By Darin In 1895, American football was at a breaking point. It had been almost two decades since Americans had written down their own rules of football, but now there were some differences of opinion among Association schools on how to play the game.
The big eastern schools were divided into two factions over the use of mass momentum and mass interference plays. One group, led by Harvard and Penn, supported the use of the mass plays, while another, led by Yale and Princeton, opposed the concept and made new rules to outlaw it. The result was chaos in 1895, as the sport saw two distinct sets of rules in use.
R.W. Johnston
What made the situation worse was that teams in other parts of the country began resenting that all the changes were being made in the East and that they had no say in the matter. This resulted in even more variations of the football code being played! Football could not survive in this fashion, and all involved knew this.
Once again, Penn and Yale were the top dogs of college football. Yale finished with a strong 13-0-2 record, but Penn finished unblemished at 14-0. The two did not meet during the season, and most retroactive bodies deem the Quakers the National Champs of 1896.
A Deep Dive into 1895 Football History and Highlights
- November 1, 1895 – The Chicago Athletic Association traveled to Philadelphia to play the Penn Quakers at Franklin Field. Penn beat the CAA 12-4.
- November 23, 1895 – Penn defeated Harvard 17-14 to keep their undefeated record intact.
One of the first College Football conferences began in 1895, with the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Association playing its inaugural season, and Vanderbilt won the first conference championship. In addition to Vandy, other member schools included Alabama, Georgia, Auburn, North Carolina, Marshall, Oklahoma, Sewanee, Henry Kendall Orange and Black, Mississippi A&M, and Tulane.
Conclusion
Something had to give; football could not survive much longer with pockets of factions playing by different rules. We cover the next phas of football in our next segment of the Football History Rewind as we cover the 1896 season.