Football tintypes are few and far between as compared to baseball. Here is a great example of an early football tintype. Most likely a high school or prep school from the Northeast. Each player is equipped with a canvas football jacket. The common variety was white and I’m not familiar with the black jacket the one player is wearing. Princeton first wore these in 1876 to cut down on jersey pulls and tearing during tackling. Instead of specific moleskin football pants they are wearing what appears to be everyday slacks. The caps are also on the rarer side with a few appearing to be wearing pillbox style caps. This can be seen in very few late 1870s team images and isn’t as common as the traditional stocking cap.
Thursday, June 23, 2022
Saturday, June 4, 2022
1890 Arthur J Cumnock Harvard Football Cabinet Photo
Arthur Cumnock was one of the early Harvard football stars. He was a fierce tackler and played on the varsity team all 4 years from 1887-1890. In 1889 he would be selected captain of the team and would go on to be selected to the first All-American team as an end.
In 1890 he was once again selected captain of the team. This team would go on to upsetting Yale in the final game on their way to an 11-0 record. This would be Harvard’s first victory over Yale since 1875 and first recognized National Championship.
In 1891 Cumnock was given a patent on one of the first nose masks. This was really the beginning of devices designed for player safety. He extended his patent to John F. Morrill who went on to mass produce his version of the nose guard.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)