Pop Smith was an unofficial mascot of Yale in the late 1800s. He was born in England but lived in the states for about 50 years. He was one of the first well known “Superfans” and attended just about every Yale sporting event. He befriended many of the students and faculty and even posed in their group pictures. He lived to be 87 years old and passed away in 1905. This image was used on a late 19th century Yale tobacco tin.
With Super Bowl weekend upon us I thought I would highlight arguably the greatest 19th century football team the 1888 Yale squad. The first season under legendary coach Walter Camp they went undefeated going 13-0 and out scored their opponents 694-0. Five players from this team would later be inducted into the college football hall of fame including (Pa, Corbin, Pudge Heffelfinger, Bum McClung, Amos Alonzo Stagg, and George Woodruff.
This is one of the greatest images I have ever handled. Not only is it the largest measuring in at nearly 3 feet wide and two feet tall, but it also belonged to William Herbert “Pa” Corbin. Pa Corbin was the captain of the team holding the ball front and center with the long handlebar mustache. The image was passed down through the family belonging to his grandson William Herbert Corbin St. John. After he passed away it was auctioned off along with a personalized Tiffany and co. match safe.
Harvard went 11-0 and ended up defeating their rival Yale 12-6 to end their season. For being one of the top 3 19th century teams they had not had a championship season since 1875. The notable players on the team are Arthur Cumnock who I had highlighted in a previous post and Marshall Newell. Newell is one of only a few players to be 4 time all Americans.
He began his studies at Trinity College (Duke) in 1892. This was the same year Trinity moved to Durham, North Carolina. He attended from 1892-1895. During the 1893 season he helped lead the team to a 6-4 win over North Carolina and a 70-0 win over Tennessee. In 1895 he was elected to be Captain of the football team but the program was shut down and didn’t return until 1920.
In 1896 Maytubby went to Law School at the University of Texas. He once again played halfback on the 1896 University of Texas football team. He was the first Oklahoma born Texas player in what would become a very common pipeline.
Here is a great photo of WAC (Washington State) vs Lewiston Athletic Association Dec. 5th 1896. This is the second meeting between the two teams that season. WAC one the first meeting easily but Lewiston tied up the second matchup 6-6. Here is a nice portrayal of the events that day. https://lmtribune.com/northwest/commentary-gridiron-showdown-pitted-early-lc-wsu-teams/article_e0bdd801-4fa3-5ff8-84ed-876094801ad5.html
Jim Robinson is recognized as the first athletic trainer in the United States. He was born in Manchester England in 1847. He trained as a veterinary assistant in England. In 1878 he immigrated to the U.S. where he started training horses.
He eventually moved to training track and field athletes and then football players at Harvard in 1881-1882. He then went to Columbia in 1883 and then to Princeton from 1883-1890 where he is pictured in this cabinet. He trained at Manhattan Athletic club from 1890-93, Michigan 1896-97, Yale 1899-1900, and then back to Princeton from 1900-1906 until his death.
Charles Emrich was the captain of the Navy football team in 1890. That year they played Army in the first battle between the two schools which began a long tradition. In a previous thread I had posted the Army Captain Dennis Mahan Michie. Navy went on to win this matchup 24-0. Emrich died of typhoid fever in Hong Kong in 1900.
