1881 Illustrated Newspaper with a Double-Page, Centerfold Engraving of an Early Football Game with a History of Early Ivy League Football
New York: Harper's Weekly Illustrated Newspaper, 1881. 1st Edition. Folio. Near Fine. Item #19017
A very scarce 1881 issue of harper's Weekly Illustrated Newspaper with one of its most desirable centerfolds, a double-page engraving of an early football game.
The image features two teams, likely Harvard and Yale, in their founding match in 1875, going at it with a large crowd surrounding the field with only a rope separating crowd and players. The image is accompanied by a detailed headline report covering the early history of football in America, largely confined to Ivy League schools at that time. The headline report covers nearly three full columns and more than half of an inside-page, and even goes into detail on the uniforms worn.
The first Harvard-Yale football game was played on November 13, 1875, at Hamilton Park in New Haven, Connecticut. Harvard defeated Yale 4-0 in a match that blended rugby and soccer rules with 15 players per side. This inaugural "concessionary game" established one of college football's oldest rivalries.
Played at Hamilton Park in New Haven, the match was also the first time these schools met in what has become an annual rivalry. Yale guaranteed Harvard $75 to play and with tickets selling for 50¢ each 2,000 spectators filled the park. Following modified rugby rules, each team fielded 15 men. Harvard won 4-0 amid the endless protests of the players, spectators, and officials over the rules. Harvard and Yale agreed to play the next year’s game under the Rugby Union rules, and by 1876 Princeton, Harvard, Yale, and Columbia had organized the Intercollegiate Football Association.
This poster-like engraving measures 22" X 16" and is perfect for framing and display. Disbound. #2I-015.
Price: $95.00