150th Anniversary of College Football
/Today is the recognized 150th Anniversary of the first college football game to be played between Rutgers and Princeton in front of about 100 spectators. I say recognized because fifty years ago Harvard abstained from commemorating the 100th anniversary of the 1869 game between the Scarlet Knights and Tigers as they claimed that their 1874 game against McGill was the “real” first football game. What no one can deny is that 150 years ago nobody could imagine that some teams today would be playing in front of more than 100,000 fans!
Unfortunately Rutgers will not be playing a game this weekend, but they did celebrate this very special day in their history with a couple of special events. First off, the captains of this year’s team joined Gil Greenberg, who at 97 is the oldest living Rutgers football letterwinner, where they rang the bell at Old Queens – which is only done to mark significant occasions. The gathering then strolled down to the College Avenue Gym, the site of the game. There a new plaque with an inscription titled “The Birthplace of College Football” was revealed. Word has it that the school also hoped to make a new announcement on a head coach, but Greg Schiano was making significant demands in his talks with the University.
Tonight I hope that those who love the game will tune in to watch the Miami (Ohio) vs. Ohio game, as it is the only college football game being played on the 150th anniversary. There are three good reasons to watch this game. First off, it is a rivalry game, “The Battle of the Bricks”, that is being played for the 96th time (Miami leads the series 53-40-2). The second reason to watch is because the winning team will be a strong favorite to win the MAC East Division. And the last reason to check out this matchup is that if Ohio defeats Miami, Frank Solich will have the most wins of any MAC head coach with 111. Ohio is going all out to make history tonight as they attempt to create the first-ever sellout of a MAC midweek game. The school is even offering free tuition for the spring 2020 semester for one enrolled Ohio University student in attendance!
Princeton’s celebration of their first game will be a matchup against Dartmouth on Saturday in Yankee Stadium. The two unbeaten rivals are each hoping to take a giant step toward winning the 2019 Ivy League Championship – all while being seen on ESPNU. This matchup is one that I hold near and dear to my heart, as I saw these same two teams play in Hanover, New Hampshire 42 years ago on September 17, 1977. It was the first college football game that I attended. Little did I know when I saw my uncle in his Princeton attire, what significance his alma mater had on the history of college football! But that can be for another blog…
Before wrapping up for the night – if anyone has a chance, check out the Empire State Building tonight. In honor of this great game’s anniversary, it will be lit up in scarlet and orange!
Thank you Rutgers and Princeton for everything you have done to make this game of college football so very special!