1869: First Official College Football Game
Would the players in 1869 even recognize today's multi-billion dollar college football?
Featured birthday guest
Jackson Blake
From New Brunswick, NJ
Birthday memory: Tailgating at Rutgers Stadium on my 21st birthday.
Participating scholar
Coach Terry Vance
Sports Historian & College Gridiron Author
Providing historical context, primary-document vetting, and intellectual substance during today's lively discussion.
Are you a historian? Apply to join an episodeHistorical overview
On November 6, 1869, Rutgers University played the College of New Jersey (now Princeton) in what is recognized as the first intercollegiate football match. We trace how a chaotic soccer-rugby hybrid evolved into America's Saturday obsession.
Wait… that happened today?
"Players wore no helmets or padding, and Rutgers students wore scarlet turbans wrapped around their heads just to tell each other apart!"
Questions explored in this episode
- 1.Why did early rules forbid carrying or throwing the ball by hand?
- 2.How did Walter Camp transform the game 10 years later into 11-man football?
- 3.What made Rutgers win that historic first game 6 to 4?
The big question
"Could modern players survive 1869 rules without pads or helmets?"
Select an option to register your vote. · 1,350 listeners have weighed in.