There was the same headlong running, wild shouting, and frantic kicking.
“In every game the cool goaltenders saved the Rutgers goal half a dozen times; in every game the heavy charger of the Princeton side overthrew everything he came in contact with; and in every game, just when the interest in one of those delightful rushes at the fence was culminating, the persecuted ball would fly for refuge into the next lot, and produce cessation of hostilities until, after the invariable ‘foul’, it was put in straight.
“To sum up, Princeton had the most muscle, but didn't kick very well, and wanted organization. They evidently don't like to kick the ball on the ground. Our men, on the other hand, though comparatively weak, ran well, and kicked well throughout. But their great point was the organization, for which great praise is due to the captain. The right men were always in the right place.”
One of the Princeton players, William Preston Lane, in 1933 contended in a newspaper interview that Rutgers “ran us Princeton men out of town. I never found out why they did that,” he related. “But we don't ask any questions. When we saw them coming after us, we ran to the outskirts of New Brunswick and got into our carriages and wagons and went away as fast as we could.”
Lane's contention is refuted in the
Targum account. “After the match the players had an amicable "feed together," the paper reported. "At 8 o'clock our guests went home, in high good spirits, thirsting to beat us next time, if they can.”
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| The 1869 team was honored during Homecoming ceremonies in 1918 |
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The Daily Fredonian, a New Brunswick paper of that era, supported the Targum account in its issue of November 9, 1869.
“Though the generous liberality of the students of Rutgers College,” the Fredonian reported, “a bountiful entertainment was prepared for our Princeton friends, at the favorite resort in Church Street known as Northrop's where ‘mine host’ and his estimable lady know how to get up a good supper.”
Regardless of what actually happened after the first game, football was here to stay. Rutgers got Columbia University started in the grid sport the following season and in a few years most of the colleges and universities in the East were represented on the gridiron.
The foregoing account of America's first intercollegiate football game was prepared from material obtained from reliable sources. Previous drafts of the account were authenticated by surviving members of the first Rutgers and Princeton teams. The last surviving Princeton player, Robert Preston Lane (Class of 1872) died November 5, 1938. The last surviving Rutgers player, George H. Large (Class of 1872) died in the spring of 1939.
:clapping:
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1969 COLLEGE FOOTBALL HIGHLIGHTS
The 1969 college football season was celebrated as the 100th anniversary of college football. During the 20th Century, the NCAA had no playoff for the college football teams that would later be described as "Division I-A". The NCAA Football Guide, however, did note an "unofficial national champion" based on the top ranked teams in the "wire service" (AP and UPI) polls. The "writers' poll" by
Associated Press(AP) was the most popular, followed by the "coaches' poll" by
United Press International) (UPI).
In 1969, the UPI issued its final poll before the bowls, but the AP Trophy was withheld until the postseason was completed.
The AP poll in 1969 consisted of the votes of as many as 45 sportswriters, though not all of them voted in every poll. Those who cast votes would give their opinion of the ten best teams. Under a point system of 20 points for first place, 19 for second, etc., the "overall" ranking was determined. In 1969, there were four regular season games that matched "Top Five" teams.
November 22
After averaging 46 points a game in its first eight,
#1 Ohio State could only manage 12 points against
#12 Michigan in Ann Arbor, and
lost 24-12. The Wolverines won the Big Ten championship and a spot in the Rose Bowl.
#5 USC, aided by a pass interference penalty and controversial late touchdown, closed with a 14-12 win over #6 UCLA in a matchup of unbeatens (both 8-0-1) that decided the Pac-8 championship and the other spot in the Rose Bowl.
#4 Penn State won at Pittsburgh 27-7.
In the next poll, Texas took the top spot: 1.Texas 2.Arkansas 3.Penn State 4.Ohio State 5.USC.
Thanksgiving Day
In Southwest Conference play,
#1 Texas won at Texas A & M, 49-12 while
#2 Arkansas beat Texas Tech 33-0 in Little Rock.
November 29
#3 Penn State which won at North Carolina State 33-8, had been considered for the
Cotton Bowl Classic, where the Southwestern Conference champ (Texas or Arkansas) would go. Before Ohio State's loss, however, the players had voted to accept a bid to the
Orange Bowl, because they preferred going to Miami instead of Dallas, even though the Nittany Lions went to the Orange Bowl the previous season and defeated Kansas 15-14. Certain to move up to #2 regardless of how the Texas-Arkansas game came out, Penn State unexpectedly had passed up a chance to go up against the #1 team in the nation.
December 6
#1 and #2 would not meet in a bowl, but faced off at Razorback Stadium in Fayetteville, Arkansas, for the final regular season game for both teams. Both unbeaten at 9-0-0, the
#1 Texas Longhorns met the
#2 Arkansas Razorbacks for a game that would determine the unofficial title. Among the 44,000 spectators that day was
President Richard Nixon, who had with him a plaque to award to the "national champion", while an estimated 50 million viewers watched the game on
ABC. After three quarters, Arkansas had a 14-0 lead. In the fourth quarter, Longhorns' quarterback James Street couldn't find a receiver and ran 42 yards for a touchdown, then carried over the ball for two to make the score 14-8. Then, with 4:47 to play, the Longhorns were on their own 43 on fourth down. Street threw long to Randy Peschel open downfield. Peschel caught the ball and fell out of bounds on the 13. After Ted Koy's 11 yard run, Jim Bertelsen went over to tie the score. The extra point by Happy Feller gave Texas the 15-14 win. Because both teams had been unbeaten in Southwest Conference play, the game also determined the SWC championship, with Texas getting the bid for the Cotton Bowl Classic. President Nixon presented the plaque to Texas coach Darrell Royal after the game.
