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Years of Princeton Football |
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1869
Rutgers defeats Princeton six goals to four Nov. 6 in the first
college football game ever played. The original Princeton "25"
takes the field with William Stryker Gunmere ' 70 as Princeton's
first football captain and Jacob Edwin Michael ' 71 scores Princeton's
first goal. Princeton wins the return match eight goals to zero
later in the year. The members of this team were the founding
members of the Princeton College Football Association. |
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1873
Princeton beats Yale three goals to zero in the first game
of the second-oldest rivalry in college football history.
1876
Princeton wears its colors for the first time, showing up
for a game in Hoboken, N. J., against Yale with black shirts
with an orange P on the chest.
1880
Orange stripes are added to the black shirts. This, along
with a newspaper account that credits the Princeton eleven
with "playing like a Tiger," gives rise to the University's
mascot.
1882
James Hexall ' 83 place-kicks a field goal 65 yards in a loss
to Yale.
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1889
Knowlton "Snake" Ames ' 90 finishes his career with 62 rushing
touchdowns, which remains the Princeton record (though only
records set since the NCAA began keeping official records in
1937 count). First Consensus All-Americas are named including
Princeton's Hector Cowan ' 88, William George ' 92, Edgar Allan
Poe ' 91, Roscoe Channing ' 90 and Ames. |
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1893
Princeton completes an 11-0 season with a 6-0 win against Yale
in front of 40,000 in New York City. The win ends Yale's 37-game
winning streak. Three-time Consensus All-America Phil King '
93 leads Princeton to the national championship. He would later
head the Princeton Football Association and help coach.
1901
Three-time Consensus All-America Langdon "Biff" Lea ' 96 becomes
Princeton's first official head coach. He had earlier been
the head coach at Michigan.
1903
Two-time Consensus All-America A.R.T. "Doc" Hillebrand begins
three year coaching stint and finishes with 27-4-0 career
record and a .871 winning percentage. His team won the national
championship in 1903 which was captained by Consensus All-America
John DeWitt ' 04. Ralph Davis ' 04 blocks punt which DeWitt
picks up to race for 75 yard touchdown during the Yale game.
Princeton allows only 6 points for the season.
1906
President Theodore Roosevelt calls upon representatives of
college football to make the game safer. Princeton is represented
by John Fine ' 82 at the meetings that follow. Rules legalizing
the forward pass and requiring teams to gain 10 yards in three
downs are enacted. Cap Wister ' 08 catches the first touchdown
pass in Princeton history on a throw by captain Eddie Dillon
' 07 - both earn Consensus All-America honors. Team goes undefeated
and wins national championship.
1911
Princeton under Consensus All-Americas captain Eddie Hart
' 12 and acting captain Sunford White ' 12 goes undefeated
and wins national championship.
1912
The rules are further amended. Teams now have four downs to
gain 10 yards, receive six points instead of five for a touchdown
and play on a field 100 yards long instead of 110.
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1913
Hobey Baker ' 14 captains the Tiger eleven. |
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1914
Palmer Stadium opens. Princeton defeats Dartmouth 16-12 Oct.
24 in the first game.
1920
Henry Callahan ' 21 captains an undefeated team to the national
championship. Team is led by Consensus All-Americas Stan Keck
' 22 and Don Lourie ' 21.
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1922
Princeton defeats Chicago (coached by Amos Alonzo Stagg) 21-18,
rallying from an 18-7 deficit in the fourth quarter and holding
the Maroons four times near the goal line in the final seconds.
The game is the first football game broadcast on WOR radio.
The Tiger's "Team of Destiny" finishes a perfect season with
a 3-0 win at Palmer Stadium over Yale for the national championship.
Team is led by captain Mel Dickenson ' 23, Consensus All-America
Herb Treat ' 23 and the legendary Pink Baker ' 22. |
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1924
Princeton loses 12-0 to a Notre Dame team that features the
legendary Four Horsemen.
1926
Old Nassau defeats Harvard 12-0 in a game so rough and with
such ill-feeling that the schools temporarily end all athletic
contests between them. The schools do not play each other
in football for the next eight years.
1930
William W. Roper '02 retires with a career record (17 seasons)
of 89-28-16, for a winning percentage of .729 and four national
championships. He holds the Princeton record for most wins
in a career. In 1951, Roper became the first Princeton coach
to be inducted into the National College Football Hall of
Fame.
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1932
Legendary Princeton Football Association president Thomas A.
Wilson '13 heads search committee that hires Herbert Orin "Fritz"
Crisler h22 as head coach, the first non-Princeton grad to hold
that position. Hall of Fame coach Crisler introduces many innovations
including the Tiger Helmet which he later takes with him to
Michigan. Crisler goes 35-9-5 in his six seasons at Princeton,
and his .765 winning percentage is the best of any Princeton
coach with five or more seasons.
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1933
Art Lane '34 captains the Princeton eleven to an undefeated,
untied season and the national championship. This is one of
the best defensive teams in Princeton Football history allowing
only eight points. Jack Bales '34 is one of the mainstays
on the team as a fleet halfback.
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1935
Pepper Constable '36 captains Crisler's second undefeated Tiger
team to a national championship. A man jumps from the stands
to join the Dartmouth line in the fourth quarter of what becomes
a 26-6 Princeton win in a game between unbeatens played in a
driving snowstorm at Palmer. The game becomes known as the "Snow
Game". |
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1936
The Williams game features four of Princeton's future Hall of
Fame coaches: Crisler and line coach Elton Ewart "Tad" Wieman
for Princeton and head coach Charles W. Caldwell Jr. ' 25 and
player Richard W. Colman h37 for Williams. |
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1937
Ken Fairman ' 34, football and basketball star, is named Princeton's
first Director of Athletics retaining the post until 1972.
