Daily Football History

Football 100 Years Ago: October 31, 1926

By Pigskin Dispatch October 31, 2026 2 min read

The big news in papers across the country was the beating the Army gave Yale on the gridiron on Saturday, October 30, 1926.

Army trounce Eli 1926 Army trounce Eli 1926 Oct 31, 1926 The Sioux City Journal (Sioux City, Iowa) Newspapers.com

The Army squad went into the Yale bowl and embarrassed their hosts with a 33-0 shellacking.

Led by first-year head coach Lawrence “Biff” Jones, Army entered the matchup undefeated and dismantled a Yale squad coached by T.A.D. “Tad” Jones. Army’s powerful backfield and stout defensive front controlled both sides of the ball from the opening kickoff. The Cadets broke the game wide open in the first half and never allowed the Bulldogs inside striking distance, marking one of the most lopsided losses in Yale’s rivalry history with Army.

How Each Team Fared in 1926

TeamHead CoachFinal RecordSeason Summary
Army CadetsBiff Jones7–1–1Ranked among the top teams in the nation. After dominating early opponents and Yale, Army’s lone defeat came against Notre Dame (7–0). They capped their season with a legendary 21–21 tie against Navy at Soldier Field in Chicago, widely considered one of the greatest Army–Navy games ever played.
Yale BulldogsTad Jones4–4–0A turbulent, streak-heavy season. Yale started strong with three consecutive shutout/low-scoring victories (including wins over Georgia and Dartmouth) before dropping four straight games—culminating in shutout losses to Brown, Army, and Maryland, followed by a close loss to Princeton. They salvaged pride in the season finale by edging rival Harvard 12–7.

The Yale backfield was filled with talent, but apparently their line play did not match up well enough to give them room to run.

Images via a head shot montage in a newspaper, Yale Bulldog' Backfield in 1926. The Sioux City Journal
Sioux City, Iowa · Sunday, October 31, 1926.
Yale Bulldog’ Backfield in 1926. The Sioux City Journal
Sioux City, Iowa · Sunday, October 31, 1926

Timeline Context

Place this dispatch in football history.

Use the Pigskin Dispatch timeline to explore surrounding events, seasons, teams, players, and eras connected to this story.

View the Timeline ↗
Tagged:

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *