FOOTBALL AT DARTMOUTH

Football as played at Dartmouth before 1880 was a simple campus sport without rules, except those of expediency, and without organization. The game consisted of kicking a rubber football so that it should touch the ground outside of the east or west limits of the Campus. The "Old Division," incorrectly called "Whole Division" in the last years of the game, consisted of the Seniors and Sophomores against the Juniors and Freshmen. For a change from "Old Division," games would be played by the two societies, Socials and Fraters, to one or the other of which each man was assigned when he entered college.

This game probably began in the forties, as there is no mention of it in the decade previous to that, and the early fifties found it a well developed game; but the exact date of its introduction cannot be ascertained. The last mention of the old game being played is in 1886 when the annual Freshman-Sophomore game was called off on account of darkness and was never completed. The Dartmouth of November 4, 1887, states that no game had been played that fall and that no arrangements had been made for a game. As this was the year that Dartmouth was first admitted to the Intercollegiate Football Association it is fair to assume that Rugby, as the modern game was then called, had driven out the old game.

As mentioned above, there were practically no rules for the "Old Division" game. As many men played as wished and the limits of the field were the boundaries of the Campus. At the "warn" the ball was kicked from the middle of the Campus toward the east fence, and as there were no off-side rules practically all of both teams were ahead of the man who kicked off. There was no running with the ball, not because of any rule forbidding it, but because it did not pay. The one rule that was observed, and that had the most influence on the style of play, was that a fair catch entitled a man to a place kick without interference. If one of the defending side caught the ball before it hit the ground beyond the fence, he was allowed to bring it two rods inside the fence and to have a place kick. As the round ball could best be kicked from the ground each player tried for a fair catch. After each goal the teams changed sides of the field.

Probably no better campus game has ever been devised than "Old Division." By its freedom from complicated rules and by its elasticity as to numbers that might play, every student could and did take part; and although the play lacked highly specialized skill and system, yet it did not lack zest and enjoyment. These features of the game worked against the introduction of Rugby, which game was desired by those students who came from the cities and large preparatory schools. The majority of the undergraduates had never seen a game of Rugby, but they realized that if the game secured a footing it meant the passing of "Old Division" and the limitation of football to those of special physical attainments. This antagonism coupled with objection on the part of the Faculty because of the alleged roughness of the new game prevented the introduction of Rugby until 1880.

To Clarence Howland '84 belongs the credit of establishing the modern game of football at Dartmouth. In his freshman year he organized the Dartmouth Rugby Association and was made captain of the team, which honor was awarded to him for the next three vears also, but in 1882 he was forced to resign because of an injury.

As nearly as can be ascertained Dartmouth was the eleventh American college to take up Rugby football. Princeton and Rutgers (1869), Columbia (1870), Yale (1872), Harvard (1874), Tufts (1875), Pennsylvania (1876), and Amherst, Brown and Michigan (1878) were the colleges to precede Dartmouth in the adoption of the game. The year of 1880 marks the establishment of a new style of football, the beginning of the American intercollegiate game. At the convenof the Intercollegiate Football Association on October 12, 1880, two rules were adopted that might be said to have revolutionized the game. The first of these was the principle that eleven men should constitute a side, and the second the abolition of the scrummage of the English game and the substitution of the principle of an orderly retention of the ball by one side, thereby making possible the use of prearranged strategy, the distinctive characteristic of the American game.

No games were played in 1880. Efforts were made to arrange games with Amherst and Phillips Andover Academy, but they were of no avail, and the season's work was confined to a few practice games on the Campus.

Because of the Faculty edict that the football team should not be excused to play out-of-town games, it was a difficult matter to arrange games, but Amherst agreed to play two games in 1881, one of them in Hanover on November 16, and the other in Springfield on Thanksgiving Day. The former game was played as scheduled and Dartmouth won by one touchdown to nothing. No value in points was given for touchdowns, goals, and safeties at that time, except that a goal of any kind counted for as much as four touchdowns, and in case of a tie "the side which makes four or more safeties less than their opponents shall win the game." The Dartmouth of November 25, 1881, in commenting on the game, said: "At length, after uncertainty and long waiting, after baffled projects and never accomplished plans, after giving up the scheme almost entirely, we have seen a game of Rugby between our eleven and that of another college. . ...... Amherst's strong points were passing and punting, while Dartmouth excelled in rushing and running. In tackling the teams were about evenly matched." The game at Springfield on Thanksgiving Day was called off on account of a heavy snow storm; but in the half-hour contest indulged in for the benefit of the spectators, Dartmouth more than held her own although no scoring was done. The line-up of the first team to represent the College was: Rushers, C. Howland '84 (Captain), F. H. Weston '85, H. A. Drew '83, W. V. Towle '85, W. E. Cushman '83, G. O. Nettleton '84; quarter-back, E. B. Condon '82; half-backs, J. P. Brooks '85, C. W. Oakes '83; backs, E. L. Gulick '83, C. H. Brown '83. It will be noted that there were only six in the rush line and two full-backs.

In 1882 in order to do away with the so-called "block game," whereby a team might indefinitely retain possession of the ball unless it was fumbled, the system of downs was introduced. This year also marked the final settlement of the position of the players into seven forward and four backs as at the present time. Two games were played, the first with McGill on October 31 which was won by Dartmouth by one goal and one touchdown to nothing. Counting a goal as equal to four touchdowns the score of this game has been set at 5 to 0. As McGill had always played with fifteen men a compromise was arranged whereby thirteen men played on each team. Moreover, when McGill had the ball they put it in play with the English style of scrummage and when Dartmouth* had the ball they used the American style. The other game was with Harvard on November 9 at Cambridge, which was won by Harvard by the overwhelming score of 53 to 0.

In spite of the set-back of the previous year in the Harvard game, the season of 1883 opened with the most enthusiastic support that had been accorded the team. For a time it seemed as if a good schedule would be arranged but the same difficulty of distance, with which the managers of today contend, caused all attempts to fail except a game with Williams at Williamstown on October 27. This game was won by Williams by a score of 5 to 3. For the first time points were awarded for the various methods of scoring. Williams secured a goal from the field, and Dartmouth obtained two points for a touchdown and one point for a safety by Williams. This year for the first time class elevens were organized in the attempt to get more men interested in the game, which if we are to judge by The Dartmouth of February 1, 1884, was much needed: "For the benefit of Rugby at Dartmouth we venture to say that we have yet to learn the game. We have acquired something of the rudiments, but fifty to nothing means something more than mere inferiority of men."

The season of 1884 was notable principally for the fact that Yale played in Hanover and won by the tremendous score of 113 to 0. This year the scoring system was again changed, a safety counting two points, a touchdown four, goal from touchdown two, and a goal from the field five. This system remained unchanged until 1897. The Dartmouth of December 12, 1884 said:—"For the first time our eleven has gone through a course of systematic training, and for the first time it has received the entire support of the College."

The lack of good leaders and a misunderstanding in which undergraduate politics played an important part caused the game to be abandoned in 1885, and there was hardly even any practice.

The next year William Odlin '90 entered the Freshman class from Phillips Andover. He injected new life into the football association and was elected captain, an honor which was his for the next three years also. An application for admission to the Northern Football League was not granted. Four games were played, three of them on successive days: Phillips Andover, Technology, and Harvard. For the sake of comparison with present day conditions when a trip to Princeton costs from $1200 to $1500, the following from The Dartmouth of November 19, 1886, may be of interest: "The expenses of the football trip to Andover and Boston were about $193. We received $100 from Harvard and $50 from Andover, leaving a deficit of $43 to be paid by the Association. By the terms of the agreement we were to receive one-half the gate receipts in the Technology game, but owing to the storm there were very few spectators."

The year of 1887 saw football placed on a firm foundation and the college a member of the Intercollegiate Football Association with Technology, Stevens, Amherst, and Trinity. This Association with some changes in membership continued for five years, Dartmouth winning the championship in 1889 and being tied with Technology for first place in 1888.

