Late 1870s/ Early 1880s Football Team Tintype

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.