Oneida Football Monument / Boston Public Garden

 "So the Boston game became the Harvard game" 

                                                Morton Prince '75

Text for this post will be added later in the month

Exceptionally Early Football Team Photo c. November 1875 / Harvard Class Of 1879 Football Team

 In their freshman year, in November of 1875, the ’79 class football team played Adams Academy at Quincy to a draw, one touchdown apiece. The roster included Cushing, Swift, Perry, Blanchard, Conant, Grant (Captain), Lincoln, Sheldon and (?).

Patrick Grant Jr. and William Conant of Harvard had been classmates at Adams Academy the year before.

Also in November of 1875, the class of ’79 played the class of ’78 on Holmes Field, ’79 winning by one goal. The roster of this game included Cushing, Swift, Perry, Nunn, Conant, Blanchard, Austin, Lincoln, Grant (Captain) and Houston.

Their next game was on May 22, 1876, “79 vs. the Tufts second eleven at Medford. At this point the roster was as follows: rushers – Cushing (Captain), Swift, Perry, Holmes, Nunn, Conant; Half-tends – Blanchard, Austin, Lincoln; Tends – Cowdin, Houston. Austin was injured in the game and was replaced by Harding. ’79 won the game by two goals.

It appears that they also lost a second game with Adams as well as a game with Philips Andover Academy.

Their sophomore year the ’79 played ’80 November 23, 1876 on Holmes Field winning an easy match by a score of more than 3 goals and 5 touchdowns. (see blog entry dated March 31, 2022, 1876 Harvard Freshman Football Team (Class of 1880)). '79 Roster: Cushing (Captain), Swift, Perry, Nunn, Conant. Half-tends: Blanchard, Austin, Lincoln. Tends: Sheldon, Houston.

The game was won by ’79 by “more than three goals and five touchdowns”.

Also in their sophomore year they played and won a game against the Boston Resolutes on Holmes Field. The Resolutes apparently had a good number of Harvard alumni playing for them. The listed '79 roster: Cushing (captain), Swift, Perry, Holmes, Nunn, Conant, Blanchard, Lincoln, Harding, Houston, Sheldon.

In the photo is Captain Patrick Grant (pictured with the ball) who left Harvard in 1877, going into business in Boston. Livingston Cushing (see blog entry dated August 25, 2013) took over the captaincy of the ’79 team in May of 1876. He also played for the varsity in 1876 through 1879, captaining the University Eleven in 1877 and 1878. Patrick Grant was the brother of Henry Rice Grant (see blog entry dated June 13, 2015) Harvard’s first varsity football captain, their father graduating from Harvard in 1828 and both brothers being from the father’s second marriage.

Of those listed as playing for the ’79 class team, a good number went on to play for the University Eleven:

 William Russel Austin (’79 and LS) played for the varsity in 1876, 1877, 1879 (front right on ground in photo)

Frederick Gardiner Perry played for the varsity in 1877, 1878

Livingston Cushing played for the varsity in 1876, 1877, 1878, 1879 (1877 and 1878 as captain)(back row second from the right in the photo)

Jireh Swift played for the varsity in 1877, 1878

Frank Augustine Houston (’79 and LS) played for the varsity 1876, 1877, 1878, 1879, 1880, 1881

Jabish Holmes played for the varsity 1877, 1878

George Rumsey Sheldon played for the varsity 1877

John Elliot Cowdin played varsity 1878 (back row center in the photo)

Benjamin Seaver Blanchard played varsity 1875, 1876, 1877, 1878

A true “White Whale”. One of the earliest photos of an American team, playing by rugby style football rules, taken less than 6 months after the Tufts – Harvard game and the year after the Harvard – McGill matches in 1874. One of the earliest American football photos we have come across. An important photo from the very beginnings of American football.

Photo is affixed to the back of the flyleaf, inside the front cover of a Victorian photo album. The front of the flyleaf page is inscribed “Aunt Susan, from Lillian, September 1878”.

