On November 30, 1876, Yale defeated Princeton, 2-0, in Hoboken,
New Jersey in the first collegiate football game played on the Thanksgiving holiday. Nearly 1,000 fans attended the game,
played in cold, rainy weather. "The friends of both colleges
mustered in good force," the New York Times reports. "Several
carriages containing ladies were on the ground, and a goodly
number of Alumni were there to cheer the contestants."

The football was oval and made of leather, the Times noted,
"similar to those used in Rugby Union rules." The game
resembled rugby more than a present-day game of football.