1899 Harvard Freshman Football Team Photo - Class Of 1903

 

This is an unusual class football photo in that nine of it’s sitters went on to play for the varsity.  Usually one might see just two or three. I labelled most of those that went on to play for the University Eleven in this wonderful oversized (16” x 20”, with mat) Pach Bros albumin photo. On the mat is the score against the Yale freshman team; Harvard 54, Yale 0, the game having taken place November 25^th, 1899.

Edward Bowditch, played on the varsity in ’00, ’01, ’02 and ’03. In 1901 he was a second team All-American and in 1902 and 1903 he was a first team All-American. He was also named to the exclusive Harvard All-Time Player Squad, as an end, in 1903. Bowdich's father, also Edward, Harvard class of 1869, was a founding member of the Oneida Football Club, and one of the seven surviving members when the Oneida Football Monument was placed in the Boston public Garden in 1925. "Walter Camp of Yale, football authority, acknowledged the Oneida were the first to organize football in this country. Parke Davis, Princeton '93, in his exhaustive book on football, published in 1911 gives the earliest date of an intercollegiate game as 1869, the game between Princeton and Rutgers, seven years after the organization of the Oneida club." (quote from The Boston Globe, November 7, 1923).

Thomas Hetherington Graydon played for the varsity in ’00, ’01 and ’02, and was a first team All-American in 1901 and 1902.

Daniel Knowlton played for the varsity in ’02, ’03 and ’05, when he was acting captain. Knowlton was a second team All-American in 1902 and a first team All-American in 1903. He was also named to the exclusive Harvard All-Time Players Squad, as a tackle, in 1903. Knowlton was on the Committee of Football H Men, and was heavily involved in contributing to and distributing Morris Bealle’s book “The History of Football at Harvard". Knowlton is pictured in this book opposite page 512. We have more than a passing interest in Knowlton as he and his family were from the small town in Massachusetts that I raised my sons in.

Walter Smith Sugden, played for the varsity in 1902.

John Dudley Clark, played for the varsity in 1900 and 1902.

David Alonzo Baldwin played for the varsity in 1901.

Leo Jameson Daly, played for the varsity in 1902.

Alfred Stillman, played for the varsity in 1900 and 1902. He also played varsity baseball in 1900, 1901, 1902 and 1903.

Guy Lincoln Jones, played for the varsity in 1901.

Additional class football team members include:

McGrew

Hersey

Derby

Sprague

McDonald

Randolph

Riggs

Fox

Waterbury

Knowles

Johnny Poe and the U.S.S. Princeton , 1907

1907, and Johnny Poe* was again becoming restless. The soldier of fortune heard of a war brewing between Honduras and Nicaragua and made his way from Nevada, where he was mining, to board a steamer out of San Francisco for Nicaragua, to join up with their Army. The steamer docked in Honduras first and Johnny decided to join up with their army instead. He was quoted later as saying, “No matter where or on what side, they are both usually wrong, so it doesn’t make much difference which one chooses”.

During the war Johnny was captured by Nicaragua and was held on a charge of spying, and according to one source he was threatened with a firing squad. After two days of “rough” questioning, the Nicaraguans released him stipulating that he had 48 hours to leave the county.

“In one of those impossible twists of fate that seemed to follow him”, he was rescued by the American gunboat, the U.S.S. Princeton.

As the story goes, the commander of the U.S.S. Princeton told Poe, after giving him permission to board, to bring along his luggage. Johnny told him he had fifty four pieces, to which the commander exclaimed that he was not running a freighter. Poe told him not to get too excited as “my fifty four pieces consist of one pair of socks and a pack of playing cards”.

Upon his return to the U.S., Johnny had now become a veteran of five wars. A news article written in 1907 about Poe’s exploits was appropriately titled, “Looking For Trouble”, and subtitled, “Strenuous Life of One of The Famous Poes”.

His next war, WWl would be his sixth and last, as he was killed in action on September 25, 1915 at the Battle of Loos, as a member of the Black Watch, British Expeditionary Force.

We have a passion for sports related silk ribbons from the 19^th century. Although this scarce and attractive ribbon (in Princeton's colors) falls outside of that classification, its association to Johnny Poe and this great story made it of interest to us. 

*Johnny Poe, one of six brothers who played football for Princeton (see related posts on Johnny Poe and his brothers in this blog, including Jan 22, 2023, Dec 25, 2020, Dec 31, 2020, Mar 23, 2014, Feb 13,2014) ).

Princeton Loving Cup C.1877 / James A. Campbell

 

Princeton loving cup, of porcelain, c. 1877, having belonged to James A. Campbell, '77, whose initials are finely decorated in gold on one side (JAC), the Princeton shield on another, and Princeton, the Princeton shield and Tiger and ’77 on the other. This very rare example is a diminutive 2 ¾” in height, is highly detailed and has a far more impressive presence than its dimensions would suggest.

Campbell was the class president of '77 all of his four years at Princeton, and remained so for a half century beyond.  Campbell Hall on the Princeton campus was built and named for him while he was still living. Nearly all of the funds for the dormitory were raised in one hour at the class of '77s thirtieth reunion. Two years later, Campbell Hall was completed and occupied. Campbell was the President of the Princeton Athletic Association, 1876 – 1877, Treasurer of the Princeton Athletic Club, 1875 – 1876, played first base on the Princeton University Baseball Club, 1874 – 1875, rowed freshman crew at the number three position, 1874 and 1875, rowed for the University crew at the number 2 position, 1876, and substituted on the University Twenty Football Team 1876 – 1877.

