Gridiron History Unfolds

It is reporting about the May 30, 1879, instance where the first game ever to be played "West of the Alleghenies" took place on May 30th in Chicago. The article starts by saying, “At the White-Stockings Grounds yesterday afternoon, an interesting game of football was played between Racine College and the Michigan University teams. The attendance was good, and enthusiastically cheered the contestants wherever opportunity occurred.”The report goes on to say that the game lasted nearly two hours and was played under what was described as a modified rugby rule. We can see that the influence of the 1874 Harvard vs. McGill games was spreading across the country. This is only about a year away from Walter Camp suggesting major revisions to the game that would make it a much more recognizable form of American football.