It was 150 years ago today that 25 Princeton men got on a train and went to New Brunswick to take on 25 of Rutgers' finest in the first college football game ever played.
And so what if what they played doesn't quite resemble what college football currently looks like. That damp Saturday afternoon in New Brunswick is where it all started.
The game back on Nov. 6, 1869, was played under rules that allowed players to touch the ball with their hands and to bat it towards the goal. The point was to kick it into a goal, and the game would end when 10 goals were scored.
And full contact was allowed.
Since then, Princeton football has become a model football program, one that has produced national championships, All-Americans, Ivy League championships, Hall of Famers, professionals and even a Heisman Trophy winner.
It's also produced a legacy of loyal alums from decade after decade, all of whom were touched by being a part of this program. It's a been a long-time success story, one that has embodied so many of the great things about college athletics and what they're supposed to teach.
Today is the day to celebrate all of that.
Were any of those 25 original players able to see what's become of the sport they started, they'd be flabbergasted. All across the country, college football occupies a special place in the campus life, culture and community, with traditions that vary from place to place but are etched in the consciousness of those who love their teams.
They draw crowds of upwards of 100,000 at several places, and they draw crowds in the hundreds at others, from the very top of Division I through the small colleges of Division II and III, the NAIA and even junior colleges.
Wherever you go to see a college game, you will find fans who go back with that team for decades. It's a loyalty that is unbreakable.
And it goes back to Princeton-Rutgers, 150 years ago today. Fans everywhere wear their team's colors; Princeton and Rutgers fans will be able to see them on full display tonight, as the Empire State Building in New York City will be lit in orange and red.
Ever since TigerBlog has been following Princeton football, he's been aware of the team's place in having played in the first game. Rutgers, too, is proud of that heritage, and its stadium has always proclaimed that it is the "birthplace of college football."
Here's a question: Who played in the first college basketball game? Or baseball game? Or hockey? Lacrosse?
Well, TB knew the last one. He in fact asked someone who knows a lot about lacrosse who played in the first game, and he said Princeton and Rutgers. In fact, it's Manhattan and NYU.
In basketball, it was Hamline vs. Minnnesota A&M. In baseball it was Williams vs. Amherst. In hockey it was, well, TB has no idea, because he did a few searches online and couldn't find the answer.
In football, though, it's always been celebrated that it's been Princeton and Rutgers.
Here's what the Rutgers Daily Targum had to say about it
Princeton “had the most muscle but didn’t kick very well and wanted (for) organization,” summarized the Targum reporter. “They evidently did not like to kick the ball on the ground. Our men, through comparatively weak, ran well and kicked well throughout, for which captain Leggett ’72 deserves great praise.”
The anniversary comes at a time when the current Tigers are doing extremely well. Princeton is 7-0 on the season and the winner of 17 straight, and the 150th celebration continues this Saturday with a major showdown at Yankee Stadium. For the second straight year, Princeton and Dartmouth will play when they're both 7-0, and in fact the Big Green have won 19 of their last 20, with only last year's 14-9 Princeton win in the way.
That game kicks off at 3:30 Saturday. It's part of the joint anniversaries of the first football game and Dartmouth's 250th year as a college.
The game in New York City seemed so far off when it was announced, a little more than two years ago. The anniversary has always been out there too, some date far on the horizon.
Now it's the exact day 150 years later, and three days away from the kickoff.
It's a really special time for Princeton football. Preparations for the game Saturday prevent the focus from being on anything other than a Dartmouth team that is obviously one of the best in the country.
Still, it's worth remembering how this amazing thing called college football started - with a game of 25 vs. 25 between Princeton and Rutgers.
That was 150 years ago today.
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One note - it's always been easy for TB to remember the exact day of the first game, since it was also his mother's birthday. She would have been 80 today.
Happy birthday Gail.
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