The 1881 Princeton Tigers football team represented the College of New Jersey, then more commonly known as Princeton College, in the 1881 college football season. The team finished with a 7–0–2 record and was retroactively named national champion by the Billingsley Report and as co-national champion by Parke H. Davis.[1][2] This season marked Princeton's 11th national championship in a 13-year period between 1869 and 1881.[3] P. T. Bryan was the captain of the team.[4]
| 1881 Princeton Tigers football | |
|---|---|
| Conference | Independent |
| Record | 7–0–2 |
| Head coach |
|
| Captain | P. T. Bryan |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | T | W | L | T | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MIT | – | 3 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Richmond | – | 2 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Georgetown | – | 1 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Yale | – | 5 | – | 0 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Princeton | – | 7 | – | 0 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Penn State | – | 1 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Columbian University | – | 1 | – | 0 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dartmouth | – | 1 | – | 0 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Harvard | – | 6 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Massachusetts | – | 2 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kentucky University | – | 2 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Columbia | – | 3 | – | 3 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rutgers | – | 2 | – | 4 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Stevens | – | 1 | – | 2 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Kentucky State College | – | 1 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| CCNY | – | 1 | – | 1 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Amherst | – | 0 | – | 3 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Lewisburg | – | 0 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| MIT | – | 3 | – | 0 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Wesleyan | – | 0 | – | 1 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Randolph–Macon | – | 0 | – | 2 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Michigan | – | 0 | – | 3 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Penn | – | 0 | – | 5 | – | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
No goals were scored against the Tigers in 1881 and the season ended as it had for the fourth time in five years; a 0–0 tie against Yale in or near New York.[5]
Schedule
edit| Date | Time | Opponent | Site | Result | Attendance | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 15 | Rutgers | Princeton, NJ (rivalry) | W 3–0 | [6] | ||
| October 22 | Stevens | Princeton, NJ | W 7–0 | |||
| October 29 | at Penn | Philadelphia, PA (rivalry) | W 7–0 | |||
| November 4 | Michigan | Princeton, NJ | W 1–0 | |||
| November 5 | Penn | Princeton, NJ | W 4–0 | |||
| November 10 | 2:15 p.m. | at Rutgers | New Brunswick, NJ | W 1–0 | [7] | |
| November 12 | 2:38 p.m. | Columbia |
| W 1–0 | [8][9] | |
| November 19 | 2:30 p.m. | vs. Harvard |
| T 0–0 | 2,500 | [10] |
| November 24 | vs. Yale |
| T 0–0 | 10,000 | [11] |
Game summaries
editNovember 4: Princeton 1, Michigan 0
editThe Michigan Wolverines toured the east in 1881, playing the first games between western and eastern teams.[12] Michigan played at Harvard on October 31 and at Yale on November 2, 1881, losing both games.[13] The trip was planned to end after the Yale game, however a Princeton representative attended the game in New Haven and challenged Michigan to a game in two days. Michigan's captain and quarterback Walter S. Horton did not want to accept, but the team over-ruled him. Horton then refused to play, and substitute Henry S. Mahon had to fill in for him.[14]
Michigan forward Fred Townsend wrote about the game in 1901, reporting that Princeton scored a goal in the first half on a long kick aided by the wind. Michigan could not score any goals or touchdowns throughout the contest, while late in the second half Princeton scored two touchdowns.[14] A New Jersey newspaper reported: "The Princeton College team were victorious Thursday [sic] in a football match with the team of the University of Michigan after an exciting struggle."[15] The Daily State Gazette wrote: "A finely contested game of football at the University grounds Friday, between Princeton and University of Michigan resulted in a victory for the home team, Princeton 1 goal, 2 touchdowns; University of Michigan 0."[16]
References
edit- ^ "National Poll Champions" (PDF). NCAA Division I Football Records. National Collegiate Athletic Association. 2017. p. 110. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
- ^ "1881 Princeton Tigers Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
- ^ "Championships - Tigers Football". princetontigersfootball.com. Princeton University. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
- ^ "All Time Captains". www.princetontigersfootball.com. Princeton University. September 24, 2015. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
- ^ "All-Time Princeton Results" (PDF). goprincetontigers.com. Princeton University. Retrieved January 2, 2018.
- ^ "Princeton Beats Rutgers At Football". Harrisburg Telegraph. Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. October 18, 1881. p. 1. Retrieved March 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com
.
- ^ "Collegians At Foot-Ball". The New York Times. New York, NY. November 11, 1881. p. 1. Retrieved May 1, 2020 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "College Men At Football". New-York Tribune. New York, NY. November 13, 1881. p. 2. Retrieved March 30, 2022 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "Columbia's Boys Beaten". The New York Times. New York, New York. November 13, 1881. p. 7. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
- ^ "Fine Foot-ball Playing". The New York Times. New York, New York. November 20, 1881. p. 16. Retrieved September 8, 2021 – via Newspapers.com .
- ^ "Princeton Faces Yale: Playing Foot-Ball in a Freezing Wind". The New York Times. November 25, 1881. p. 5 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Football - A Timeline of Tradition". Harvard University. Archived from the original on January 8, 2017. Retrieved January 3, 2017.
- ^ "1881 Michigan Football Team". University of Michigan. Retrieved February 17, 2009.
- ^ a b Townsend, Fred (1901). "The First Eastern Trip" (PDF). Inlander. University of Michigan.
- ^ "Foot Ball". The Daily Times. New Brunswick, NJ. November 5, 1881.
- ^ "Princeton Items". Daily State Gazette. New Jersey. November 7, 1881.
