The 1883 Princeton Tigers football team represented the College of New Jersey, then more commonly known as

Princeton College Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

, in the

1883 college football season The 1883 college football season had no clear-cut champion, with the ''Official NCAA Division I Football Records Book'' listing Yale as having been selected national champions National champions are corporations which are technically private bu ...

. The team finished with a 7–1 record and outscored opponents 238 to 26, using the new scoring rules introduced by

Walter Camp Walter Chauncey Camp (April 7, 1859 – March 14, 1925) was an American football player, coach, and sports writer known as the "Father of American Football". Among a long list of inventions, he created the sport's line of scrimmage and the system ...

. The Tigers won their first seven games before losing the final game of the season to Yale in New York.

Alex Moffat Alexander Everett Moffat (; born March 25, 1982) is an American actor and comedian. He was a cast member on ''Saturday Night Live''. He started as a featured player in 2016 and became a main cast member in 2018. Moffat left ''SNL'' in 2022, aft ...

was the team's captain and star player. Moffat played at the halfback position and developed a reputation as "probably the greatest kicker ever seen on a football field." Football historian

David M. Nelson David Moir Nelson (April 29, 1920 – November 30, 1991) was an American football player, coach, college athletics administrator, author, and authority on college football playing rules. He served as the head football coach at Hillsdale College ( ...

credits Moffat with revolutionizing the kicking game in 1883 by developing the "spiral punt," described by Nelson as "a dramatic change from the traditional end-over-end kicks." Moffat has also been credited with inventing the

drop kick A drop kick is a type of kick in various codes of football. It involves a player dropping the ball and then kicking it as it touches the ground. Drop kicks are used as a method of restarting play and scoring points in rugby union and rugby league ...

, and kicked equally well with either foot. In 1883, Moffat kicked 32 goals in 15 games.

Schedule

Game summaries

On Wednesday, October 17, Princeton defeated Rutgers at New Brunswick, New Jersey. Princeton totaled two goals and three touchdowns, all scored in the second half. Rutgers was held to three safe touchdowns. On Monday, October 22, Princeton defeated Lafayette by a 53–6 score in a game played in Princeton. Princeton totaled five goals from field, four goals from touchdowns, and one touchdown. On Wednesday, October 24, Princeton defeated Stevens Institute by a 14–0 score at the

St. George's Cricket Club The St George's Cricket Club was originally located in Manhattan, New York it later moved to Hoboken, New Jersey. Its name comes from its association with St. George's Episcopal Church at Stuyvesant Square, Manhattan. It hosted the first interna ...

in New York. Princeton scored two goals and two touchdowns. On October 27, Princeton defeated Rutgers by a 61–0 score in a game played in Princeton. Princeton totaled eight goals and three touchdowns to nine safeties. On November 3, Princeton defeated Pennsylvania in a game played in Princeton by a score of 41–6. Princeton scored on four goals from touchdowns, two goals from field, and two touchdowns. Penn scored on one goal and three safeties. On November 6, Princeton defeated Wesleyan by a 24–0 score at the Polo Grounds in New York. The game was played "under the new American college rules", while Yale played a game against Rutgers on the same day under the "old Rugby rules". On November 17, Princeton defeated Harvard by a 26–7 score at the Princeton football grounds. Princeton scored five goals and one touchdown and held Harvard to one goal and one touchdown. Moffat made all five goals, two drop kicks with his right foot, two drop kicks with his left foot, and one from placement. On November 24, Princeton lost the final game of the season to

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

. The game was played at the Polo Grounds in New York. Yale scored one goal (worth six points) and held Princeton scoreless.

References

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Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the nine ...

Princeton Tigers football seasons

Princeton Tigers football The Princeton Tigers football program represents Princeton University and competes at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I Football Championship, Division I Football Championship Subdivision (FCS) level as a member ...