1894 Boston Athletic Association Football Team Photo

 

                                            Note the unicorn emblem on the vest

A larger (11” x 17”) and very rare albumin cabinet photo of the 1894 Boston Athletic Association (BAA) (year and team identified on the ball). In addition, note the unicorn patches worn by players in the photo, the unicorn being the symbol of the BAA (also recognized as the symbol of the Boston Marathon, run under the auspices of the BAA, first run in 1897, 3 years after this photo was taken).

On the reverse, the Boston photographer Chickering is identified as well as a notation that this photo belonged to “McLoon” (right end for the BAA).

We had never come across or seen a BAA photo previously, so this was a very nice find for us (one of the few pickups from Brimfield yesterday).

The Boston Athletic Association had a good number of games scheduled in 1894, including those against major powers such as Harvard, Yale, and Brown, as well as games with the New York Athletic Club, the Columbia Athletic Club, Amherst, Bowdoin, Phillips Andover, the Chicago Athletic Association, and the Crescent Athletic Club.

Most of the BAA team was comprised of Harvard men, and when the BAA played against Yale, the game was “fierce” with notable injuries (The Evening Bulletin, October 25, 1894). This game, a harbinger to the violent “Bloodbath at Hampden Park", the Harvard – Yale game a month away.

The playing roster for the 1894 BAA team:

McLoon  RE

Erickson, Ward  LT, RT

Waters  LT

Carpenter  C

J. Fay  LG

Gallagher  LT

Whittren  LE

Clarkson  QB

Anthony  RHB

Burns, Garcelon  RHB, LHB

Dearborn  HB

Hoag  FB

                                                                Joseph Story Fay 3rd

Of great interest to Jacob and I, in addition to the photo’s rarity and subject matter is that one of the sitters in the photo is Joseph Story Fay 3^rd, Harvard class of ’94 (back row, second from the left). It was Fay’s father, Joseph Story Fay Jr. who rowed varsity for Harvard in 1869, beating Yale on Lake Quinsigamond at Worcester. Following this win, Fay immediately sailed for England to join teammates and row against Oxford in the “Great International Boat Race”, one of the most significant and earliest international sporting events up to that time (estimated attendance exceeding half a million people).

Fay’s trophy oar from the 1869 Harvard – Yale contest is one of the most prized items in our collection and possibly the subject of a future post. To now have this BAA photo along with the oar, so that father son are represented hanging on the same wall adds to the story of both and makes collecting all the more interesting.

Adams Academy Albumin Photo c. 1879

 Adams Academy was akin to Exeter and Andover, playing against many of the same teams. Adams was a feeder school for Harvard. A trip to the Quincy Historical Society (Quincy, Mass.) may yield the exact date and possible identities of the sitters. The society has many of the Adams records, inclusive of older sporting photos. The academy opened in 1872 and ceased operation in 1908.

Adams played the Boston Game early on and by 1876 appears to be playing the American Rugby Game, and the American Collegiate Game by 1882.

Late 1870s or early 1880s photo; albumin measures 15 1/4 x 10 15/16. The photo is framed, so please excuse the glare from the glass.

Illinois Homecoming Pinbacks And Associated Pieces 1910 - 1940

 

Jacob started collecting Illinois Homecoming pinbacks some years ago as they are the most intriguing, attractive, and collectable of all early football pinbacks. He decided to go with early pins, stopping at 1940.

Below is a list of homecoming pins and a few other items that represent the years 1910 (the year of their first true Homecoming) through 1940.

1910 Homecoming Beanie (the pin and beanie are both exceedingly rare, and we chose to add the beanie to the collection to cover the 1910 homecoming). See blog entry dated January 9, 2015.

1911 Homecoming pass (we do not believe there is a 1911 pinback)

1912-1913 pinback

1913-1914 pinback (possibly the rarest, as we have seen only one in eighteen years)

1914-1915 pinback

1915-1916 pinback

1916-1917 pinback

1917 pinback

1919 pinback

1921-1929 pinbacks (including the 1929 Army v. Illinois)

Various Stadium Builder or Stadium pinbacks from the 1920s

1930-1940 pinbacks (including both the yellow and orange variations of the 1940 pinback)

Remarkable Signed Poe Brothers Cabinet Photo c.1905

 Six brothers from the Poe family of Baltimore, all who played football for the Princeton Tigers, several earning All-American recognition.

We have a fairly large collection of early football photographs and this is arguably the most significant. The fact that this photo is also signed by each of the brothers makes it all the more important. This was our 'Grail' piece.

From left to right in the photo are Arthur Poe, class of 1900 (his run in 1898 and field goal in 1899 won the games against Yale)(two time All-American), S. Johnson, class of 1884 (All-American in Lacrosse), Neilson, class of 1897, Edgar Allen, class of 1891 (All-American in 1889), Gresham, class of 1902 (excelled in hockey) and John Prentiss Poe Jr, class of 1895, killed in WWl.

Information on the Poes, that we won't repeat in this post, appear elsewhere in this blog, including entries dated February 13, 2014, March 23, 2014, June 25, 2014, October 17, 2017, December 25, 2020, December 31, 2020,and December 18, 2021.

Photo measures 10 3/4 x 12 7/8, mat 13 3/4 x 16 3/4