If your family is anything like mine, fall means a deep dive into football. The start of the official season in September brings with it a flurry of statistics, debated referee calls, and high hopes. Even if you yourself are not a football fan, hearing about the game is almost unavoidable. As family and friends gather for Thanksgiving this week, many will watch or chat about their favorite teams. While you watch, you might wonder what the early days of football looked like. Luckily, the Library has some answers preserved in our collections! Keep reading to find some resources you can share with your family.
Some of the most exciting resources in our collection are two paper print films showing early football games. The Library’s paper print collection preserves the very earliest American motion pictures submitted to the U.S. Copyright Office, from 1894 to 1912. This collection includes a game played between the Princeton Tigers and the Yale Bulldogs on November 14, 1903 and one played by the Chicago Maroons and the Michigan Wolverines almost exactly a year later.
Watch part of the Princeton-Yale game—a rivalry that still exists today—below. Enjoy the full clip to see the footage of the field and stadium or skip to 2:10 to view some plays. Ask your family: What do you notice?
The first difference you might see are the football uniforms. Today, we’re used to seeing helmets, bulky padding, and colorful jerseys. American football started taking shape in the late 1800s and by the time this game was played in 1903 there was some standard gear. However, it didn’t look anything like today’s uniforms. Early 20th century football uniforms were made up of a canvas vest and padded pants, worn over a sweater and stockings.
There was minimal protective padding, although shin guards, nose guards, and simple leather helmets were used. As the sport changed, players and teams made adaptions to their uniforms. Compare these two photos, taken just over ten years apart. What’s different? What’s the same?
Other than the uniforms, you might notice that the way the game is played looks a little different too! Football was still a fairly new sport in 1903, and the rules were still being established. For many years, Walter Camp, known as the “Father of American Football,” led a committee to establish the rulebook. Read this 1904 description of the game out loud with any football fans in your life. What is missing?
…usually the man called the snap-back or centre-rush, must place the ball on the ground at that spot for a “scrimmage,” as it is termed. The ball is then put in play…by the snap-back’s kicking the ball or snapping it back, either with his foot, or more commonly with his hand, to a player of his own side just behind him, who is called the quarter-back…the quarter-back usually passes it still further behind him to a half-back, or back, to kick or run with.
In this rule book, there’s no mention of forward passing! Forward passes play a major role in football today, but they were deemed illegal by the rule book until 1906. Even when forward passing was allowed, failed passes came with a steep penalty. If the ball wasn’t caught, was touched by a player who was on the line of scrimmage at the start of the play, or was thrown from the wrong part of the field, it was handed over to the opponents. Pretty serious!
While the 1903 and 1904 footage are the earliest recordings of football games the Library has available digitally, they aren’t the only ones. Take a look at this home recording from the 1939 Rose Bowl Game, played by the University of Southern California Trojans and the Duke University Blue Devils. The start of the recording shows off the marching band and the setting, so skip to 00:35 for footage of the teams.
How does this clip compare with the footage from 1903, filmed 36 years earlier? To me, it looks more like the game we play today. Rather than all the players clumped up on the line of scrimmage, they’re spread out across the field – perhaps to better take advantage of those now-legal forward passes! Their uniforms are more colorful, and closer in shape to the uniforms that we see today.
You might also notice the change in the stadium environment. While the 1903 game looked to be well-attended, by 1939 football was entering its modern era and had all the extra “pizzazz” to go along with it. You can see this in the marching band, cheerleading section, and in the stadium size. Football has only continued to increase in popularity. Compare these pictures of college football stadiums from 1915 and 2010. What do you notice?
What do you think it was like playing in these two stadiums? Thinking about the resources we’ve shared in this blog, how do you think the game changed in the almost 100 years between these two photographs? What do you think the players in 1915 would think if they saw the game in 2010?
The game of football has certainly come a long way since its early days. Through Library collections we can track uniform adaptations, rule changes, and growth in popularity. The game continues to evolve, whether through new rules or extra safety measures, some of each we’re even seeing this season. Whether your team wins or loses, or if you follow a team at all, I hope you’ve enjoyed this deep dive into some of our resources!
Additional Resources:
- Learn more about the Rose Bowl with this blog post about the first game in 1902.
- Read about football stars Jim Thorpe and Red Grange to discover their impact on the sport.
- Watch this comedic short Always Kickin’ about a collegiate football player.
- Check out Free to Use and Reuse football images.
- Start your own research using the Football Research Guide.