In 1892 Amherst, Williams and Dartmouth formed the so-called Triangular League which lasted through the season of 1898. Amherst won the championship the first year, and Dartmouth won for the remaining six years. During this period the most important events were the opening of the new Alumni Athletic Field on October 4, 1893, the barring out of all graduate school men from the athletic teams in April, 1895, and the first football defeat on the new athletic field by Wesleyan on November 4, 1898. The Alumni Athletic Field was opened with a football game with the Harvard second eleven, which resulted in a tie 6 to 6. This game, being purely an exhibition game, is not listed in the record of games played by the College. In the fall of 1894 a controversy was started by Amherst and Williams concerning the playing of the Medical School students on the Dartmouth teams. After many conferences the matter was finally settled in April by Dartmouth agreeing to bar from her teams all except undergraduates.

The seasons of 1899 and 1900 were the most unsuccessful in the football history of the College, only four games being won and two games tied out of a total of seventeen played in tne two years. In 1900 graduate coaching was adopted, F. E. Jennings 'OO being head coach.

The season of 1901 marks the opening of a new era in football at Dartmouth. Walter E. McCornack '97, the most successful captain up to this time, was appointed coach. His success was immediate and very marked. For the first time Dartmouth scored on one of the so-called "Big Four," making twelve points on Harvard, and winning all the nine other games of that year. The next year was nearly as successful, only two games being lost.

The year of 1903 gave Dartmouth the reward for the good work of the two previous seasons. Under the able coaching of Fred G. Folsom '95 only one game was lost, the Princeton game early in the season before the team had found itself. Wesleyan was the only other team to score on Dartmouth that year, and as every graduate of the College knows, the Stadium was christened by a Dartmouth victory of 11 to 0. Folsom continued his successful coaching through 1904, when the team did not lose a game, and 1905, when a tie game was played with Harvard and the first victory over Princeton was secured. 1906 saw a poor season owing to lack of men able to fit into the new style of play. The plays originated by Folsom, however, proved to be the type that compelled further revision of the rules forbidding pushing and pulling of the players.

J. C. O'Connor '02 was head coach for the years 1907 and 1908. Of seventeen games played in that time the only game lost was the 1908 game to Harvard. Dartmouth won the Harvard game in 1907 by a score of 22 to 0 and the Princeton game in 1908 by 10 to 6.

W. H. Lillard '05 was in charge of the coaching in 1909. The Harvard game was lost by a score of 3 to 12, but the Princeton game resulted in a tie 6to 6. All the other games except the 0 to 0 game with Williams were won.

W. J. Randall '96 had only a moderately succesful year, all the preliminary games being won, but both the Princeton and Harvard eames were lost.

Since 1911 F. W. Cavanaugh has been head coach and the history of the successes for the last four years is so well known that it hardly calls for comment. In 1911 the Princeton game was lost by a field goal on the famous bounding ball incident. It is safe at this date to call attention to the definition of a goal as laid down in the rules adopted at the first intercollegiate football convention November 23, 1876, and which so far as we can find had never been changed although later editing had left out a very important explanatory clause, i. e., "a goal can only be obtained by kicking the ball from the field of play direct (i. e., without touching the ground or the dress or person of any player of either side) over the cross-bar of the opponents' goal." Needless to say the revision of the rules for 1912 provided against a repetition of the above incident.

In the appended record are given the scores of all the football games played by Dartmouth arranged by years. The names of the captains, managers, and coaches are also given. Of the 249 games played 161 resulted in victories, 72 in defeats, and 16 in ties. The largest number of games have been played with Harvard, being 28, followed closely by Amherst and Williams with 26 each. " In the early years it happens several times that two games were played in one year with the same opponent. In such cases the games are given in order. In the preparation of this article recourse has been made to every available source. If additions can be made by any, they will be gladly received and noted on the permanent record which is to be hung in the trophy room of the Alumni Gymnasium.