 

Rare And Early Lawrence Football Team Photograph / 1881

In 1880, Phillips Andover Academy played Lawrence High School (Massachusetts) in football (abutting towns), one of the earliest accounts of a public High School fielding a football team. This contest was also recognized as one of the first football games played between private and public high schools in the country.

The teams met again in October of 1881 (the Lawrence team pictured), Andover once again coming away with a win. Both the 1880 and 1881 games were played as the American rugby game, both teams switching to the collegiate football game in 1882. Lawrence was playing only a couple of games a year at this time, common for any team in these formative years.

An interesting aspect to this photo is that many of the team’s players wore pillbox caps, quite rare to see in any early football photographs, and one of the main reasons we acquired the photo. Please see our blog entry dated August 9, 2022, for more on the pillbox cap.

A wonderful early and rare football photo. Photo without the mat measures  7 1/2” x 9 5/8”.

Research note: Another photo (not pictured), in the possession of  the Lawrence Public Library (Special Collections) is erroneously identified by them as an 1881 photo of the Lawrence High School football team. It is not labelled or identified as such and they believe that this dating information arose at the time it was donated. As there are several of the same team members in both photos and in the library's photo they are obviously older, we believe their photo to be a year or two later.

Turn Of The Century Princeton Hockey Team / Gresham Poe

 A turn of the century Princeton hockey team photo featuring Gresham Poe, Princeton '02, (middle row, second from the left) that we were lucky enough to pick up. Very similar photo but much larger in size to that used for our March 23, 2014 post, titled "Gresham Poe / Princeton Hockey 1902 / Northampton Hockey Trophy". Both photos share a number of the same players. Having recently added a most interesting comment to the 2014 post, I recommend re-reading that again if you have the time.

We have always had an interest in the six Poe brothers, all of whom played football for Princeton, and have a fair number of Poe related posts in this blog, including those dated: March 23, 2014. October 17, 2017, May 30, 2023, January 22, 2023, December 25, 2020, December 31, 2020, Nov 23, 2014, November 2, 2014, October 26, 2022, December 18, 2021 and February 13, 2014.

Photo measures 9 1/2" x 12". 

Harry Wright / W.F. Davis / Exceedingly Rare American Cricket Team CDVs / September 1868

 

 Once again we diverge from our primary interest of football to delve into other early sports memorabilia, which we pick up occasionally when it crosses our path and offers us a chance to do some research. In this case we post two American CDVs, taken in 1868, as it turns out the only year the photographer was located at the address stamped on the back of the photographs. Pictured are a portion of the “picked twenty-two” American cricket players that played the visiting “All England Eleven”.  We know of no less than 26 American players, inclusive of substitutes available to play the English at Riverside Trotting Park in Allston (Boston), in  late September of 1868. Only two players are identified, William Franklin Davis (played Harvard baseball in 1865 (class of ’67)) and Harry Wright, a well-known professional baseball player- both circled. Two members (George and Charles) of the Newhall clan of American cricket players, of which I believe there were eleven, and George Wright, Harry’s brother are listed on the roster and are likely also in the photos, however not being baseball researchers per se, we would have difficulty making a definitive identification of George Wright. These photos appear to be taken off Essex Street in Salem, in back of a rooming house where “rooms open every evening”.  Each CDV measures 3 7/8" x 2 3/8".

Early (1860s) American cricket team photographs are scarce.

                                  

                                                        Broadside for the Cricket Match

Rare Canvas Football Jacket c.1890s - 1900

The pictured jacket, sometimes referred to as a vest or smock, was a staple of the football uniform from the late 1870s up until the turn of the 1900s.

Initially developed by a Princeton football player, Ledru Smock in 1877, the jacket was intended to make grabbing one’s opponents more difficult.  

Such jackets have become exceedingly rare and are highly collectable. 

