1891 Westminster School with William Herbert “Pa Corbin

 Westminster school was started in Dobbs Ferry, NY in 1888 by William Lee Cushing a graduate of Yale.  Following his graduation from Yale, William “Pa” Corbin began teaching at Westminster school from 1889-1892.  I found an article in 1889 in which he actually played on the team in his normal star position of center.  The idea of something like this happening today would be crazy to think about a star college football player going to a high school to teach and competing on the football team.

When I originally saw this photo I had to double take.  Pa Corbin was known for his signature mustache, but here he is with a beard.  I was able to find an article talking about how the 1891 team dominated their opponents, but nothing about Corbin’s role on that team.  

William Coleman 1891 Kansas State University gold football pendant

William Coleman served as a player and the first coach for Kansas State University (later renamed University of Kansas) in their first season of 1890.  They played just 3 games this season going 1-2.  The game against Baker College marked the first college football game played in Kansas.  

The 1891 season was considered KSU’s first official season affiliated with the university.  While Yale was dominating the East, Kansas was proving to be the best team in the Midwest.  They played their first game and had victory over the University of Missouri which would later become a longstanding rivalry.  This year they went undefeated going 7-0-1.  This pendant commemorates their perfect season and is engraved to William Coleman on the back.

Coleman would continue to play for Kansas through the 1894 season starting all 5 years at center.  They were known to run the Flying V with Coleman in the middle.  He would lead the blocking for the ball carrier and took on the brunt of the punishment from the defenders.  The formation proved to be very dangerous and was later outlawed in football. 

After football Coleman spent his life in Kansas and was the superintendent for Haskell Indian University.

Pach Bros Cabinet Photo of John “The Orangeman”

 I have already talked about and shown one of my cabinet photos of John the Orangeman in a previous post, but this image was just too great not to share.  It’s earlier than my previous one most likely late 1880s to early 1890s.  What is interesting about this image to me is it is quite different from any other Pach Brothers images I have seen.   It almost has a noir style about it not seen too often during this period.

1895 Oregon Agricultural College (Oregon State)

 Here is a very clear large cabinet photo of the 1895 OAC (later Oregon State) football team.  As discussed in a previous post about Washington State, what makes this image truly special is the lack of football images from the west.  I am also blown away by the sheer number of players on the squad for such an early team.  The team itself went 0-2-1 with their only tie against Pacific.  An interesting note is that Paul Downing who is pictured top right was the head coach.  He was the captain of the 1894 Stanford team that had Herbert Hoover as their manager.  This was his only year coaching.

Bill Warner c.1900 Cornell Cabinet photo

Bill Warner was the brother of Glenn “Pop” Warner.  He himself had an important football career at Cornell and later coaching.  He played guard for Cornell from 1899-1902 and was captain his last two years.  In 1902 he played and won in the World Series of football and the first indoor football game for the Syracuse Athletic Association.  He was inducted into the college football HOF in 1971.

1873 Yale football imperial photo

 Here is one of the oldest college football photos in existence.  It is Yale’s “first eleven” who ended up playing Eton in 1873.  This was the first game of this nature that included these 11 Yale students playing a picked team of old Eton players.  Yale went on to win the contest 2-1.  William Halstead was the captain for Yale this year in only their second year in existence.

Charlie Gelbert cabinet photo UPenn Star and early pro football player

 Here is a nice photo from Charlie Gilbert’s estate.  He was one of the best football players in the 19th century.  He was a part of University of Pennsylvania’s undefeated championship teams of 1894 and 95.  He was selected an All- American 1894, 1895, and 1896.  He was later inducted into the College Football HOF.

After graduation he was a practicing veterinarian.  What is most interesting is his part in some of the first early pro football teams.  He was on Duquesne Country and AC for their championship teams in 1898 and 1899 and also Homestead Library and AC championship team of 1900.  He was also on the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York team in the World Series of Football.