1886 University of California Berkeley Football Team

Early UC football photos are virtually non-existent. This is due in part to football only being introduced in the 1880s, and 1886 being the first year football as we know it existed rather than variations of rugby played primarily against local clubs. Various sources cite different players as captaining the team, however the 1887 Blue and Gold, published in 1886 lists P.S. Woolsey as Captain. The team is made up of Rushers, Rothganger, Moffitt, O.S. Howard, Shoaf, Merrill and Wilbur, Quarterback, Bosse, Half-backs Turner and Woolsey, Three-Quarter Back Magee and Back, Blanchard.

This albumin photo measuring approximately 4 ¼” x 6” was actually set directly into the 1887 volume of the Blue & Gold, and is likely the earliest known UC football photo. This photo is earlier than anything pictured in either "66 Years of the California Gridiron", by Brodie, published in 1949, or in "100 Years of Blue & Gold", by Peters, published in 1982.