See related blog posts dated August  5, 2019 and May 21, 2024 

Indian Club Trophies / 1850s / Henry Thomas Harrison

 

A fascinating and extremely important collection of Indian Club trophies awarded to "Professor" Henry Thomas Harrison, including an engraved belt buckle, awarded to Harrison for "his unrivalled powers in yielding the Indian Clubs, at the Grand National Fete in Hollands Park, 5 & 6th August 1852", another belt buckle engraved with an image of Harrison wielding the Clubs, taken from the Illustrated London News 14th August 1852 and inscribed as such, and three badges, presumably awards in the form of Indian Clubs, weights and dumb-bells, one gilded, with a pin attachment to be worn, and a very early sepia photograph on its reverse of Harrison. This is a very rare and early collection.

In the mid-19th century, a fitness revolution was underway. As industrialization took hold and urbanization expanded, people in Europe and America began seeking ways to maintain physical health (see related post dated May 31, 2016, Halsted’s Patented Exercise Chair, 1844). One of the most popular forms of exercise to emerge during this time was the use of Indian Clubs.  Known for promoting strength, agility, and coordination, these clubs captivated fitness enthusiasts of the Victorian era. At the heart of this movement was the charismatic Professor (likely an honorary title) Henry Thomas Harrison, whose remarkable strength and skill with Indian Clubs made him a household name on both sides of the Atlantic. Harrison’s exploits were frequently covered in period newspapers and periodicals.

In 1849, when Harrison first encountered Indian Clubs, his physical abilities were unremarkable. However, what set Harrison apart was his dedication to training and his belief in the power of progressive loading. By gradually increasing the weight of the clubs, Harrison was able to make substantial gains.

In a three year period, Harrison advanced from swinging modest 7-pound clubs to handling 37-pound clubs with ease—and eventually, hefting clubs weighing 47 pounds. His rapid progress not only demonstrated the effectiveness of this form of training but also cemented Harrison’s status as a pioneer of modern strength training.

Harrison was more than an athlete; he was a showman, performing incredible feats of strength for captivated audiences. In Victorian Britain, public displays of physical prowess were popular, and Harrison’s abilities with the Indian Clubs earned him immense recognition. Harrison’s performances in music halls and public venues weren’t merely demonstrations of strength; they were spectacles that fused fitness with entertainment, laying the groundwork for the later success of figures like Eugen Sandow, the father of modern bodybuilding, three decades later.

As a result of Harrison’s public demonstrations Indian Club exercises became popular in Britain and were widely promoted for their health benefits, improving flexibility, coordination, and posture. Queen Victoria took note of Harrison’s abilities, cementing his status as a key figure in Victorian society.

Schools and homes across Britain adopted Indian Clubs as part of daily exercise routines, and gymnasiums throughout the country featured them prominently. Harrison’s influence extended into nearly every corner of Victorian society, making physical fitness a cultural priority.

Harrison didn’t just perform for crowds—he also sought to educate the public on physical fitness. In the late 1850s, he opened a gymnasium in London, where he taught Indian Club exercises, as well as boxing and dumbbell training. His influence spread through the publication of training manuals, such as Indian Clubs, Dumb-bells and Sword Exercises, which made his techniques accessible to the masses.

A very rare CDV, (c. 1858 -1861), highlighting the exercise equipment popularized by Harrison

Harrison’s influence didn’t stop at the British Isles. His meeting with American entrepreneur Sim D. Kehoe (who sought out Harrison) in 1861 proved to be pivotal. Inspired by Harrison’s demonstrations, Kehoe introduced Indian Clubs to the United States, sparking a fitness trend that would spread throughout gyms and physical education programs across the country.

Sim D. Kehoe’s introduction of Indian Clubs to the U.S. in the 1860s marked the next chapter of Harrison’s legacy. Kehoe authored a training manual, The Indian Club Exercise, published in 1866, which popularized both light and heavy club exercises—techniques heavily inspired by Harrison.

Indian Clubs soon found their way into American gymnasiums and colleges. In 1904, they were featured as part of the gymnastics events in the Olympics, further cementing their place in the history of fitness. Harrison’s contributions to the world of physical culture resonated far beyond his active years, inspiring the next generation of fitness proponents and enthusiasts and shaping the physical culture movement that swept through Europe and America.

It is very likely that none of us would have Indian Clubs in our sports (or folk art) related collections if it weren't for Henry Thomas Harrison.