1890s Ohio Football Star Frank Fisher donated Sterling Steele Trophy

 Here is a Marcus and Co. Sterling Silver trophy cup given by Buchtel football star Frank Talbott Fisher.  He played on the 1893 and 1894 Buchtel teams that were coached by legendary coach John Heisman.  Fisher played fullback and was captain of the 1894 team.  In 1902 he donated two $50 trophies to the school for track.  One being to the athlete making the most points three years in succession as shown and the other a class cup.

1869 Turf Field and Farm Periodical with First Thanksgiving game

 Shortly after the first collegiate football game between Princeton and Rutgers there was the first Thanksgiving football contest between Germantown and Young American Cricket Clubs.  Here is an excerpt from the game.

1900 Nebraska Football Team Celluloid Pin

 This is an example of a beautiful 1900 celluloid pin of the Nebraska football team.  Celluloid pins started to become popular around the turn of the century.  Nebraska went 6-1-1 in a successful season.  This is the first year they became known as the Cornhuskers.

1896 Yale football Imperial Team Photo

 Here is a beautiful imperial photo of the 1896 Yale football team.  They went 13-1 this year with their only loss to Princeton.  Notable players include captain Fred T. Murphy, Burr Chamberlain, Louis Hinkey, Clarence Fincke, Lyman Bass, and Charles Chadwick.  Original team photos like this are hard to find in the late 1890s because they are primarily in the photo yearbooks.

1906 University of Georgia football players with Harold “War Eagle” Ketron

 Here is an interesting photo of the 1906 Georgia football team.  In the middle is the head coach George S Whitney.  In the “G” sweater is the captain Dan Sage.  Second to the right is Harold “War Eagle” Ketron who was an early star for Georgia.  He was known to spit chewing tobacco in his opponents eyes on occasion before making a tackle.

1886 Princeton Football Captain Henry Savage

 Here is a nice Pach cabinet of Henry Savage in his football uniform most likely from 1885 and his grad photo in 1886.  Savage helped Princeton beat Yale in 1885 to an undefeated record.  The next year in 1886 he captained the team to another successful season.

1893 Cambridge Manual Training School

 Here is an 1893 photo of Cambridge Manual Training School.  CMTS was a vocational high school next to Harvard.  This is a very early integrated football team image.