In the final regular season poll, it was 1.Texas 2.Penn State 3.Arkansas 4.Ohio State and 5.USC.
[TABLE="class: wikitable"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: #F2F2F2, align: center"]BOWL[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #F2F2F2, align: center"][/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #F2F2F2, align: center"][/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #F2F2F2, align: center"][/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #F2F2F2, align: center"][/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]COTTON[/TD]
[TD]
#1 Texas Longhorns[/TD]
[TD]21[/TD]
[TD]
#9 Notre Dame Fighting Irish[/TD]
[TD]17[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]ORANGE[/TD]
[TD]
#2 Penn State Nittany Lions[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD]
#6 Missouri Tigers[/TD]
[TD]3[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]SUGAR[/TD]
[TD]
#13 Mississippi Rebels[/TD]
[TD]27[/TD]
[TD]
#3 Arkansas Razorbacks[/TD]
[TD]22[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]ROSE[/TD]
[TD]
#5 USC Trojans[/TD]
[TD]10[/TD]
[TD]
#7 Michigan Wolverines[/TD]
[TD]3[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]
East Tennessee State went undefeated and beat Louisiana Tech, led by Terry Bradshaw, in the Grantland Rice Bowl in Baton Rouge, LA.
At the
Cotton Bowl in Dallas, the #1 Texas Longhorns were facing the end of their unbeaten streak before a crowd of 73,000. Trailing 17-14 with 2:26 left in the game, Texas was 10 yards from goal, but it was 4th down, and going for a tie was out of the question. Failing to convert would give Notre Dame the ball and the chance to run out the clock. Texas QB James Street managed to fire a pass over the head of the equally determined Notre Dame linebacker,
Bob Olson. Cotton Speyrer came down with the ball on the 2 yard line, just before the ball hit the ground. The officials paused before ruling that the pass was indeed complete, giving Texas the first down, and two plays later, Billy Dale took the ball in for the winning points and, ultimately, the title.
[video=youtube_share;HfT_528BWdU]http://youtu.be/HfT_528BWdU[/video]
In the final poll, the Texas Longhorns were the top choice for 36 of the 45 writers voting, and won the AP Trophy as the final #1.
The Final Top 20 was: 1.Texas 2.Penn State 3.USC 4.Ohio State 5.Notre Dame 6.Missouri 7.Arkansas 8.Mississippi 9.Michigan 10.UCLA 11.Nebraska 12.Houston 13.LSU 14.Florida 15.Tennessee 16.Colorado 17.West Virginia 18.Purdue 19.Stanford and 20.Auburn.
Other bowls:
[TABLE="class: wikitable"]
<tbody>[TR]
[TH="bgcolor: #F2F2F2, align: center"]BOWL[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #F2F2F2, align: center"]Location[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #F2F2F2, align: center"]Winner[/TH]
[TH="bgcolor: #F2F2F2, align: center"]Loser[/TH]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]SUN[/TD]
[TD]El Paso[/TD]
[TD]Nebraska 45[/TD]
[TD]Georgia 6[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]GATOR[/TD]
[TD]Jacksonville[/TD]
[TD]Florida 14[/TD]
[TD]Tennessee 13[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]TANGERINE[/TD]
[TD]Orlando[/TD]
[TD]Toledo 56[/TD]
[TD]Davidson 33[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]ASTRO-BLUEBONNET[/TD]
[TD]Houston[/TD]
[TD]Houston 36[/TD]
[TD]Auburn 7[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]
LIBERTY[/TD]
[TD]Memphis[/TD]
[TD]Colorado 47[/TD]
[TD]Alabama 33[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]PEACH[/TD]
[TD]Atlanta[/TD]
[TD]West Virginia 14[/TD]
[TD]South Carolina 3[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]PASADENA[/TD]
[TD]Pasadena[/TD]
[TD]San Diego State 28[/TD]
[TD]Boston U. 7[/TD]
[/TR]
[TR]
[TD]Rice Bowl[/TD]
[TD]Baton Rouge[/TD]
[TD]East Tennessee State 34[/TD]
[TD]Louisiana Tech 14[/TD]
[/TR]
</tbody>[/TABLE]
Many schools, at the behest of the NCAA, commemorated the 1969 season by wearing a special decal on their football helmets. The decal consisted of the numeral "100" inside a football shaped outline. The decal was designed to commemorate the 1869 game between
Rutgers and
Princeton, often cited as the
first college football game. Decals varied greatly from one team to another. Some teams placed the decals unobtrusively on the front or back of the helmet. Other teams placed them prominently on the side, either in addition to or in place of their regular team logo. Colors and design of the decals also varied greatly between teams; with different numeral styles and color schemes in use. One notable exception was
Harvard, which abstained from the 1969 commemoration, and had its own special helmet decal made for the
1974 season, which commemorates an 1874 game that Harvard played against
McGill that Harvard claims was the "real" first football game.
Mizzou
Oregon
Texas
Alabama
Nebraska
HEISMAN WINNER
Steve Owens of Oklahoma had rushed for 3,867 yards and scored 56 touchdowns in three seasons with the Sooners. In 1969, he had 29 touchdowns and scored 138 points, and rushed for 248 yards against Iowa State. He later played for the
Detroit Lions. Second in the voting was
Mike Phipps, quarterback for Purdue.
