College Football History: 1895-1904 - Prelude To The Disaster of 1905

Mar 29, 2023 - 6:30 PM

The years 1895 to 1904 in college football history was a period marked in chaos and fight for control as college football continued to evolve into the game we love today. The big four in the east, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and Penn, controlled the rules and how the game was played. Teams in the west began to resent that control and fought for more representation.

College football popularity grew but so did the spotlight that was cast upon its brutal nature. The powers that be did their best control to control the narrative but were only successful in covering up the games problems. Everyone failed to see the crisis that would occur in 1905 when the public erupted in disgust at the number of deaths and serious injuries caused by football.

How did it happen? How did the crisis come about and why were so many players killed and injured?

Those are among the questions I will ask and answer in this episode of College Football History.