Saturday, June 11, 2016

Dartmouth College "Old Division Football" 1870s



A fall football game on the Dartmouth College Green. Reed Hall on the left, Gates House, Bissell Hall, Chase residence and the Dartmouth Hotel.

Old Division Football was played exclusively on the Dartmouth College green. It was a brand of football with no limitations as to the size of the teams (normally of equal numbers), and where the two defended ends of the field in their entirety were considered the goal line. A set of rules was initially established for this game in 1871. Old Division was played primarily between classes or combinations thereof, such as contests between freshman and sophomores or between combined teams of freshman and juniors competing against sophomores and seniors.

This is a very rare early cabinet photo, picturing what some might term mob football. Image 7 3/8 x 4 3/8.


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