O.D. Thompson was an early Yale athlete who alongside Walter Camp saw the transition of football from Association to Rugby. He played on the 75-78 teams. He was a part of the first forward pass and had a knack for scoring in the big games. After graduation he continued playing football for many years at the club level. He was the manager who wrote the check for the first pro football player Pudge Heffelfinger for the Allegheny Athletic Club.
Here are some images of Amos Alonzo Stagg during his Yale days. If you are unfamiliar with him he is definitely worth looking up. Unlike Harry Beecher, who I posted recently, he did not come from fame and wealth. He had to work odd jobs to put himself through school. He is one of the few individuals who is in the College Football HOF as both a player and coach. He is also in the basketball HOF for early work done with James Naismith at Springfield YMCA. He was responsible for many innovations in football throughout his lifelong coaching career. He lived to be in his hundreds.
Here is an image of George DuPont Pratt on the left and Herbert Lee Pratt on the right. G.D. Pratt was quarterback and captain of the 1892 Amherst football team. H.L Pratt was the captain of the 1894 team under head coach Parke Davis.
Here is a nice collection of early Washington Agricultural College (Washington State) football team photos. Their first football team was established in 1894. This shows a nice transition of an early west coast football team.
1895 First Team
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.
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.
Here is an individual cabinet photo of Thomas Truxton Hare. He was one of the best 19th century football players and was on some of the greatest UPenn teams. He played for the University of Pennsylvania from 1897-1900 and is one of only a handful of players to be votes an All-American 4 times. He also competed in the 1900 Olympics winning a silver medal in hammer throw and in the 1904 Olympics winning bronze in the All-around.
For a great website on 1890s UPenn Football visit:
