The 1869 New Jersey vs. Rutgers football game was a college football game between the College of New Jersey (now the Princeton Tigers) and the Rutgers Queensmen played on November 6, 1869. While the rules were more similar to rugby and modern soccer than they were to modern American football, some considered it the first American football game ever played.
Rutgers won the game 6â€"4.
§Game and game rules
Part of the first season of college football ever played, the game took place on November 6, 1869 at College Field (now the site of the College Avenue Gymnasium at Rutgers University) in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Because the game was played at a Rutgers field, it was also played under Rutgers' rules. The rules could be said to be a mixture of rugby and soccer, in which two teams of 25 players attempted to score by kicking the ball into the opposing team's goal, but throwing or carrying the ball was not allowed. (See Gameplay section below for how the game transpired.) Rutgers won the game by a score of 6 "runs" to Princeton's 4.
William J. Leggett, later a distinguished clergyman of the Dutch Reformed Church, was the Rutgers captain; William Gummere, who later became chief justice of the Supreme Court of New Jersey, captained the Princeton squad. The game was played in front of approximately 100 spectators. Reportedly, the players from Rutgers wore scarlet-colored turbans and handkerchiefs to distinguish them as a team from the Princeton players, which was the reason that they later adopted the Scarlet Knights as their mascot.
§Gameplay
The teams played 10 "games" against each other. When a team scored one time (a "goal"), it counted as the end of the game, and the team with the most goals after play was completed was considered the winner. The game was played under a combination of rugbylike and soccerlike rules, and the ball could be moved only by kicking or hitting it with feet, hands, head or sides.
As the first of the 10 games began, two players from each of the teams positioned themselves near the opponent's goal. This was presumably because the participants were hoping to easily score when the ball reached their territory on the field of play. On each team, there were eleven so-called "fielders" who were assigned to defend their own territorial area. There were 12 participants on each team that they named "bulldogs" who were the ones playing in the other team's territory.
Rutgers was the first to score a goal, as participants named S.G. Gano and G.R. Dixon successfully kicked the ball across the Princeton goal, allowing the Scarlet Knights to take the early lead in the contest. At some point early in the contest, the flying "wedge" play was first used as the team with the ball formed what is considered a wall-like formation, allowing them to charge at the defenders. This flying wedge tactic was successful early on for Rutgers because of their perceived size disadvantage over Princeton. However, Princeton countered the tactic with a participant named J.E. Michael, but apparently better known by his nickname of "Big Mike". Big Mike had broken up the Rutgers flying wedge play during the fourth "game", and Princeton took advantage at that moment as they were able to tie the overall score at 2-2.
A Rutgers player named Madison Ball used his quickness and the way in which he kicked the ball (with the heel of his foot), to again take the lead in the contest. When the ball would enter Rutgers territory, Madison would get in front of it and use a heel kick to prevent Princeton from scoring. Ball was able to successfully use that play to set up Dixon to score another goal which gave Rutgers a 4-2 "games" lead. Rutgers then allowed Princeton to score a goal as one of their players, whose identity is not known, had kicked a ball towards their own goal. It was blocked by a Rutgers player, but Princeton soon was able to take advantage to cut the lead down to 4-3. Princeton scored on their next possession when they used a flying wedge play of their own led by Big Mike as they were able to march down the field to score to tie the game at 4.
Rutgers captain John W. Leggett (who was the one who had suggested rules be adopted from the London Football Association which was agreed upon by Princeton team captain William Gunmere) had a strategy for his team at this point. He suggested that the Rutgers team keep the ball low on the ground to counter the much taller players on Princeton's team. This strategy appeared to work as Rutgers easily scored the final two goals of the contest to win the first intercollegiate football game ever played 6-4.
Princeton had more size which would normally be an advantage on a field with 50 total players, but the Tigers had trouble kicking the ball as a team which is something Rutgers did very well. After the game, an eye witness named John W. Herbert said that he thought Rutgers was the smaller team, but that they had more speed than Princeton.
§Aftermath
In what might be considered a beginning to college football rivalries, immediately after Rutgers won this game, Princeton's players were literally run out of town by the winning Rutgers students. The Princeton students reportedly jumped in their carriages and quickly made the 20-mile trip back to their campus.
In 1968, Arnold Friberg was commissioned to create a painting commemorating the game. His work The First Game was one of four works that he created to celebrate 100 years of college football.
§See also
- 1869 college football season
- List of historically significant college football games
- The First Game
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