The 1890 Harvard Crimson football team was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

team that represented

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

in the

1890 college football season The 1890 college football season was the season of American football played among colleges and universities in the United States during the 1890–91 academic year. The 1890 Harvard Crimson football team compiled a perfect 11–0 record, outsc ...

. The team finished with an 11–0 record, shut out nine of eleven opponents, and outscored all opponents by a total of 555 to 12. The team also won Harvard's first

national championship A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or competition, contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the be ...

, receiving retroactive recognition as national champion from the

Billingsley Report The Billingsley Report is a college football rating system developed in the late 1960s to determine a national champion. Billingsley has actively rated college football teams on a current basis since 1970. Beginning in 1999, Billingsley's ratings ...

Helms Athletic Foundation The Helms Athletic Foundation, founded in 1936, was a Los Angeles-based organization dedicated to the promotion of athletics and sportsmanship. Paul H. Helms was the organization's founder and benefactor, funding the foundation via his ownership ...

Houlgate System The Houlgate System, also known as the Deke Houlgate collegiate football rating system, was a mathematical rating system for determining annual college football national championships. The ratings, which rated teams according to the strength of th ...

National Championship Foundation The National Championship Foundation (NCF) was established by Mike Riter of Hudson, New York. The NCF retroactively selected college football national champions for each year from 1869 to 1979, and its selections are among the historic national ch ...

, and Parke H. Davis. On November 22, Harvard defeated

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 ...

's previously-unbeaten

Yale Bulldogs The Yale Bulldogs are the intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. The school sponsors 35 varsity sports. The school has won two NCAA national championships in women's fencing, four in ...

to secure the championship; it was Harvard's first football victory over Yale since 1875. Harvard did not play

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 ...

(11–1–1) during the 1890 season. Five Harvard players were selected by

Caspar Whitney Caspar William Whitney (September 2, 1864 – January 18, 1929) was an American author, editor, explorer, outdoorsman and war correspondent. He originated the concept of the All-American team in college football in 1889 when he worked for '' Harp ...

to the 1890 All-America college football team: quarterback Dudley Dean; halfback

John J. Corbett John Corbett (November 14, 1869 – February 20, 1947) was an American football player and coach of multiple sports. He played football for Harvard University from 1890 to 1893 and was selected as one of the two halfbacks on the 1890 College Foo ...

; end

Frank Hallowell Frank Walton Hallowell (August 12, 1870 – June 1, 1933) was an All-American football player and coach. He played at the end position for the Harvard Crimson football team of Harvard University, and was twice selected as an All-American, in 1890 ...

; center John Cranston; and tackle

Marshall Newell Marshall "Ma" Newell (April 2, 1871 – December 24, 1897) was an American football player and coach, "beloved by all those who knew him" and nicknamed "Ma" for the guidance he gave younger athletes. After his sudden and early death, Harvard Unive ...

. Other players included end and team captain

Arthur Cumnock Arthur James Cumnock (February 12, 1868 – June 8, 1930) was an American football player. He and Amos Alonzo Stagg were selected as the ends on the first College Football All-America Team in 1889. Cumnock invented the first nose guard. He ...

, halfback James P. Lee,

Herb Alward James Herbert Alward (November 1, 1865 – December 21, 1897) was an American college football player and coach. He served as the third head football coach at the University of Wisconsin–Madison for a single season in 1891, compiling a record o ...

Hiland Orlando Stickney Hiland Orlando Stickney (February 19, 1867 – October 6, 1911) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Grinnell College in 1893 and at the University of Wisconsin–Madison from 1894 to 1895. In 1899, H ...

Bernard Trafford Bernard Walton Trafford (July 2, 1871 – January 3, 1942) was an American banker and college football and baseball player. Personal life Trafford was born July 2, 1871, in Dartmouth, Massachusetts to William Bradford and Rachel Mott Davis ...

, and tackle

Joshua Damon Upton Joshua Damon Upton (June 17, 1870 – November 20, 1964) was an American college football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at Tufts University from 1897 to 1898, compiling a record of 7–16. Upton died on November 20, 1964 ...

. George A. Stewart and George C. Adams were the team's coaches.

Schedule

Gallery of Harvard players

File:Jamesplee.jpg, James P. Lee File:John Corbett (Camp).jpg, John Corbett File:Arthur Cumnock.jpg, Arthur Cumnock File:Dudley Dean.jpg, Dudley Dean File:Marshall Newell.jpg, Marshall Newell

References

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

Harvard Crimson football seasons College football national champions College football undefeated seasons

Harvard Crimson football The Harvard Crimson football program represents Harvard University in college football at the NCAA Division I Football Championship Subdivision (formerly Division I-AA). Harvard's football program is one of the oldest in the world, having begun c ...

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