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1893 Harvard Crimson football team

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1893 Harvard Crimson football
ConferenceIndependent
Record12–1
Head coach
Home stadiumJarvis Field
Seasons
← 1892
1894 →
1893 Eastern college football independents records
Conf Overall
Team W   L   T W   L   T
Princeton   –   11 – 0 – 0
Fordham   –   4 – 0 – 0
Harvard   –   12 – 1 – 0
Yale   –   10 – 1 – 0
Colgate   –   3 – 0 – 2
Penn   –   12 – 3 – 0
Penn State   –   4 – 1 – 0
Wesleyan   –   4 – 1 – 0
Holy Ghost   –   6 – 2 – 0
Swarthmore   –   6 – 2 – 1
Lehigh   –   7 – 3 – 0
Brown   –   6 – 3 – 0
Carlisle   –   2 – 1 – 0
Delaware   –   2 – 1 – 0
Frankin & Marshall   –   4 – 2 – 1
Navy   –   5 – 3 – 0
Washington & Jefferson   –   5 – 3 – 0
Drexel   –   3 – 2 – 0
Bucknell   –   4 – 3 – 0
Amherst   –   7 – 6 – 1
Boston College   –   3 – 3 – 0
Geneva   –   2 – 2 – 1
Army   –   4 – 5 – 0
Williams   –   2 – 3 – 1
Tufts   –   4 – 7 – 0
Cornell   –   3 – 6 – 1
Worcester Tech   –   2 – 4 – 1
Boston University   –   1 – 2 – 0
Lafayette   –   3 – 6 – 0
Syracuse   –   4 – 9 – 1
Western Penn   –   1 – 4 – 0
MIT   –   1 – 5 – 0
Massachusetts   –   1 – 9 – 0
New Hampshire   –   0 – 1 – 0
Rutgers   –   0 – 4 – 0
Maine   –   0 – 5 – 0

The 1893 Harvard Crimson football team represented Harvard University in the 1893 college football season. The Crimson finished with an 11–1 record. The team won its first 10 games but lost to Yale in the 11th game of the season by a 6–0 score.[1][2]

Football in 1893[edit]

American football in 1893 was a variant of rugby football, played with a rugby ball and making use of rules closely derived from the original sport. The field of play was 110 yards long and 53-1/3 yards wide, with chalk lines every five yards to help the referee determine necessary distances.[3] Forward passing was prohibited; only lateral passing or running with the ball was allowed.[4] Teams of eleven were divided into seven "rushers or forwards" positioned at the line of scrimmage, with four backs behind the line — a quarterback just behind the line, two halfbacks located about two yards behind him, and a fullback or "goal-tend," who stood about a dozen yards behind the halfbacks.[5]

Kickoffs were generally executed by kicking the ball forward slightly for a self-recovery and quick lateral pass to a teammate who carried the ball in the middle of a V-shaped blocking wedge of his teammates.[6] When the ball was brought to a standstill, the runner would cry "down" and a line of scrimmage formed, with the "center-rusher" (also called the "snap-back") hiking the ball to the quarterback.[6] The quarterback would generally pitch the ball to one of the three backs behind him to attempt to run forward, while the defenders would "endeavor by all lawful means to retard that advance."[7]

The offense would retain the ball if it was able to gain 5 yards in three downs — or by retreating 20 yards towards their own goal line.[8] The ball would generally be punted away after two downs "if the prospects of completing the 5-yard gain appear small."[8]

A touchdown counted as 4 points and allowed the scoring team the opportunity to add two more points by kicking the ball over the crossbar and through the goal posts, which were planted at the goal line.[9] After a touchdown, the scoring team had the option of bringing out the ball as far as desired at a right angle from the point at which the ball crossed the goal line (as in modern rugby) and attempting a place kick, or by executing a "punt out" from the end zone to a teammate making a fair catch, from which spot a drop-kick for the extra points could be attempted.[10]

A drop kick through the goal posts from the field counted as 5 points.[9] As with the contemporary game, safties counted for 2 points.[11]

The game consisted of two 45-minute halves with an intermission of 10 minutes, although duration of the game could be shortened by mutual consent.[11] No coaching was allowed from the sidelines, all game decisions had to be made by the players on the field.[12] Once removed from the game for a substitute, a player could not return to the game (as in modern soccer).[13]

Schedule[edit]

DateTimeOpponentSiteResultAttendanceSource
September 30 Dartmouth
W 16–02,000[14]
October 4at Phillips Exeter Exeter, NHW 54–0
October 7 Amherst Cambridge, MAW 32–0
October 11 MIT Cambridge, MAW 34–0
October 14 Williams Cambridge, MAW 52–0
October 212:45 p.m. Dartmouth
  • Jarvis Field
  • Cambridge, MA
W 36–02,200[15][16]
October 25 Harvard alumni Cambridge, MAW 6–0
October 283:00 p.m. Brown
  • Jarvis Field
  • Cambridge, MA
W 58–02,500[17][18]
November 1at Andover Andover, MAW 60–5
November 4vs. Cornell
W 30–01,200[19]
November 7 Boston Athletic Association Cambridge, MAW 10–0
November 25vs. Yale
L 0–6
November 30 Penn Cambridge, MA (rivalry)W 26–4

References[edit]

  1. ^ "1893 Harvard Crimson Schedule and Results". SR/College Football. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved February 27, 2017.
  2. ^ "Harvard Football Yearly Records". GoCrimson.com. Harvard University. Archived from the original on August 14, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  3. ^ Walter Camp, "An Introductory Chapter for Beginners," in Camp (ed.), Foot-ball Rules and Referee's Book for the Season of 1893–94. New York: A.G. Spalding & Bros., 1893; pp. 3–4.
  4. ^ Walter Camp (ed.), "Foot-ball Rules of the American Intercollegiate Association," in Camp (ed.), Foot-ball Rules and Referee's Book for the Season of 1893–94. New York: A.G. Spalding & Bros., 1893; p. 23.
  5. ^ Camp, "An Introductory Chapter for Beginners," p. 5.
  6. ^ a b Camp, "An Introductory Chapter for Beginners," p. 6.
  7. ^ Camp, "An Introductory Chapter for Beginners," pp. 6–7.
  8. ^ a b Camp, "An Introductory Chapter for Beginners," p. 7.
  9. ^ a b Camp, "An Introductory Chapter for Beginners," p. 9.
  10. ^ Camp (ed.), "Foot-ball Rules of the American Intercollegiate Association," p. 27.
  11. ^ a b Camp, "An Introductory Chapter for Beginners," p. 11.
  12. ^ Camp (ed.), "Foot-ball Rules of the American Intercollegiate Association," p. 19.
  13. ^ Camp (ed.), "Foot-ball Rules of the American Intercollegiate Association," p. 17.
  14. ^ "Only 16 Points". The Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. October 1, 1893. p. 4. Retrieved March 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  15. ^ "Harvard and Dartmouth Today". The Boston Daily Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. October 21, 1893. p. 5. Retrieved March 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  16. ^ "Solid Front". The Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. October 22, 1893. p. 7. Retrieved March 21, 2022 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  17. ^ "Brown Vs. Harvard". The Boston Post. Boston, Massachusetts. October 28, 1893. p. 3. Retrieved March 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  18. ^ "On First Down". The Boston Sunday Globe. Boston, Massachusetts. October 29, 1893. p. 4. Retrieved March 8, 2022 – via Newspapers.com Open access icon.
  19. ^ "Cornell Failed To Score: Harvard Eleven Surprises the New Yorkers by Their Interference". The Boston Globe. November 5, 1893. p. 7 – via NewspaperARCHIVE.
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