On November 30, 1876, Yale defeated Princeton, 2-0, in
Hoboken, New Jersey in the first collegiate football game
played on Thanksgiving. Nearly 1,000 fans attend the
game, played in cold, rainy weather.

The football was oval and made of leather, the New York
Times noted, "similar to those used in Rugby Union rules."

The game resembled rugby more than a present-day football
game.

First Yale team playing under American intercollegiate
football rules. This team beat Harvard in the fall of ’76.”

On November 6, 1869, Rutgers beat Princeton, 6-4, in the first
college football game. The game, played with a soccer ball
before roughly 100 fans in New Brunswick, New Jersey,
resembled rugby instead of today’s football.

Rutgers-Princeton football game of 1869, by William Boyd.

On November 6, 1869, Rutgers beat Princeton, 6-4, in the first
college football game. The game, played with a soccer ball
before roughly 100 fans in New Brunswick, New Jersey,
resembles rugby instead of today’s football.

This is a group portrait of the Rutgers College 1891
football team, New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Wood engraving from Harper’s Weekly magazine depicts on
field action during a football match between Yale and
Princeton on Thanksgiving Day, November 1876.

On November 30, 1876, Yale defeated Princeton, 2-0, in Hoboken,
New Jersey in the first collegiate football game played on
Thanksgiving. Nearly 1,000 fans attend 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 football game.

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.