1938
Wieman replaces Crisler as head coach. Among his assistants
is Franklin "Cappy" Cappon, who would become head basketball
coach for 20 years.
1944
Due to the war Princeton plays just three games, beating Muhlenberg
and losing to Swarthmore and the Atlantic City Naval Air Station.
1945
Caldwell, a three-sport star at Princeton who also pitched
in the major leagues, begins his 12 seasons as Princeton coach.
Caldwell would go 70-30-3 in those 12 years with one national
championship and be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1961.
1950
George Chandler ' 51 captains Princeton to an undefeated season
winning the national championship and the Lambert Trophy as
the top team in the East. Team led by All-Americas Hollie
Donan ' 51, Reddy Finney ' 51 and Dick Kazmaier ' 52. Caldwell
elected national coach of the year.
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1951
Princeton repeats an undefeated season and is awarded the Lambert
under captain Dave Hickok ' 52. Team led by All-America Frank
McPhee ' 53 and Kazmaier wins the Heisman Trophy as the nation's
top player. |
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1956
Official, round-robin Ivy League play begins, two years after
the league presidents had formalized an agreement. Among other
items, spring practice and postseason games are banned. Yale
wins the first league title.
1957
Colman replaces Caldwell as Princeton's coach and guides the
Tiger to its first Ivy League championship. Colman will coach
12 seasons at Princeton, and his 75 wins place him in second
for career wins.
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1964
Cosmo Iacavazzi ' 65 leads Princeton to a perfect 9-0 season
that ends with a 17-12 win against Cornell. Iacavazzi runs
for 909 yards and 14 touchdowns, then school records.
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1965
Charlie Gogolak ' 66 who was instrumental in revolutionizing
placekicking with the soccer style completes his career, setting
every Princeton placekicking record including a 54 yard field
goal.
1969
J. L. "Jake" McCandless ' 51 takes over for Colman and coaches
Princeton to a share of the Ivy title during Princeton's centennial
year of football. Ellis Moore ' 70 rushes for five touchdowns
against Harvard for individual record for scoring, rushing
touchdowns and total touchdowns in a game. Princeton Football
Association president George Chandler launches the Tiger's
Lair as a way to communicate with alumni about Princeton Football.
1970
Hank Bjorklund ' 72 becomes the first Princeton player to
rush for more than 1,000 yards in a season as he goes for
1,081.
1973
Former All-Ivy player and Princeton assistant coach Robert
F. Casciola ' 58 is named head coach.
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1974
Walt Snickenberger ' 75 becomes the first Princeton player to
win the Asa S. Bushnell Cup as the Ivy League Player of the
Year. Snickenberger rushes for 1,041 yards. |
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1981
Bob Holly ' 82 throws for a Princeton and Ivy League record
501 yards against Yale, completing 36 of 57 passes. He also
throws four touchdown passes and runs for the winning score
on the final play as Princeton defeats Yale 35-31. It is Princeton's
first win over Yale in 14 years. |
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1983
Doug Butler ' 86 and Derek Graham ' 85 combine on a 95-yard
touchdown pass against Penn for the longest play from scrimmage
in Princeton history. Kevin Guthrie ' 84 catches a Princeton-record
88 passes for the season, while Graham catches 84. |
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1987
Steve Tosches h83 h88 replaces Ron Rogerson h65 as head coach
after the sudden death of Rogerson just prior to the season.
Dean Cain ' 88 sets an NCAA Division I-AA record with 12 interceptions.
1988
Quarterback Jason Garrett ' 89 wins the Bushnell Cup.
1989
Judd Garrett ' 90 leads Princeton to a share of the Ivy title
and joins his brother Jason as a Bushnell Cup winner. Garrett
rushes for a then-Princeton record 1,347 yards.
1991
Michael Lerch ' 93 sets two Division I-AA records in a 59-37
win at Brown. Lerch sets the records for receiving yards in
a game with 370 and all-purpose yards with 463, amassing those
yards on just nine catches, including touchdown receptions
of 64, 79, 90 and 45 yards. Chad Roghair ' 92 completed 13
of 22 passes for 401 yards and five touchdowns.
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1992
Keith Elias ' 94 eclipses Judd Garrett's record with 1,575
rushing yards as Princeton earns a share of the Ivy crown.
Elias earns All-America honors.
1993
Elias ends his career with 21 Princeton records and four Division
I-AA records with his second-straight All-America season.
Elias rushes for a Tiger record 1,731 yards and wins the Bushnell
Cup. Spring practice is reinstated in the Ivy League and freshmen
are eligible for the varsity.
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1995
Brock Harvey ' 96 makes a spectacular run out of bounds on
the one foot line to set up an 18-yard field goal against
Dartmouth on the final play of the season, giving Princeton
its first outright Ivy League championship in 31 years. Linebacker
David Patterson ' 96 becomes the sixth Princeton player and
the fourth defensive player in league history to win the Bushnell
Cup.
1996
After 82 years the final game is played at Palmer Stadium
against Dartmouth, Princeton's opponent in the inaugural game
in 1914. The stadium closes, to be replaced by a brand-new,
21st-century facility.
1997
Princeton plays all of its games on the road waiting for the
new Princeton Stadium to be completed.
1998
Princeton defeats Cornell 6-0 in the opening game at Princeton
Stadium.
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2000
Roger Hughes is named Princeton Tiger's Head Coach
2001
Princeton Tigers travel to Japan to defeat the Japanese National
Champions the Kwansei-Gakuin Fighters in the Osaka Dome. Ross
Tucker ' 01, Dennis Norman' 01, and John Raveche ' 01 sign
with professional teams.
2002
Cosmo Iacavazzi ' 65 is inducted into the College Football
Hall of Fame.
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